I just wrote a big Aaron chapter in my upcoming book the other day, and it got me thinking about the evolution of his character. Of course, the evolution was all in my head, not on paper, so I thought it would be interesting to share why I changed who he was supposed to be.
When I started writing the fourth book (yep, still no title), I thought it would be fun to have Morgan meet someone in Italy and maybe have a closed door fling. As I started learning about her though, as my characters love to give me a little dump about themselves when I start their stories, I realized that this didn’t fit her personality. She’s smart and wouldn’t waste her time on something that her heart wasn’t in, especially in her mid-thirties. Sure, she could have just enjoyed the time together, but I wanted to create some depth there. And I thought Aaron could be a perfect problem.
As I wrote that first chapter, I made Aaron into a boyfriend who she would find out was cheating on her on the plane ride back from Italy. But after I wrote it that way, dramatic as it was, I decided I had to scrap that too. I already did a cheating boyfriend in The Treasures We Seek, and I had a shady boyfriend in Good in Theory. I didn’t want that to be part of this story too because it does feel a little overdone.
So I turned him into someone wonderful who she just couldn’t be with. I gave him a strong personality that occasionally would clash with Morgan’s when they were together. I had them break up a couple months before her Italy trip for a benign reason: he was being transferred for work. No one’s fault. But Morgan loves her job and her city (Pittsburgh!) and wants to stay. He wasn’t enough reason for her to go because, in her heart, she knew that they were always somehow volatile, even with all the goodness they had in their relationship.
Aaron became the on-again/off-again boyfriend, the boomarang. They would break up, heal, and then run into each other for one reason or another and end up back together.
Initially, he served only that purpose, but I realized that we needed some closure after they bump into each other in Italy. There was clearly good in that relationship, and though she said no to going with him the first time, I wanted to bring up a chance for her to say no again.
The chapter I wrote about the final, true break was actually a fun and touching chapter because you get to see how Morgan grows as a person in this book and how her heart had always belonged somewhere else.
I certainly wish Aaron the best of luck in his new city, Charlotte, NC, because he really is a great character and deserves happiness there!
With only 3-4 chapters left to write, things are getting exciting! This book will be out in March, so mark your calendar!