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Yesterday’s post was about Lara, the main character of How To Climb The Eiffel Tower. Today I want to tell you a bit about Lara’s mother. She doesn’t deserve that title, but it feels strange to call her Lara’s maternal host. She certainly didn’t deserve a name. Throughout the novel, she is always referred to as “Mama.” I toyed with Lara having a snarky nickname for her, but decided she didn’t merit that much effort on Lara’s part.

A little backstory on Mama, most of which never made it into the final drafts of the novel. Mama had a comfortable childhood in the mountains of North Carolina. Her parents were good, churchgoing folk. Her father was a mineralogist for several asbestos mines and her mother was a social worker. She broke her parents’  hearts when she ran off to Nashville as a teenager and returned a few years later with a two year old Lara. She then disappeared from Lara’s life for six years and didn’t return until her parents could no longer care for Lara due to their failing health. When Lara’s grandmother died, Mama refused to take Lara back to North Carolina for the funeral. When her grandfather died a year later, Mama didn’t bother to tell Lara. Mama could not hold down a decent job or provide a decent childhood for young Lara. When Lara was a teenager, Mama married Dale Clemmons and things went for bad to worse. . . . I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but suffice to say, Mama made some very poor decisions regarding Lara that could have saved Lara much suffering.

For a character that never actually appears in the action of the story, Mama is a very important character in the novel. Can you think of any physically absent characters in other novels that affect the plot?

The cover for How To Climb The Eiffel Tower will be officially revealed on May 1, 2014

I’m so excited, that I am giving away an Advanced Reader Copy of the book along with a small Eiffel Tower charm (you’ll understand why once you read the book). Visit my Facebook author page or clink on the link to enter now – Cover Reveal Giveaway

THIS POST IS PART OF THE BLOGGING FROM A TO Z CHALLENGE. FOR THE 2014 CHALLENGE, I WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING BITS AND PIECES OF RESEARCH AND BACKGROUND ON MY UPCOMING NOVEL, HOW TO CLIMB THE EIFFEL TOWER. PLEASE CLICK HERE OR ON THE BADGE TO THE LEFT TO SEE THE HUNDREDS OF OTHER PARTICIPATING BLOGS.