Meet My Characters

“Better to be a rooster’s beak than a bull’s rump.” –Chinese proverb
I hope that all my book characters are significant, even in a small way!

Characters, come out of the shadows!

The talented Mona AlvaradoFrazier (who’s currently a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) has asked me to share about the characters in my books. My published novel, THE 228 LEGACY, is a 2013 Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year Finalist in the multicultural category. It features an entire Taiwanese-American family and you can get a flavor of the grandmother’s attitude here.

Now onto my current manuscript, a cozy mystery:

1. What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Winston Wong. Definitely fictional. He’s an ex-video game tester turned detective. At 45 years young, he’s finally following the footsteps of his childhood icon, Encyclopedia Brown.

2. When and where is the story set?
It’s a modern day story set in the heart of Silicon Valley. While it explores the San Jose area, a good chunk of the tale focuses on a senior home.

3. What should we know about him/her?
Winston is the quintessential gaming nerd. He can talk consoles and comics with the best of them. He’s got a streak of goofiness, which you try to overlook, since he’s a romantic at heart.

4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
As he starts his career, his new ad gets misprinted. An extra “s” to his listing turns him into a “Seniors Sleuth.” He gets an easy first case to solve the death of a 90-year-old man. But what he assumes is a natural death changes into a bonafide homicide, and he soon finds himself trying to thwart a killer.

5. What is the personal goal of the character?
Winston needs to solve the case not just to bring justice into the world, but to recapture his sense of identity and self-worth. Plus, he’s in it to win a girl’s heart.

6. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The working title is SENIORS’ SLEUTH. I’m still finishing up some final edits before shopping it around.

7. When can we expect the book to be published?
Ideally, it’ll be in print next year, but we’ll see. I’ll keep you updated.

Thanks for reading!

I’m tagging Romelle Broas, children’s author extraordinaire, to continue this Meet My Characters Blog Tour. Stop by her website on June 23rd to see what she’s working on!