Q&A with Marita A. Hansen discussion

I will be writing comments relating to this book on this new thread as well as adding quotes once I start working with my editor.

P.S. You think my other books are raunchy? Hell no! This book has unintentionally turned erotica, which I blame on Dante as well as Corey. I can't seem to keep one genre for the whole series, each book having a mind of its own.

The Behind the Lives series:

Behind the Hood #1 (Harsh Realism and many say Edgy YA)

Behind the Tears #2 (Dark Romance)

Behind the Lens #3 (Erotica)

The Characters in Behind the Lens who get a voice:

Dante: The main character and the one who gets the most chapters. He has a lot of relationship trouble in this book with two women after him: Kara (his ex) and Beth, both of those women fighting like banshees. You'll also meet his stalker, someone who will be playing a significant role in his life, along with his boss and someone linked to him, this last person causing most of the trouble.

Also for you ladies, Dante is one of the reasons this book turned erotica.

Kara: You haven't met Kara. She was mentioned in passing as a past love of Dante's in Behind the Tears. She is from Bosnia, and is a very feisty blonde woman with a wicked sense of humor, and right and wrong. Once she is given the go ahead by Craven, who Dante doesn't know is her boss, she full out tries to get Dante back, not wanting to have left him in the first place, but being forced to, and the reason is huge, something that turns very nasty at a point, not Kara's fault at all.

Beth: Still annoying as ever, but she soon starts learning what it's like to be involved with Dante, and it's not something she ever anticipated.

Corey: Gets himself into huge trouble like Dante, with one thing after another happening. Between his relationship with Sledge, Tama causing trouble, Tyler causing trouble, ANT CAUSING THE MOST TROUBLE, and so forth, Corey doesn't know what the hell is happening. As he said, he doesn't understand why people want him, because he's a pale, skinny, bald guy with cancer. Kara explains later on in the book the reason why he is constantly getting hit on, minus Tama who wants to hit him in a totally different way - AKA with his fists.

Sledge
Finally gets some, lol, and goes through the biggest growth in how he handles people learning about his relationship with Corey. Plus, he puts himself in huge danger, which will affect his future stories.

The Secondary Characters from Behind the Lens

Tama: Yes, he's back and just as juvenile as ever, and everyone will be happy to know that Tama finally starts getting what's coming to him, the first dose of it. And it is in this book that he meets Jenna from Graffiti Heaven, and you will see how their relationship progresses in Behind the Beat. Sledge did warn Tama about Jenna, but he was too stupid to listen :)

Nike: He's in a few scenes, and does something very significant near the end of the book, which affects future stories. And if you remember what he was like in Behind the Hood, he is very different now, the three months between those books having seen him grow from a boy to a man, and a very dangerous one. He is being primed as a killer by Craven, though Craven and everyone has no idea just how volatile and dangerous Nike is.

Ant: Yes, it's Ant from Graffiti Heaven, and you guys will hate what he's grown into. He is NASTY. He is extremely manipulative and very vengeful. He causes considerable trouble in this book, a real villain.

Jade: Dante's stalker and someone who plays a significant role in Dante's future.

Ash: This is not his book, so he doesn't play much of a role, but you will still see him, and be assured he will be getting points of views in future books, especially the one where he goes back to school

You're making me so excited!!!! I want June to be here now.

Harlen wrote: "You're making me so excited!!!! I want June to be here now."

I want June to be here too, because I can't wait to read what people think of it. It's my biggest book yet, the editing now pushing it to 140,000 words long!

A Continuation of the Secondary Characters:

Naf: Has gone AWOL. He isn't in this book at all, apart from the smell he left behind. The reason he's missing is that he's devastated over what happened with Aroha and has taken off. When he returns he will be a totally different person, this life change affecting him in a similar way to how the cancer affected Corey. Corey may have a physical cancer, but Naf has an emotional one. Expect his story-line (in future books) to be pointed in Juliet's direction.

