Character Friday: Chris Truscott

This week, Chris Truscott is going to tell us about Holly, a one-night stand to took a larger role than expected.

Camille: First, tell us a little about Holly.

Chris: In Stumbling Forward, Holly's a 23-year-old recent graduate of the University of Minnesota who's trying to break into liberal-progressive campaign politics. This is much to the chagrin of her wealthy and conservative parents in the suburbs, who would prefer to see her get married and start raising a family--like her two older sisters. A bit of a party girl, certainly, Holly's also intensely loyal to those around her and very good at the jobs she manages to land.

Camille: What made you create her?

Chris: Holly was created as barely a step above an "extra." She made what was supposed to be her first and only appearance in the very first scene of the first chapter in Stumbling Forward. She was simply a one-night stand the main character was trying to get rid of one morning. She didn’t even have a last name until I decided to bring her back toward the middle of the book—crossing paths again with the male lead.

Camille: What makes Holly special to you?

Chris: I like this character a lot because she was an accident—a complete and total fluke. (My female lead was also an accident, meant only to be a secondary character before she stole the show in the first few chapters.) Holly is a free-spirit in a political world that produces a lot of people who stick to convention. She's not afraid to be who she is, to have fun and to say what she thinks.

Camille: Do you have more planned for her?

Chris: Yes. Holly evolved from an “extra” at the beginning of Stumbling Forward to a minor character in the middle and a solid supporting character at the end. In the final four books of the series—including the recently published A Referendum on Conscience—Holly returns as a main character. (And she’s a devoted friend to the man from her initial scene and to his new love interest. She’s a supportive and grounding force in both of their lives.)

You can find Holly in two of Chris Truscott's books:

Stumbling Forward: As Election Day nears, Clarissa Rogers, a young idealist, is hit with the reality that winning may not be the best thing. Along the way, she captivates a womanizing political consultant, draws the attention of people who could change the world, and emerges as the one person who might actually be able to send an egotistical, opportunistic and unqualified candidate to Congress.

A Referendum on Conscience: A terrorist attack. A vote against a popular war. A re-election campaign. Rebecca McElroy is looking forward to retiring as she nears the end of her second term in the U.S. Senate. Then terrorists launch a devastating attack on Washington that drives the country into a bloody war and changes everything for the pacifist senator from Minnesota.