Death of Dulgath hits #1 on Amazon's Epic Fantasy Best Seller's List.

Wow, I'm thrilled that so many people are taking part in my belated birthday sale. I "think" this is the first time this book hit the #1 spot, but I'll have to look back through my records. In any case, I'm thrilled that it hit #1 now.

And don't forget if you buy the e-book you can get the audio version for just $1.99. So you can have both copies for less than $3.  Not a bad deal.  The discounted audio has no time limit, but to get in on the $0.99 sale for the e-book, pick up your $0.99 copy before the end of the day tomorrow.

Belated birthday gift - for you, rather than me.

I recently turned double nickels,  and I wanted to give a little gift to my readers. Unfortunately, Del Rey and Orbit control the pricing on most of my e-books, and it's not always easy to get them to reduce the price. Luckily I have a copy that I control, so for the next two days I've lowered The Death of Dulgath from it's normal price of $9.99 to just $0.99. I would have made it free, but since the book isn't enrolled in Amazon Select, $0.99 is the lowest I can go.

Now, the good thing about this book, is that although it is the third in the series, it's written as a standalone. So even if you haven't read the other books, you can jump right into the adventures of Royce and Hadrian with this one.

If you are aren't familiar with this title,  here's the "marketing copy" from the back of the book:

Three times they tried to kill her. Then a professional was hired. So was Riyria.

When the last member of the oldest noble family in Avryn is targeted for assassination, Riyria is hired to foil the plot. Three years have passed since the war-weary mercenary Hadrian and the cynical ex-assassin Royce joined forces to start life as rogues-for-hire. Things have gone well enough until they're asked to help prevent a murder. Now they must venture into an ancient corner of the world to save a mysterious woman who knows more about Royce than is safe and cares less about herself than is sane.

From the best-selling author of The Riyria Revelations comes the third installment of The Riyria Chronicles. Although part of a series, it's designed to thrill both new readers looking for fun, fast-paced fantasy and Riyria veterans wishing to reunite with old friends. For those who do wish to experience the entire Riyria saga, two reading options exist:

Oh, and one more thing I should mention. This book is also WhisperSync enabled. If you aren't familiar with it,  it's a really cool program.

• First, it keeps your kindle and your audio book "synced" up. So if you were listening to the audio book in the car and go into the house to read the e-book, you'll find it right where you left off...and vice versa

• Second, you can get the the audio book at a SUBSTANTIAL discount, if you purchase the ebook first.  So pick up Death of Dulgath for this incredible price and get the audio as well. After hearing Tim Gerard Reynold's amazing narration. You'l be glad you did!

Thanks everyone for your continued support. And I hope you'll take me up on this little reverse birthday gift - or gift a copy to a friend so we can all celebrate!

Author Discoveries: Amy Braun

In the past, I've not posted book reviews on my site. There are several reasons for this. First, I don't think it's an area that I'm particularly good at, and second, I don't want to field the inevitable flood of review requests that come with opening that particular Pandora's box. All that said, I do run across authors from time to time that I think are worth mentioning, and I would like to do what I can to bring readers and authors together. So here I am trying to shine a bit of a spotlight on someone you might not have heard about before. But first a bit of a preamble.

I decided many years ago that I wouldn’t post negative book reviews. I’m not a critic, and I don’t want to be one. It’s not my job to steer readers away from "awful books," particularly when I feel that the evaluation of any art form is a subjective one. Also, I’ve felt the sting of being on the receiving end of negatives reviews (although thankfully, they've been just a trickle rather than a deluge), and I don't want to inflict similar pain on others.

So why not just review books I love? Well, many of the books I read are written by already famous authors who don’t need me. Sales of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green are already astronomical and any mention from me won't move the needle. Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One has Steven Spielberg directing his movie. And Andy Weir, of The Martian fame, has no idea who I am nor should he, even though we met briefly this summer. So when a book is already well known and well loved, my comments would be a drop of water in the ocean.

Okay, well what about the books you love from lesser known authors? Well, that's something worth dipping a toe into, so here I am.  But let me start with a disclaimer.

