Guest Author Post: Carolyn LeVine Topol and Character-Driven Stories *Book Giveaway*

KB: I met Carolyn a few weeks ago at the NYC Rainbow Book Fair where Dreamspinner Press had a table chockful of their books. If you're a fan of M/M fiction, definitely check out what Dreamspinner Press has to offer. Carolyn was voted the #8 Best New M/M Romance Author of 2009 at Goodreads and has five releases out.

I have been writing fiction and non-fiction for a number of years but only began to explore the option of having my fiction published a couple of years ago. It has been an exciting journey and I have enjoyed sharing my stories with a number of readers, a number of whom follow my updates on Live Journal (carolyn_l_topol) and Facebook (Carolyn Topol).

I feel honored and privileged to be invited to visit KB’s blog today and appreciate the opportunity to share this day with all of her readers!

One of my main focuses when I begin to write a new novel or novella is to get to know my protagonist(s). I strongly believe the main character drives the direction of the story and leads me to a logical conclusion. While in my writer mindset, each evening, before I go to sleep, I close my eyes and imagine myself as the character who is driving the next part of the story forward. He or she takes me on his or her journey of discovery, pain, fear, and romance. I actually visualize the actions and adventures the character is experiencing and fall asleep with those images on my mind.

By the time I wake the following morning I can’t wait to grab a shower, a cup of coffee, and begin to write all that was revealed to me the previous night.

In my first novel, entitled “Veiled Security”, the night before I was to write a particularly terrifying experience Del endures, I actually awoke from a nightmare. As the character moved past his ordeal, following his heart and body to recover from a frightening terror, I too became more and more uplifted.

In my second novel, “Waves of Fortune”, as the mystery unfolds and the two main characters become closer, both they and the reader also grow closer to learning the identity of a murderer in their midst. The light nature of the mystery, akin in style to that of an Agatha Christie intrigue, makes it no less challenging to wade through the small group of suspects, each one having a motive to have carried out the deed.

Even throughout my less intense pieces, true contemporary romances, such as “Healthy Obsession” and its sequel, “A Risk Worth Taking”, the characters run the show. They tell me when they’re ready to connect both physically and emotionally with the person they are clearly meant to be with.

My most recent release, the novel “Seasons of Change”, follows a life-changing year for a young rabbinical student. He faces the emotional challenges of moving past a lost love to finding and accepting new love, while at the same time dealing with his estrangement from a family who has sadly remained judgmental of his desire to come out of the closet and still be an active part of his religious community. This moving drama was written by the main character, Andrew, as he journeyed through a difficult time in his life to come out the other end as a whole, loving, passionate man.

This coming summer, Dreamspinner Press will be releasing my light-hearted series of three long novellas. “The Male Room” trilogy explores the ups and downs of finding love in the world of online dating and how three very distinct and different sets of men allow themselves to fall into the new age of dating.

Each story, set to be released consecutively throughout the summer months of June, July, and August, takes its main characters through the tangles that can arise despite the assistance of the sophisticated world of internet matches.

“The Male Room”, followed by “The Attorney” and “The Playwright” all demonstrate how, despite the perfectly suited profile, the people involved make their matches work... or not. Each man directs his romance to its logical conclusion.

I have to admit, there are times I feel like the character is whispering in my ear as my fingers take to the computer keyboard. Each of my stories enables the reader to follow the thought processes important to the lead character or characters. While I would love to determine the finale of the story, it only reaches my personal choice for conclusion if it makes sense for the character involved. No one can force anyone to make choices that are inappropriate and I believe my stories follow that line.

Plot forced stories are just that -- forced. The novels I have written, and will continue to write, allow the main characters to unfold, sharing with me how they intend to resolve the challenges and obstacles facing them. The one thing I can always guarantee is love will win out, for while I won’t challenge my characters choices, they live in the mind of a true romantic at heart.

I hope you’ll stop by my website (www.carolynlevinetopol.com) and take a more detailed look at all the stories I’ve written so far. I have just started a new novel. Hopefully you’ll get to see that one in the not-too-distant future.

Synopsis: Andrew Klein is going through the motions of life. He was one half of a perfect couple, and then tragedy struck, leaving Andy alone and consumed by grief. While his friends rallied around him, Andy is estranged from his Orthodox Jewish family, who find his sexual orientation and desire to follow the tenets of the more modern Conservative sect of Judaism intolerable. Despite the loss, Andy continues in rabbinical school, and then he finds comfort in the company of Jake Singer.

With the encouragement of his dear friend Kira and the unselfish support of a wonderful mother figure, Andy begins to face his growing interest in Jake, and the two begin a tenuous relationship. It will cause a cascade of change in Andy's life, change that will affect how he deals with the painful past, how he lives in the rocky present, and how he'll plan for a brighter future

Carolyn has a copy of Seasons of Change to give one lucky reader! Just leave a comment here by Tuesday, May 3rd for your chance to win.