Character Development

In an interview, one of my favourite authors mentioned that she starts with her two love interests and puts them with diametrically opposing views or within enemy territory. Basically pitting them against each other from the start.

For enemies to lovers this is perfect.

One of my favourite things to do with characters from the very beginning, is identify their love languages. It seems simple and boring but if two characters wind up together yet are unable to show their love accurately... do they really mesh? Should they really end up together? Not in my books.

Literally.

For Halo of the Realms, the second installment introduces another realm. This realm is the Fae realm that comes under the guise of marriage alliances to restore their suffering courts back to their previously powerful levels with magic from the witches of Albulena. Essentially, marriage alliances for the Fae Princes and Kings or their people perish. But of course there are always ulterior motives and secret schemes going on in the shadows.

When Tileena meets her lifetime partner (among all the other Fae) she's drawn to the way he acts. In her past experiences with Hendrick and Stephen, who both claim to love her by saying the right things, giving her gifts and wanting to spend all their time with her, she realizes that those things are meaningless when actions show the opposite. Talk about trust issues...

So, when I start writing characters and ultimately who they end up with, (because we love romance even if it's not the main plot) I always write out three things first:

1. What is their love language (giving and receiving)

2. What do they THINK they want (surface level)

3. What do they truly NEED (deeper level, can change through out the book)

Let's take Tileena for example:

1. Love languages: acts of service and physical touch. The rest are nice but meaningless to her. (Her partner has the exact same love languages.)

2. She thinks she wants love and people to like her for her, not because she is Queen.

3. What she actually needs is someone who is patient and bright (funny, light hearted and chill) but who also enjoys her darker magic/side too. She needs someone who protects her and picks her day after day. Someone to match her.

Taking Kearan for example:

1. Love language is acts of service and physical touch while the woman he ends up with is physical touch and gifts. She loves giving and receiving gifts.

Kearan and his future wife start out hating each other because they are young and have lots of growth to go through. (enemies to lovers and bodyguard X princess trope). Kear incorrectly starts off with the assumption that Tatiana likes to give and receive gifts because she likes spending money and is a spoiled princess (which in part she is.) It's also very different from Kearan's upbringing where money doesn't matter when you're fighting to survive. For Tatiana, giving gifts is about truly knowing the person and wanting to do something special for them that they wouldn't do/get for themselves (giving). She also comes to the realm of Albulena and gets stranded longer than expected. Without money how is she going to buy the extra things she needs/wants?

Sweet/grumpy Kearan to the reluctant rescue.

Since money isn't important to him but he is paid handsomely for being Tileena's elite guard, he has lots of it. So when Tatiana needs new clothes and other items, he's more than giving and not only takes her shopping (to protect her thanks to guard duty) but he also spares no expense for what she wants. This compliments her love language of receiving love via gifts and also his of doing something for her via acts of service.

So, while their love languages overlap but aren't the exact same (because real life) they compliment each other.

During the events of Halo of the Realms, Kearan and Tatiana end up together which is essential to the plot of HOTR but I'm excited to have their own story as a spinoff/ interconnected stand alone novel.