Natalie Decker and Her Characters

I always talk about how much I love my characters, and how important it is for me to make them feel real, and develop their relationships as the story moves forward. It is always great when I find another author who loves the same things about her characters, as I do mine. Welcome back Natalie Decker!

My characters and why I love them
My characters are sassy. Why do I write them like this? I love my characters with some fight. I love how they fall in love to. It’s not instant, it’s gradual and I’d like to think my readers slowly fall in love with them too this way.

In the Rival Love series I purposely wrote Skylar Fletcher the way she is because I wanted her to be real. I want her to be seen not only as a fictional character but someone who could potentially be a person. What’s real to me? Not having insta-love with the hot town jerk because he said hi to her one day. It’s not swooning over the guy every girl has a crush on without ever saying a word to him. So I made her roll her eyes or snap off witty remarks to Caleb Morgan whenever he was being a jerk.

In the Scandalous Boys series I wanted Madison Issac to dislike her hot next door neighbor because in all retrospect he is a jerk. I wanted her to know him and hang out with him because of a mutual friend, but not fawn over him. Same goes for Bryce Matthews, yes he has a huge crush on Madison when they were kids. He doesn’t grow out of it but he doesn’t pursue it because he feels it’s a hopeless cause. I did this because I think guys are just as worried as girls about being rejected from an unattainable crush.

I purposely wrote Sarah Morris as a super B—ch because I wanted the characters to see her darkness in BRYCE, and then her light in GRAHAM. Two sides to a coin so to speak. This made her great to me because yes, she can be a total witch when she’s hurting and make bad choices. She can also be caring and fun. Graham Nichols I wanted him to struggle. Sure he got the girl at first but then she breaks his heart. I wanted my readers to feel his pain and struggle and how he masks it. To show him as strong and weak because that to me is genuine.

As for Kyle Issac and Emily Emerson. These two are just awesome to write. Emily has that whole long-term crush on her best friend’s brother. And she’s tired of being seen as the friend or worst like another sister. Kyle is a player and doesn’t do relationships. He’s seen all his buddies do it and now they’re tied down and look miserable. So I made him crave independence. And while Kyle tries to remain fun and free he can’t help but notice Emily. Not like he’s seeing her for the first time but discovering she’s not his sister and he doesn’t want to treat her like that anymore.

I love my characters because to me they can be found in the world. The outcast, nerd, heart breaker, friend and player.

About Natalie Decker

Natalie Decker is the author of the bestselling YA series Rival Love. She loves oceans, sunsets, sand between her toes, and carefree days. Her imagination is always going, which some find odd. But she believes in seeing the world in a different light at all times.

Her first passion for writing started at age twelve when she had to write a poem for English class. However, seventh grade wasn’t her favorite time and books were her source of comfort. She took all college prep classes in High school, and attended the University of Akron. Although she studied Mathematics she never lost her passion for writing or her comfort in books. She’s a huge Denver Broncos fan, loves football, a mean cook in the kitchen, loves her family and friends and misses her dog infinity times infinity. If she’s not writing, reading, traveling, hanging out with her family and friends, then she’s off having an adventure. Because Natalie believes in a saying: Your life is your own journey, so make it amazing!

Connect with Natalie: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Synopsis

Graham Nichols’s main goal in life is to forget. Getting high, completely wasted, and running through a string of sexy blonds daily helps him achieve this task. But one night of partying lands him in a heap of trouble and sent back to the confinements of his hometown. Things can’t possibly get worse, right?

Sarah Morris can’t seem to run fast enough away from her past. She’s spent months trying to amend her ways, and is doing a pretty good job. She’s getting good grades, isn’t acting like a spoiled brat, and even works at the local grocery store. The last thing she needs is a distraction.

Enter Graham Nichols, the one mistake Sarah can’t escape.

Click to purchase Graham on Amazon.