Guest Blog Post by Kimber An: The Necessity of Bianca

Yeah!!! The lovely Kimber An, author of my favourite Sugar Rush, and as of today Crushed Sugar, kindly wrote a guest blog post for me. I'm so excited because it's all about Bianca! Enjoy the post, and my comments will be in bold. 

The Necessity of Bianca

By Kimber An

It’s interesting what different readers like about different stories and its great when a secondary character can snag you, I think.  It seems to wrap the reader up more in the whole story.  Nayu likes the scene from Sugar Rush in which Bianca, the heroine’s twin sister, hurls her sewing machine out the window.

Here it is-

SUGAR RUSH by Kimber An, final paragraph Chapter Thirteen

{Set up:   Ophelia and Brandon are riding home with Mrs. Cox after learning her father was killed.  She’s in grief-stricken shock.}

A second after they rounded the corner playground, Ophelia saw Bianca’s sewing machine crash through her bedroom window, sail over the yard, and smash on the street beyond.

Chapter Fourteen

Mrs. Cox gripped the steering wheel as Bianca’s sewing machine clattered in shards across the icy street. “I was afraid she would react that way. We all deal with grief in our own way.”

Bianca’s way was to destroy the house.

{end of Sugar Rush excerpt} That is my favourite scene in the book! I just love it because Bianca has so much spark and she doesn't seem like a drama queen to me (only occasionally...) 

Bianca’s kind of, um, extroverted.  Ophelia says she’s ‘rambunctious.’  Martin, the villain, describes her with her less-flattering words, like bitch and radically codependent.  The kids at school all think she’s a slut.  In fact, she’s a virgin.  She just likes the attention.

I say Bianca is necessary.  She’s a support character.  She’s one of the two most important secondary characters of the entire series; the other being Brandon.  She’s necessary because Ophelia is reserved in nature and really not what you’d consider a typical teenager.

Ophelia needs Bianca to bring her out of her shell and make her relatable to wider audience.

As an example, here’s a snippet from the next novel in the series, Sweet Bytes-

{Ophelia has come home to find her sister depressed and lying on the sofa watching TV.  She doesn’t care about fashion, but knows putting together new outfits for school will cheer Bianca up.}

Wiping nose on sleeve, Bianca got up and handed her the remote control.  “The 1920’s produced a lot of classics.  I could order some things off the Old Navy website.  I still have a gift card for that store.”

“Oh, yeah, me too.”  Ophelia plucked a Star Trek DVD off the shelf and examined the cover.  “Hey, don’t log out when you’re done.  I want to order a few things.”

Bianca stomped up the stairs.  “What in the name of Gianni Versace would you order from Old Navy?” 

Ophelia looked up at her sister gripping the rail and glaring.  “Oh, um, just…new night vision goggles, a Leatherman tool, and maybe a flamethrower.” 

“Flamethrower?”

Ophelia instantly realized she’d said something worthy of a hissy-fit from her sister.  “Uh…well, okay, maybe not the flamethrower.  I’d probably need a special permit which I can’t get until I’m eighteen.  But, maybe Mom…”

“Old Navy’s a clothing store, you geek!”  Bianca disappeared and slammed the door.

{end of Sweet Bytes excerpt}Ooooo thanks so much for the snippet Kimber An! 

But, I’m here to talk about my prequel novella, Crushed Sugar.  Due to the novella format, I couldn’t include Bianca as much as I wanted.  Nevertheless, I’ll leave you with one that made at least one of my editors laugh.

{Set up:  Set three months before Sugar Rush, Ophelia is suddenly beset by the romantic attentions of Martin, having no idea he will become the villain.  Katelyn is Martin’s self-proclaimed girlfriend and is determined to eliminate the competition.}

Katelyn’s emotions boiled as her gaze shifted to Ophelia. “How long are you going to let your sister fight your battles?”

Bianca stepped between them. “Ophelia’s a lover, not a fighter. She’ll be building a space station on the Moon when you’re collecting food stamps with a drunken idiot.”

Ophelia grabbed her sister’s wrist. “I am fine. Let it go. Please.”

“Okay, Snookums.” Bianca patted her cheek. “You know I worship the quicksand you walk on.”

{end of Crushed excerpt}Bianca is cool :) And remains my top secondary character. 

There you have it, a few Bianca scenes to make you reach for the coffee.  If you want to learn more about Ophelia’s fascination with all things Star Trek, check out this guest post I did for Alien Romances, h

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/10/teens-trekkies-and-heroic-ideal_22.html

I’ve gotten attached to secondary characters in other stories too.  Where would Frodo be without Sam?  Or Kirk without Spock?  Han without Chewbacca?  Now, I know my stories are no where near their caliber, but it’s a good writing lesson for anyone.  Secondary characters are important.  Give them their due.

What secondary characters do you love? Bianca!!!! 

Kimber An, thank you again (for the 3rd time...) for such an awesome post about one of the best characters :) May your characters always keep talking to you (Since I know what they did to your muse.)