Griff made his first appearance in Wicked Obsession. He revealed pieces of her personality to me as I wrote it, but aside from attitude, he didn't reveal much. I knew his first name was Jonah and that he was a medic and that he's protective. One of my favorite lines in this book is when Griff tells Ryder that "this team takes care of its women and we consider Langley one of ours."
He was more present in Finn's story, Wicked Intention, and that's where I learned a few more things about him. Like he doesn't want to be called Jonah. He goes by JT. And I'm like well, why do you let Langley call you Jonah then? No reply. Of course.
It was during Finn's book that I learned Griff is incapable of walking away from a woman who needs help. He also worries about his friends and is the team's "mother hen."
Then it was time to write Wicked Salvation and I really needed to know Griff then. He was actually pretty forthcoming, maybe because he just says it like it is so much of the time. The one issue we had was my fault. Usually, the character keeps secrets from me and unloads a bombshell as I'm writing. Griff didn't do this to me, but I wasn't a huge fan of the piece of information he gave me.
Instead of dealing with this up front, I tried to straddle the line as I wrote the first draft. I was hoping what he told me was wrong and I could pivot another direction. Only he was telling me the truth. And this meant on one of the revision rounds, I had to rewrite the fence straddling and foreshadow what he said.
To be honest, I'm not sure why I ever resist what my characters tell me. I always end up doing things their way in the end. I've never won a single disagreement with them. Ever.
As it turns out, the most abrasive of my heroes is also biggest sweetheart of the group. The softest touch. The one who's ready to help someone else without being asked. And in the case of his heroine, ready to help even though she doesn't want his assistance.