One of the things I found I sacrificed when learning to write is my ability to enjoy most novels. Training myself to find fault in my own writing is something I can’t easily turn off when reading for pleasure. Most often all I see are missed opportunities. These days it’s a struggle to find a book I can finish. Now I’m not declaring that all those unfinished books are horrible. Many of those I put down are major bestsellers, so clearly I am in the minority. What I've discovered is I have specific preferences and the books I enjoy have managed to thread a very narrow needle. So while a recommendation for me might not mean it will appeal to all people, it SHOULD appeal to people who enjoy my work, since I write the kind of books I want to read.

Which brings me to Amy Braun.

Full disclosure: I don't know Amy. I’ve never met her. She didn't send me her book. She didn't ask me to write a review, and has no idea (until now, should she read this) that I have even read anything by her. No one else asked me to read it either. In short, there are no strings attached. I hate strings.

I was, in fact, attracted by the cover of Crimson Sky. That’s what made me click on the “inside the book” feature on Amazon. Then I was impressed by the writing style. The first page is a challenge for everyone, and Amy's opening was filled with the nice crisp, clean, clear quality that I appreciate. She brought me right into the story with an action scene that wasn't a tease (and as it turns out was indicative of the book as a whole). Nor was the opening a mass of fast-paced, emotionless confusion, which is too often the case with opening action scenes.

All of this led me from reading the free teaser to buying the book. What made me keep reading after that was the creativity and logic that went into the world and characters. The details were surprising, (I loved the bit about sugar), and the pace rapid. The characters were not perfect, but they were sympathetic. The world was dark, but not without hope.

I was delighted to find a novel I could read with only minor jolts to my inner editor. Of course, I find fault with any novel, even my favorites. Crimson Sky is no different. It isn’t perfect, but I haven’t found a book that is. I’m sure if you read it you will discover aspects you don’t like, and others you do. But honestly, how can anyone not applaud the audacity of mashing up extra-dimensional vampires and pirates in a post apocalyptic world where engineers are wizards, and the main character wears a key but has no idea what it unlocks or starts.

Unlike Green, Cline, and Weir, Amy Braun doesn’t have a major motion picture, and judging from her Amazon numbers, she isn’t being read by nearly as many people as she deserves. So while I’m not a critic, and don’t plan to become one, I do want to offer her my thumbs up. If you think you might like an action-packed, fast-paced, swashbuckling adventure that is light on graphic violence and profanity, and has a dash of steampunk and a sprinkling of romance, I know a book series you might enjoy. And it'll cost you less than $3 on Amazon (US) That's about the same price as the iced tea I have for lunch yesterday, and Amy's book was even more thirst quenching.

What's Hot in Epic Fantasy Audiobooks?

Well, I'm pleased to say a fair amount of my books are (#1, #13, #24, #27, #33, #46, #61).  Here's the list of the top 100 Bestselling Fantasy Epic Audio books (as listed on Amazon). But that's been the case for quite some time. The real reason for making this post today is that The Crown Tower (Book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles) currently on sale for just $3.95.  But you'll have to hurry as the sales ends August 31st.  Anyway, here is the full list:

