I don’t really think about people in my stories as secondary characters. I try to give them all the same amount of thought and depth that I give the hero or heroine. When I am writing it is easier for me if I understand what is making someone tick. I want them to capture the attention of the readers just as much as the main characters for without these people the stories are not the same. I want them to be likable, if something should happen to one of them I want the readers to care.
Clara from Love Overcomes is such a wonderful character that I had to give her some happiness in the book. I have had people ask me for her story, so it is in the works. She filled out the story. Without her it would not have worked. The same goes for Liam and Jake in that story. I adore them all.
Jace from The Second Life of Magnolia Mae nearly outshone Bash. There were times when writing that I had to push Jace aside because I had more fun writing him.
I want my characters to be developed enough that if the story were switched around they could have their own story that people would want to read. Everyone has their own story to tell and I want that to show.
I have read so many books where the secondary characters were so well developed that I nearly danced when finding out that they had their own book. One of my favorite series is Ladies of Larkspur. I picked up one of the books and found that I loved all the people in it. I was so happy to find out that it was a series of stand-alone books. I was able to pick up the other books and read about the characters I had started to care about. That is how I want my secondary characters to be. I want them to make people to want to learn more about them.
Do you have a favorite secondary character?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
I have to agree, the Ladies of Larkspur is an excellent example of characters that we care about and rejoice when we learn they will get their own stories. As for favorites, I guess I enjoy several of Debbie Macomber’s extended series: the Cedar Cove books, the Blossom Street series, as well as some of her earlier ones.
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totally agree that the term “secondary” does not imply one’s supporting characters are important. I view it rather like the billing in a movie: The two primary stars get top billing and the supporting cast are listed afterward. Their roles in the film — or, in this case, in a novel / novella — are certainly vital to the plot and those individuals should be integral to what happens to the hero/heroine.
You’ll learn more about my particulars in the Hound Day blog tomorrow, but for today I wanted to affirm that secondary characters are indeed important to the stories… and (like you) I relish times when readers are hungry for those characters to receive more stage time.
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I like the way you described it with the billing for movies.
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tune in tomorrow (Hound Day) for more
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Secondary characters can be very helpful and as long as they are there, they had better be believable. Nothing ruins a story like a character that ‘twang’s in like a bad note in a song.
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