Deadly Intent Blog Tour: Camy on her Characters

Deadly Intent (Camy Tang)

SCENE OF THE CRIME

The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake…and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn…and whom can she trust?

From her successful Sushi Series (Sushi for One?, Only Uni, and Single Sashimi), Camy is back with another sure-hit novel! This time she takes a different route from her first three chick lit novels, bringing in a world of suspense, mystery, romance and well, God, into the quiet-turned-deadly spa.

Okay, so that’s my effort at trying to make a good intro. :P But I’m seriously honored to have Camy here on my blog again. I just love her books, with all the action and the solid characters that stay in my mind long after I read them all. I’ve decided to interview Camy this time to pick her brain about her characters:

1. Today is my character Ruth’s birthday. :) Do you give your characters birthdays too, even if it’s not mentioned in the story? If so, when are they?

Um…not really, unless I want to use the birthday as a scene in the story. But I always know how old my characters are. Naomi is 27 years old and Devon is 35.

2. Was Naomi’s character based on anyone (or any people) you know? What about Devon?

Naomi isn’t based on anyone I know, but I always thought being a massage therapist would be a cool job, so I did a lot of research for Naomi’s career and for the spa.

Devon’s personality isn’t anyone I know, but his job is borrowed from the orthopedic surgeon who repaired my ACL (twice). Dr. King is the official orthopedic surgeon for the Oakland Raiders. He’s totally nice.

3. You mentioned in your previous blog posts about which archetypes your previous characters (Lex, Trish, Venus and Jen) fall into. What archetype did you use for Naomi?

Naomi’s a maiden or Persephone archetype. They tend to be easygoing and carefree, but Naomi has been thrust into a more responsible role by her father, who just had a stroke. Worried about the future of his spa, he puts Naomi in charge as acting manager and is grooming her to eventually take over the spa when he retires. Naomi does it to please him, but she doesn’t really want to take over the spa—she’s happy as head massage therapist, because she likes giving massages, not managing a business.

4. All of your novels give us both the point of view of the hero and heroine. I often have a hard time getting into my male character’s heads. How do you do it?

I usually talk to my husband to get his perspective on things. And when I’m writing, I think to myself, Would Captain Caffeine use this word or phrase? How would he say this?

5. If Naomi were to meet any of the Sushi cousins, who do you think will she be friends with?

I think she’d get along with Trish the best. The two of them would know how to have fun, but at the same time, both of them know what it’s like to have responsibility thrust upon them.

6. Who is your favorite female character outside of your books? How about your favorite male character?

My favorite female character is Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen. Anne is intelligent, calm, and organized. She withstands her horrendous family with strength and insight, yet compassion—all of which I lack. I think a part of me wants to be Anne.

My favorite male character is Sir Percy Blakeney from the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. He’s just always so clever, and yet he has such a passionate love for his wife, which makes him terribly romantic.

7. Who is the next heroine that you are writing about? What can we expect from her?

My next heroine is December (isn’t that a cool name? I borrowed it from a woman who was taking one of my online classes). She will be my toughest heroine to write so far, because her struggles will be so close to home. I’ve always struggled with my weight, and recently I completed the Couch to 5K running training program. I’m going to have December do the Couch to 5K, too!

Thanks for having me here, Tina!
Camy

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. She used to be a biologist, but now she is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads a worship team for Sunday service. She also runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every week, and she ponders frivolous things like dumb dogs (namely, hers), coffee-geek husbands (no resemblance to her own…), the writing journey, Asiana, and anything else that comes to mind. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com/ for a huge website contest going on right now, giving away fourteen boxes of books and 30 copies of her latest release, DEADLY INTENT.

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OH AND BEFORE I FORGET!

I’m giving away a copy of Camy’s new book! Just leave a comment on this entry with your name and email address so you’ll be a part of the raffle. :) Deadline of entries is Monday, July 27, 2009. I’ll be announcing the winner by Tuesday, July 28, 2009. :D