For those of you who’ve read the THIRDS series, you’ll know the cast list is pretty extensive. Not huge, but it’s still growing. Book three has a character cast list and glossary at the beginning as a result of this ever expanding universe of shifters. I’ve always loved writing stories with plenty of secondary characters. It’s probably why pretty much all my books are part of a series, because I just have so much fun with all these characters.

Writing a series with such a large cast is as challenging as writing the series itself, because when I set out to write secondary characters, each one has to be fully developed with a unique personality, backstory, quirks, and heartaches. Even if that character might never get their own story, he or she has to be fleshed out. When I started out writing the THIRDS, a lot of characters had yet to demand their own stories. Most of the time I don’t choose which couples will get books outside the main characters. A good deal of the time, these secondary characters develop relationships similarly to how people do in real life. They’re introduced and interact with each other. From there, they form bonds with one another, find themselves attracted to each other and fall in love.

Of course, this often leads to re-writes. For example, Ash Keeler had a much bigger impact on the THIRDS series than I originally intended or expected. He appeared as Sloane’s best friend, thundering onto the scene in all his foulmouthed, foul tempered glory. Ash Keeler was an asshole. He rubbed people the wrong way, was unapproachable, made inappropriate comments, and didn’t really care who he pissed off. I knew what and who he was. I also knew he had redeemable qualities. For one, his friendship with Sloane. The two had been best friends for almost twenty seven years. That alone told me there was more to Ash than this impenetrable force of anger and F bombs.

Then Ash met Cael, Dex’s younger brother. Cael is the opposite of Ash in every way. The only common trait they share is that they’re both Felid Therians. Both Big Cat shifters, though even then Cael is the smallest of the Big Cats. From the moment they met, Ash treated Cael different to everyone else. He was kind, patient, genuinely pleasant and caring. It left the team stunned. Some of them were pretty sure he’d been bodysnatched. Something happened to Ash when he met Cael. The more they interacted, the more I discovered about Ash. He was a hell of a lot more complicated than I thought. He fell for Cael. He’s straight. Or so he says. A lot. Things suddenly got a whole lot more complicated.

In Hell & High Water, Dex gets dumped by his boyfriend of four years, Louis Huerta “Lou”. Poor Dex has already been having the worst day ever by this point. You feel for him. When he needs Lou most, he comes home to find Lou packing up and moving out. Everyone hated Lou. He’d abandoned Dex. I could have left it at that. But I didn’t want Lou to just be this one dimensional evil ex that breaks Dex’s heart and we never hear from again, or worse, he comes back to cause trouble for Dex. Lou does come back in the second book. Readers are wary. Lou flirts with Dex, and Sloane gets pissed—rightfully so. Uh-oh. Sloane and Dex end up having an argument. They make up and Lou walks in on them. Sloane’s worried Lou might let the cat out of the bag on their secret relationship (pun totally intended). Now what? Dex and Lou go to the bar for a few drinks and a chat.

There were many ways that conversation between Dex and Lou could have gone. I wanted Lou to be just as strong a character as any of the other supporting characters. Lou is a smart guy. He’s compassionate and sweet. He realizes the mistake he’d made by leaving Dex, but also acknowledges they weren’t right for each other. He had four years with Dex and still cares about him very much. He also recognizes that Dex is moving on. Being the kind of guy he is, he wants to see Dex happy, so he asks Sloane if he wouldn’t mind if he and Dex remained friends—in exchange for revealing some of Dex’s secrets, which Dex’s is comically horrified about. Lou also gives Sloane some relationship advice. By book 4, Lou has a much bigger role to play than that of ex-boyfriend. By that book, he’s grown into his own. He’s met Bradley, the owner of Bar Dekatria, and well, they’re getting their own story.

So what’s the second most challenging part of writing a large cast besides full rounded secondary characters? It’s making sure they don’t overshadow the main characters and their romance. The THIRDS series has quite a few couples. Destructive Delta in particular has six out of its eight agents pairing up. So I have three potential couples, all with their own relationship drama going on. Since they’re on the same team with some characters being related and some being best friends, they’re always in each other’s hair. Sloane and Dex are the main couple in books 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8, but there’s drama developing between Ash, Cael, Calvin, and Hobbs.

The THIRDS series has a linear timeline of events, so each book leads into the other. I couldn’t wait eight books to get to the other couples. It was natural for their romantic relationships to develop along the way until it was time for them to tell their story in their own words. I just had to make sure that what was going on with them wouldn’t detract from what was going on with Dex and Sloane. Finding a balance has been tough, but I think I’ve managed to find it.

Do you enjoy ensemble casts in book, movies, or TV shows? What do you like most about them? Do you have a favorite?

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About the Author

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From Historical to Fantasy, Contemporary to Science Fiction, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in South Florida, Charlie looks forward to migrating to a land where the weather includes seasons other than hot, hotter, and boy, it’s hot! When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

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