Ranking	Title	Series	Author	Release Date	Rating	Reviews
1	The Crown Tower	Riyria Chronicles #1	Michael J. Sullivan	8/6/13	4.7	5,501
2	A Game of Thrones	A Song of Ice and Fire #1	George R.R. Martin	12/9/03	4.7	54,862
3	Dragonvein	Dragonvein #1	Brian D. Anderson	7/14/15	4.3	2,162
4	A Clash of Kings	A Song of Ice and Fire #2	George R.R. Martin	1/30/04	4.7	34,779
5	A Storm of Swords	A Song of Ice and Fire #3	George R.R. Martin	3/11/04	4.7	30,453
6	A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and...	A Song of Ice and Fire #4	George R.R. Martin	12/15/11	4.4	21,383
7	A Dance with Dragons	A Song of Ice and Fire #5	George R.R. Martin	7/12/11	4.5	25,906
8	Dawn of Wonder	The Wakening #1	Jonathan Renshaw	2/16/16	4.7	12,408
9	The Name of the Wind	Kingkiller Chronicles #1	Patrick Rothfuss	5/15/09	4.6	28,781
10	The Fellowship of the Ring	Lord of the Rings #1	J. R. R. Tolkien	10/9/12	4.7	12,945
11	The Wise Man's Fear: Kingkiller Chron...	Kingkiller Chronicles #2	Patrick Rothfuss	3/3/11	4.7	23,771
12	The Way of Kings	Stormlight Archives #1	Brandon Sanderson	8/31/10	4.7	24,086
13	Age of Myth	Legnds of the First Empire #1	Michael J. Sullivan	6/28/16	4.7	2,205
14	Son of the Black Sword	Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #1	Larry Correia	10/27/15	4.6	5,270
15	Cephrael's Hand	A Pattern of Shadow and Light #1	Melissa McPhail	7/26/16	4.5	147
16	Illidan	World of Warcraft	William King	4/12/16	4.7	1,936
17	A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms	A Song of Ice and Fire Novellas	George R.R. Martin	10/6/15	4.0	7,813
18	Words of Radiance	Stormlight Archives #2	Brandon Sanderson	3/4/14	4.8	2,009
19	Mistborn	Mistborn #1	Brandon Sanderson	1/11/09	4.7	2,292
20	The Two Towers	Lord of the Rings #2	J. R. R. Tolkien	10/9/12	4.8	8,935
21	The Drawing of the Three	The Dark Tower #2	Stephen King	1/1/16	4.7	1,945
22	The Eye of the World	Wheel of Time #1	Robert Jordan	5/3/04	4.5	16,542
23	Ultimation	Play to Live #7	D. Rus	8/16/16	4.6	86
24	Theft of Swords	Riyria Revelations #1	Michael J. Sullivan	3/16/12	4.5	11,371
25	The Return of the King	Lord of the Rings #3	J. R. R. Tolkien	10/9/12	4.8	6,583
26	The Cycle of Arawn	The Complete Trilogy	Edward W. Robertson	6/12/15	4.3	6,378
27	Rise of Empire	Riyria Revelations #2	Michael J. Sullivan	5/9/12	4.7	8,581
28	The Waste Lands	The Dark Tower #3	Stephen King	1/1/16	4.8	1,610
29	Wizard's First Rule	Sword of Truth #1	Terry Goodkind	10/15/08	4.3	6,852
30	Arcanum Unbounded	Cosmere Anthology	Brandon Sanderson	11/12/16	N/A	N/A
31	The Well of Ascension	Mistborn #2	Brandon Sanderson	3/21/09	4.7	17,784
32	The Hero of Ages	Mistborn #3	Brandon Sanderson	11/11/08	4.7	17,318
33	Heir of Novron	Riyria Revelations #3	Michael J. Sullivan	8/8/12	4.7	8,529
34	The Silver Theif	Cycle of Galand #2	Edward W. Robertson	5/24/16	4.8	2,526
35	The Great Hunt	Wheel of Time #2	Robert Jordan	5/3/04	4.6	11,384
36	The Fifth Season	Broken Earth #1	N. K. Jemisin	8/4/15	4.3	1,107
37	The Red Sea	Cycle of Galand #1	Edward W. Robertson	1/19/16	4.7	3,218
38	The Bands of Mourning	Mistborn #6	Brandon Sanderson	1/26/16	4.7	6,942
39	Wizard and Glass	The Dark Tower #4	Stephen King	1/1/16	4.8	1,339
40	The Twelve	Passage #2	Justin Cronin	10/16/12	4.4	5,732
41	Extermination	Daniel Black #3	William Brown	8/22/16	4.8	33
42	The Fires of Heaven	Wheel of Time #5	Robert Jordan	3/10/05	4.0	7,819
43	Spell or High Water	Magic 2.0 #2	Scott Meyer	6/17/14	4.5	8,181
44	The Queen's Poisoner	Kingfountain #1	Jeff Wheeler	4/1/16	4.6	434
45	Shadows of Self	Mistborn #5	Brandon Sanderson	10/6/15	4.6	8,321
46	The Death of Dulgath	Riyria Chronicles #3	Michael J. Sullivan	12/15/15	4.7	2,257
47	The Shadow Rising	Wheel of Time #4	Robert Jordan	11/3/04	4.6	8,765
48	The World of Ice & Fire	Reference Collection	George R.R. Martin	10/28/14	4.3	2,639
