Thanks for all the feedback. 😀 I stayed with the original cover but modified where I put my name and added that it was Dave and Mary’s book.
Regarding the edits:
As I’m going through the book, I realize the heroine is one of those women who needs a man to rescue them. I kept thinking she would stop being that way at some point in the book, but she never did. So for anyone who likes kick-butt women, she won’t be your cup of tea. And yes, I really do know women who are just like the heroine in this book, and one is a really good friend. I love Anna. She is who she is. I had no trouble writing her because her personality came through on the first page of the book. However, I am nothing like her. LOL For those of you who read An Inconvenient Marriage, I’m the Sue Lewis of the world, except I don’t like to ride horses. More power to anyone who does. I rode a couple horses, never liked it, and almost fell off of one when it darted off (without my command). Anyway, the last adventure when I almost fell and broke some bones was the last time I ever got on a horse. Okay, another honest moment. I don’t have Sue’s startlingly awesome looks either. But personality-wise, yep. I’m pretty much the complete opposite of Anna.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed it, but it seems that the two personalities (Anna and Sue) tend to attract each other. You have your Type A personality (me) and a Type B personality (the majority of close friends I’ve ever had, including my husband). I even get along best with my Type B personality kids, and my husband gets along better with the Type A kids. Being a psychology major (got a degree I have yet to use), personality types fascinate me.
And being a Type A, I would be whacking Citlali over the head with my purse to knock some sense into him if I was Onawa, but Onawa’s a Type B so she doesn’t, though I will say she comes to the point where she says “enough is enough”. Speaking of Onawa’s book…
Which brings me to an important point:
I don’t always agree with my characters. Something they do stuff that makes little sense to me at the time when I’m writing, but I’ve learned to trust my instinct and let the characters do what they want and be who they want to be. The book always turn out better when I do. So characters (much like kids) have a mind of their own, and there’s no use in forcing them to be who they want to be.
Hmm… I was just thinking of how strange it is that I wrote about two Type A’s that managed very well together: Jake Mitchell and Sue Lewis from An Inconvenient Marriage. I don’t often mix characters that way–one is usually a Type A and the other a Type B (out of instinct), but hey, if it works, go with it, right? 😀
Ruth Ann Nordin's Author Blog 
I’ve stopped trying to figure out what makes people get along or what makes them drawn to each other. I have friends who are both type A and type B. Of course, I pretty much get along with everybody. LOL. As far as what kind of heroines I like…well, it depends on what I’m in the mood for. And what the story is about. 🙂
The cover looks good!
Very true. The story is key, and the characters seem to develop as the story does. I have an idea of what the heroine and hero will be like, but until I start writing the book, I really don’t know what the characters will be like. That’s part of the fun of writing. Is it that way with you or do you know your characters ahead of time?
And thanks about the cover!
Oh, my characters always surprise me. Sometimes they even do stupid things I didn’t expect. And sometimes their personalities are a tad different than what I originally planned. Yep…that’s the fun of writing!
LOL Amen on the stupid things they end up doing. I’ve had some do that, too. That’s why I say we can’t control them. They will do whatever they want.
I have a few characters I’d like to whack upside the head. I think no matter what OUR personalities, we don’t always see eye to eye with our characters.
I have a friend who I’d consider highly intelligent but she’s written a character who is a tad immature–she does get better as the book goes along because that’s the purpose of the book. She (the author) gets criticized a lot for this. And I don’t just mean the book, SHE herself takes a lot of criticism for being immature or stupid because of her character’s actions. But that’s just it, it’s her character’s actions, not the writer. I think it’s hard at times for people to understand that how characters act to a situation isn’t how the writer would.
Maybe books should come with a warning:
Thoughts, actions, words, beliefs and ideas expressed by the character are independent of and not to be assumed as a reflection of the author’s beliefs.
I do like the font change. It’s much easier to see your name now.
I love the warning! LOL
I don’t know why people think the characters are like the authors. This is probably showing how appalling my taste is (since I know a lot of people hate Fred the Movie and other movies/shows Lucas Cruikshank has done), but I saw an interview with him on You Tube and he said he dated a girl who couldn’t separate him (Lucas) from his character as Fred so he dumped her. Then I hear some Twilight fans are mad as you-know-what at Kristen Stewart (who played the heroine Bella). She was dating Robert Pattinson (who played the vampire love interest, Edward), so some of the fans were happy to see the characters together in real life. Recently, the fans learned that Kristen cheated on him, and there’s a video where one of the fans is going crazy and cussing at her for doing that to “Edward”. I’d laugh at all of this if it wasn’t startling how these actors must feel when people look at them as the characters they play instead of understanding these actors are playing a part.
So I guess it’s not too surprising that some people reading books assume the authors are just like the characters. It boggles my mind since a (fictional) book is just a book. A good author lets the characters be who they are instead of imposing her personality onto the characters, in my opinion.
Tell the author I’m sorry for the crap she has to put up with.
It’s always best to listen to your characters or they’ll make life very difficult for you. 😀
LOL They definitely will, and that’s no fun.
I don’t know. It was entertaining for all of us. 😀
I’m glad someone enjoyed it. 😀