Had a long conversation with my wife about my book. She pointed out to me that women buy way more books than men. Even in my genre –  thrillers – women buy 60% of the books purchased. Women also make up 50% of the population (surprise!) And yet my book has relatively few female characters, and none in a prominent or powerful role.

Well, I explained, the book is based on my experiences working in startups with my friend, Roy, a man. The investors we pitched were typically men, and so were our other business partners. Some of the colorful characters in the book were loosely based on real people I’d known, also men. And men run the Russian mafia – they aren’t exactly an equal opportunity employer.

Besides, I pointed out, there were plenty of women in the book. Marty’s wife, the wife of one of his business partners, a stripper at a bar, the artist’s assistant and the baron’s wife. “Hmmm,” she said, “Do any of them get to do anything important?”  “Well one of them gets killed,” I said, “Does that count?”  Suzy was not impressed.

Then I mentioned the countess. She plays an important role in the story I’d put together of how the missing painting made it’s way from Germany to Oregon. “Great,” said Suzy. “How many lines does she have to say?”  “Well, none,” I replied. “She’s already dead when the books starts.” 

I could see the problem. If this were a movie, there wouldn’t be a single role for a top actress to play.

So we brainstormed solutions. And after a lot of talking, we got an idea that I’m really excited about. There’s a woman who is part of the backstory I’ve created for one of the key characters in the book. She’s got a name and an interesting story already. What if I took her out of the backstory, and moved her into a more prominent role in the plot of the book?

This actually solves some other problems that I’ve been having with the plot, and gives me some great ideas for some last minute plot twists and surprise reveals. So, I’ve decided to swap her in to replace a male character that I’d planned to have appear in a pivotal moment near the end of the book. She’s going to be a really interesting character, I can’t wait to write her scenes.

I’m not going to tell you her name, or anything else about her, because there are no spoilers in this journal. But I can tell you that’s she’s a powerful figure, and someone I can see playing an even more central role in books to come.

Michael