(Guest Post) Camilla Chafer

If you read my earlier post you will see that I am a Bewitching Book Tour for Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer. When I first heard about the book I wanted to read it. I am lucky enough to have Camilla Chafer do a guest post for me.

Thanks Camilla for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this for me. Please help me welcome Camilla to Cindy's Love of Books.

Hi Cindy, thanks for inviting me over to your gorgeous blog. Today, on Illicit Magic’s penultimate tour stop, I wanted to talk a little about getting into my characters’ heads. It’s kind of weird writing several people, working out their individual motivations, strengths and flaws but now, several books into the series, I find myself automatically saying no, Stella would think first before doing that or Evan wouldn’t say that as though the characters are real. Well, they’ve lived in my head long enough! Here’s some insight into three of the main characters.

I write from Stella’s point of view. She’s a very realistic sort of heroine. She isn’t kickass, she’s lonely at the start and she’s not very happy. The first couple of chapters reflect that as she’s feeling pretty sorry for herself, but as the novel progresses we really start to see a change in her personality. I wanted to this change in her to mirror how her magic grows, how her life changes, how ready she is for change but finally also how she’s comfortable in her own skin. As the series goes on, Stella strengthens not only in her magic but really blossoms as a character. Most of all I wanted her to be an antithesis to the two most common modern heroines in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre: the “normal” heroine who needs to be saved by an all powerful supernatural guy, and the kickass sword-wielding woman who blasts her way through the bad guys. Ultimately, Stella is going to have to find a way to save herself.

Writing Evan, Stella’s love interest, is fun. I wanted him to be a little uptight at the start and mysterious, then as Stella starts to open up, so does he. He’s wildly attracted to her but very careful of their precarious position as he’s not a witch but something very different, plus though he’s been sent to look after her he believes there’s more to it than simply teaching her magic. He’s honest, reliable, and waits for her to be ready and open to something more with him. He’s got a lot of history that we’ve yet to uncover.

Etoile is a lot of fun to write. She’s a little snarky. She says the things other people might not say and she’s very smart. She’s a counterbalance to Stella. Where Stella is shy and lonely, Etoile is deeply self assured and has a loving family. Crucially they share a lot of the same traits; they’re both loyal, kind, and determined, and that’s why they make good friends. During Illicit Magic, Stella needs Etoile. Later in the series, it’s likely that the tables will be turned and that’s when their friendship will truly become an equal one.

[Thanks once again Camilla for doing this and thanks to Bewitching Book Tours for making this happen. I truly appreciate what you guys have done and are doing.]