49	The Sword of Shannara	Shannara #1	Terry Brooks	3/18/04	4.0	4,262
50	The Dragon Reborn	Wheel of Time #3	Robert Jordan	11/3/04	4.6	9,654
51	The Lies of Locke Lamora	Gentlemen Bastards #1	Scott Lynch	5/13/09	4.4	7,667
52	Elantris	N/A	Brandon Sanderson	10/6/15	4.6	1,321
53	The Alloy of Law	Mistborn #4	Brandon Sanderson	11/8/11	4.6	10,929
54	The Blood Mirror	Lightbringer #3	Brent Weeks	10/25/16	N/A	N/A
55	The Thief's Daughter	Kingfountain #2	Jeff Wheeler	5/31/16	4.7	221
56	Path of Daggers	Wheel of Time #8	Robert Jordan	11/11/08	4.5	5,997
57	A Crown of Swords	Wheel of Time #7	Robert Jordan	10/25/06	4.6	7,733
58	Monster Hunter International	Monster Hunter #1	Larry Correia	3/15/11	4.4	11,700
59	A Warrior's Penance	The Castes and the OutCastes #3	Davis Ashura	7/12/16	4.5	585
60	The Aeronaut's Windlass	Cinder Spires #1	Jim Butcher	9/29/15	4.5	8,647
61	The Rose and the Thorn	Riyria Chronicles #2	Michael J. Sullivan	9/17/13	4.7	4,527
62	The Dark Tower #7	The Dark Tower #7	Stephen King	9/17/04	4.6	6,263
63	A Warriior's Path	The Castes and the OutCastes #1	Davis Ashura	8/21/15	4.5	1,679
64	A Memory of Light	Wheel of Time #14	Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson	1/8/13	4.8	10,038
65	The Last Wish	Witcher #1	Andrzej Sapkowski	5/5/15	4.7	2,015
66	The Obelisk Gate	Broken Earth #2	N. K. Jemisin	8/16/16	4.8	48
67	The Black Prism	Lightbringer #1	Brent Weeks	7/6/16	4.8	7
68	Winter's Heart	Wheel of Time #9	Robert Jordan	3/11/11	4.5	4,649
69	The Slow Regard of Silent Things	Kingiller Novella	Patrick Rothfuss	10/28/14	4.1	3,748
70	Ghost Story	Dresden Files #13	Jim Butcher	4/21/15	4.8	5,065
71	The Gathering Storm	Wheel of Time #12	Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson	10/27/09	4.8	7,746
72	Crossroads of Twilight	Wheel of Time #10	Robert Jordan	1/17/13	4.4	6,684
73	White Night	Dresden Files #9	Jim Butcher	4/23/09	4.8	9,387
74	The Troll King	The Bowl of Souls #9	Trevor H. Cooley	8/17/16	4.6	32
75	Sword of Destiny	Witcher Short Story Collection	Andrzej Sapkowski	12/1/15	4.8	979
76	Homeland	Dark Elf #1	R. A. Salvatore	3/26/13	4.5	5,377
77	The Waking Fire	The Draconis Memoria #1	Anthony Ryan	7/5/16	4.4	547
78	Turn Coat	Dresden Files #11	Jim Butcher	4/10/09	4.8	9,491
79	A Discovery of Witches	All Souls #1	Deborah Harkness	2/8/11	4.2	14,447
80	Towers of Midnight	Wheel of Time #13	Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson	11/1/10	4.8	9,094
81	The Magician King	The Magicians #2	Lev Grossman	8/9/11	4.3	5,147
82	The Magician's Land	The Magicians #3	Lev Grossman	8/5/14	4.6	4,270
83	Small Favor	Dresden Files #10	Jim Butcher	1/14/09	4.8	9,244
84	Blood of Elves	Witcher #3	Andrzej Sapkowski	6/12/15	4.4	1,673
85	Sojourn	Dark Elf #3	R. A. Salvatore	4/23/13	4.6	3,012
86	Nevernight	Nevernight Chronicle #1	Jay Kristoff	8/9/16	4.7	40
87	Gardens of the Moon	Malazan Book of the Fallen #1	Steven Erikson	10/13/12	3.9	3,545
88	The Blinding Knife	Lightbringer #2	Brent Weeks	9/26/12	4.7	1,949
89	A Warrior's Knowledge	The Castes and the OutCastes #2	Davis Ashura	11/23/15	4.6	1,124
90	The Once and Future King	Books #1 - #5	T.H. White	6/3/11	4.0	2,248
91	Otherlife: Nightmares	Selfless Hero #2	Wiliam D. Arand	8/26/16	N/A	N/A
92	Furies of Calderon	Codex Alera #1	Jim Butcher	1/7/09	4.4	7,414
93	Godsland Epic Bundle	Books #1 - #9	Brian Rathbone	7/20/16	4.0	24
94	Red Seas Under Red Skies	Gentlemen Bastards #2	Scott Lynch	9/21/09	4.5	4,782
95	The Wind Through the Keyhole	The Dark Tower #4.5	Stephen King	4/24/12	4.3	3,406
96	Critical Failures III	Caerns & Creatures #3	Robert Bevan	5/17/16	4.6	999
97	The Blade Itself	First Law #1	Joe Abercrombie	9/8/15	4.6	1,629
98	The Way of Shadows	Night Angel #1	Brent Weeks	8/10/09	4.3	4,505
99	Assassin's Apprentice	Farseer #1	Robin Hobb	3/2/10	4.2	4,421
100	Seven Forges	Seven Forges #1	James A. Moore	9/24/13	4.1	205

