Have you ever read a book and encountered a secondary or supporting
character who was way more interesting than the hero/heroine?
Sometimes it works out okay – that person becomes the main
character in a sequel, and everybody's happy. Other times, though,
they get a quick write off at the end of the book and then they're
gone. All that potential lost!
It got me thinking that there should be a “Give This Person Their
Own Book” feature, where readers can vote online for such wonderful
but under-recognized characters to get their own books. At the end of
every year, the publishing industry would take the five characters
who received the most votes and commission the author(s) – or
others, if necessary – to write books in which they are the
hero(ine). Doesn't that seem like it should be not only doable, but a
fantastic way to expand the publication of excellent books? It'd be
hard to go wrong with characters that we've already established are
fascinating and beloved, the publishers would know ahead of time that
the books would have an eager audience!
In addition to the aforementioned mother/grandmother team, I'd have
to immediately nominate the following for inclusion in any such
contest (in no particular order):
- Gallowglass (Discovery of Witches)
- Miriam Shephard (Discovery of
Witches)
- Chase the Boundary Warden (Wizard's First Rule)
I'm sure there are others, but those are the first to come to mind.
Who would you nominate?
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