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One of the first things my editors told me to do was to start every book with a character study of my main characters. It was one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received- though I didn’t think so at the time!

Character study? Well, he’s an alpha-impossible who has dragged his way out of the slums and scrambled his way up the greasy pole to the very top, because… Because?

And that’s where you hit the first stumbling block. It’s not enough to know our hero has made it big time, readers want to know why and how- and quite rightly so.

Which brings us back to the character ‘bio’… We can make a start by looking at our alpha’s values, i.e. what does he care passionately about?

Honour, truth, fairness… Well that goes without saying. People look up to him and expect him to do the right thing.

But how will he do the right thing? What will his approach be? Will it be a cerebral exercise, carefully thought through and then executed with bravura, or more subtle and secretive? Maybe he’s a bull in a china shop!

For the answer I look at his sun sign chart, something I will have already decided upon.

In my January 2006 release for Harlequin Presents Uncut Virgin For Sale the hero Tino Zagorakis is a typical Scorpio… deep and secretive.

Tino keeps his passions hidden to the point where he stings himself if you like, rather than admit to the heroine, Lisa Bond that he was also an abused child.

Why do I assign sun signs to my characters? Because it helps me to focus in on them at a much earlier stage than I would otherwise; I need to know these people before I start writing about them. Of course, I can’t know everything about them, because they run the show, not me, but by giving Tino a heroine born under the Sun Sign Cancer, I know that he will see Lisa’s hard shell for what it is, and reach out to her. And as Tino does that he sees himself reflected in Lisa’s arid life- which makes him want to do something about being such an impossibly alpha alpha!

Consider the possibility of assigning sun signs to your characters. It will give you a real insight into them. I know it helps me to flesh out my characters at an early stage and it may help you.

Happy reading and writing everyone!
Susan

www.susanstephens.net