Juliet: She doesn't have much of a role in this book, maybe a few scenes. I said Nike has a few scenes, but looking back he definitely has way more than Juliet. Juliet is more in the background here, from memory she is in the scene where Sledge and her are told they're adopted, a scene with Corey, and one where they are taken somewhere, and a couple small bits afterwards.

Craven: Although Ant takes on the majority of the villain's role, Craven still shows how nasty he is, or in fact, he doesn't really care, just wants money. Ant's vindictive, Craven's greedy.

Saul: Craven's right-hand man, and someone who will surprise you, one of the major twist characters. He is a complex character and is in quite a few scenes.

Mack: A sadistic thug who works for Craven and Ant.

Tyler: Poor Tyler really needs a loving man. He unintentionally puts Corey in a very bad situation, then walks in on it the next day and tries to help Corey, but ends up taking the brunt of the consequences. I want him to be happy because he has a sweet nature and doesn't deserve all the things that come his way.

Hunter: Hunter Rata from Graffiti Heaven is back. If you guys haven't read Graffiti Heaven yet, the prequel to Behind the Tears set ten years prior, I will give you a background on this man. He is Sledge and Juliet's real father, but only considers Ash as his son, even though Ash is in fact his cousin. But the close relationship he has with Ash means those two act like father and son. There is one scene with Hunter in the psyche unit with Ash and Dante, and another one later with Sledge, who is very angry to find out Hunter is his father.

Naf and Juliet? Aww, good - Juliet needs to find someone who'll love her.
Intrigued to meet Saul!
Uh-oh....Tyler accidentally puts Corey in a bad situation? I'm dying to know what kind of situation??
I'm glad Hunter's back - excited to see how it all plays out with Sledge & Juliet

Lorrie wrote: "Naf and Juliet? Aww, good - Juliet needs to find someone who'll love her.
Intrigued to meet Saul!
Uh-oh....Tyler accidentally puts Corey in a bad situation? I'm dying to know what kind of situation..."

Saul was briefly in Behind the Hood. He warned Nike about Craven's wife and then told Talia off for coming onto Nike. He plays more of a role in this book.

Oh, that's right!

I forgot to mention Jenna's part. It's only small, but people will get to see the beginning of hers and Tama's relationship, and learn that she became a mixed martial artist, who earns a living from fighting. For people who don't know Jenna, she's one of the main characters from Graffiti Heaven (as well as Crying Out Silent, which is being released this year). She used to go out with Ash before he got together with Tiana. Expect to see her play a major role in Behind the Beat, Tama getting an unhealthy dose of something he didn't see coming. Well, it's his own fault since Sledge did warn him that Jenna is a bunny boiler.

Cool, Jenna was hilarious, plus I hope the "beat" in Behind the Beat means Tama gets a few punches in his face, because he deserves it.

AngielovesYA wrote: "Cool, Jenna was hilarious, plus I hope the "beat" in Behind the Beat means Tama gets a few punches in his face, because he deserves it."

The "Beat" has more than one meaning (as planned). Yes, it refers to a physical beating in regards to what Jenna unleashes, but it also relates to a musical beat for Dante. Plus, everyone is trying to beat something or someone in this book, whether it's an injury, a competitor, etc.

For example, Kara and Beth are still trying to beat each other to get Dante, while Sledge is trying to beat an injury.

P.S. Behind the Beat may be the first in this series to have a female on the cover (Jenna), but I'll see how that story goes first as sometimes certain characters take over story-lines, although Jenna was a strong character from Graffiti Heaven, and my editor's favourite from that book. My editor did mention he would love a book written from Jenna's point of view, but since this series is done from multiple perspectives, the most he'll get is for her to take a major role. Plus, out of all of the females in both series, I think only Jenna, Kara or Kara's sister can pull off a cover. Kara has a wicked rosary tattoo around her right arm and hand, while her sister Marina (who will be taking a major role in another series) has a rosary tattoo around her neck and on her chest, like a rosary is resting there. The first book I ever wrote was about rosaries, so I'm going to pull it out of the dark depths of my computer (or memory stick) and give it a rewrite, then hopefully will have it published next year.