Forging Female Characters with Chris Almeida and Cecilia Aubrey!

Hi all!
It's a real pleasure for me to welcome Chris Almeida and Cecilia Aubrey today! They have a couple of amazing books out now that have been getting some stellar reviews.  They are here to talk about developing female characters and I can't wait to see what they have to say! Take it away, Chris and Cecilia!

Forging Female Characters

When Cecilia and I sit down to plot, develop characters, develop plot and GMCs, our focus is not only on the story but on creating strong, well rounded characters that readers can relate to and also put themselves in their shoes.

With that in mind, we have almost subconsciously created female characters who reflect the women of today. They are not meak, they are not weak. They are strong, opinionated women who can hold their come hell or high water..

I believe that comes from having strong women who have been crucial and models in our upbringing. Both our mothers had to raise children on their own—my mother, a Brazilian, became a widow at 35 and Cecilia’s father was in the Air Force which left her mom, a Spaniard, on her own to raise three children during his tours of Vietnam and service abroad.. They both have strong sense of ethics, honesty, and determination. They both gave us the love and attention we needed through our lives and forged who we are today.

They both went through rough patches and they overcame them through sheer strength of character and will power. They were our role models for life and are reflected in our female characters. Like all of us, they are fallible. They make mistakes. But they also know when to make the right decisions and when to fight for what they want.

We write women who, although roughed up by life one way or another, they find the courage to move on with their lives, to make changes that set them on the right path. Our message to our readers is simple, they are in control of their lives even when they think they aren’t.

We hope that readers will take the same lesson from Cassandra, Jessica, and the many others we pepper throughout our work—take something away from the story that will push them forward in their lives, give them inspiration to grab life by the horns. And we hope they enjoy the twists and turns we throw in their path, knowing they will find ways to turn things around in their favor. We certainly enjoy making them who they are.

Sláinte!

Chris

BIO

Chris Almeida and Cecilia Aubrey write romantic suspense under the independent label Éire Publishing. They have published several short stories and their first novel, COUNTERMEASURE, a sexy romantic suspense thriller with enough twists and turns to leave you gasping for breath, was published in January, 2012. The second novel in the series, TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE, has a scheduled release on July 30. They have also released a spin-off series of short stories, COUNTERMEASURE: BYTES OF LIFE. The shorts are high-heat mini stories revolving around the lives of the main characters, Trevor and Cassandra.

COUNTERMEASURE (http://www.amazon.com/Countermeasure-Series-ebook/dp/B006WFMMI0/)

Suspicious and determined never to fall into the love trap, security specialist Cassandra James takes on a chase to recover files stolen right out from under her nose. In an effort to prove to her father—also her boss—that she is a capable woman, she follows the digital trail—a trail that leads her directly into the arms of Trevor Bauer, an NSA analyst who appears to have more secrets than she has scars...

Haunted by the mystery surrounding his parents' disappearance, Trevor Bauer's dreams for his own life have been put on hold. But being confronted by Cassandra James derails every one of his best laid plans to avoid a relationship until he can find the closure he desperately seeks. When he accepts her request for help in recovering the files she's hunting, they embark on an adventure that takes them across the ocean and into a world of intrigue and violence. As things between them begin to heat up, Trevor realizes that, if he is ever to win Cassandra's heart and the future he craves, he has no choice but to reveal all his secrets.

TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE (http://countermeasureseries.com/about/books/to-russia-with-love)

It’s been almost a year since Trevor and Cassandra’s brush with a psychotic killer in COUNTERMEASURE, and they are knee-deep in new cases. When George stumbles across a new piece of information on Trevor’s parents’ case, they end up following a digital trail to Saint Petersburg.

While infiltrating a Russia Mafia’s stronghold to destroy a piece of software that could change the face of the World Financial Market, they find themselves in hotter water than they bargained for—a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse steeped in a world of betrayal, hidden identities, and secret agendas….

Back in Ireland, Cassandra’s best friend Jessica is determined to find the key to unlock the heart of Stephan, the man she loves—but little does she know that her greatest obstacle will be Stephan himself….