I think all writers can agree that characters build as we write. Especially the hero or heroine. But what we don’t always expect is when the secondary characters—or as I like to call them, our secondary heroes—begin to speak louder and demand to be heard. It happens differently for every writer. I can only tell my own experience as it happened to me. And understand, it doesn’t happen with ever book or with every series. The stories of these characters becomes important to the reader, as well as the writer. So much so their voice comes through and they’re no longer shoved to the back of the book, but come forward to the front. And eventually—they get their own show. This is great news for a writer who’s developed a series that readers enjoy. It gives the writer a new path to follow from a different set of eyes, and it fleshes and fills out the back-story of every character within that writer’s universe. For me, it was a persistent character. A character that I used through the series as a dues ex machina. And as my books grew, and I continued to use this secondary hero—I realized I went…

January 1990 On Sale: January 22, 1990 56 pages ISBN: 0679805273 EAN: 9780679805274 Hardcover (reprint) $17.00  Add to Wish List Childrens Buy at Amazon.com Graduations and advice… Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss Don’t be fooled by the title of this seriocomic ode to success; it’s not ‘Climb Every Mountain,’ kid version. All journeys face perils, whether from indecision, from loneliness, or worst of all, from too much waiting. Seuss’ familiar pajama-clad hero is up to the challenge, and his odyssey is captured vividly in busy two- page spreads evoking both the good times (grinning purple elephants, floating golden castles) and the bad (deep blue wells of confusion). Seuss’ message is simple but never sappy: life may be a ‘Great Balancing Act,’ but through it all ‘There’s fun to be done.’ Previous Picks