Pop quiz: Do authors really imagine complex characters from the ground up, with mysterious backstories and intricately detailed biographies? Or do they just make everything up as they go along? (Or do they create thinly-veiled versions of their friends and family, and torture them vicariously on the page?) The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Every writer has a different method for creating characters, but mine is fairly straightforward: I create characters the same way you meet new people. First, you see what they look like, then you hear how they talk, and you learn a little bit about them. And, of course, the more time you spend around them, the weirder they get. One of my favorite characters in The Spider Thief series is Cleo, the stylish but no-nonsense girl next door — who packs two guns, a forensics kit, and an ironclad agenda. On her own, she can seem a little obsessed with her job. That’s why it’s fun to pair her up with a completely opposite guy and watch the sparks fly. Cleo is a law enforcement officer (I can’t tell you what kind without giving away one of the big plot twists), and therefore she’s…