Sign up for Age of Swords Beta is closing

Hey all, Robin here.  I try to help Michael (who is really slammed right now) in making posts. For instance, he wrote one for SDCC, that I have to look over and copy edit before posting. But I also need to get this announcement out so people don't miss a deadline.

I'm closing the sign-up for those who want to be beta readers for Age of Swords (Book #2 of The Legends of the First Empire).  In general, we get many more people requesting to beta read than I could ever process, so there will be more people turned down than accepted.  To help you decide let me explain a bit about the process.

1. There is a sign-up form. Where I ask questions about whether you are a veteran Sullivan reader, or new to his works, also age, gender, whether English is your native language, and a host of other questions. The purpose of this is so I can develop a good cross-section of readers.  

2. I'll comb through the entries and narrow the list down. People will then get a write up telling them what to expect (but I'll give you the short form here). If they feel they still want to be a beta reader after finding out the expectations then they'll get a copy of the book in any number of ebook formats.

3. Some will provide feedback on a chapter-by-chapter basis, others will do so on a "reading session" basis (several chapters at once) answering questions about what they liked, didn't like, were confused by, etc.  They will also rate each chapter on a scale of 1 - 5 on things like plot, character, pacing, and overall enjoyment.

4. After completing the book, they'll do one last survey that will be used to give their impressions as a whole.

5. Finding typos or grammatically errors are not a requirement of the beta (we're not looking for free copyediting support) and because it is an early edition, there is likely to be several mistakes in the book on those scores. But, if you do happen to run across something then certainly noting them is helpful.

That's it in a nutshell. I had planned on closing the sign up on 7/31 but then I didn't get his post up until now.  Since I'm late in posting, you can be late signing up.  I'll close the doors for good on Wednesday.  

Thanks all, and I'll try to get Michale's SDCC post up soon.

SDCC Schedule - See you in San Diego (I hope)

In a few days Robin and I will be jetting off to San Diego for our first ever trip to San Diego Comic Con!  Here's my itinerary in case you want to drop by and say hi, get a book signed, or try to get one of the few remaining ARC's of Age of Myth.

Day	Date	Time	Location	What
Thurs	07/21	5:00 - 6:00 PM	Del Rey Booth #1515	Signing and ARC Giveaway
Thurs	07/21	7:30 - 8:30 PM	Room #4	Panel: Deleted Scenes with Kevin Hearne, Harry Turtledove, Tricia Narwani
Fri	07/22	All day	Various	Meeting with readers on a one-on-one basis
Sat	07/23	3:00 - 4:00 PM	Del Rey Booth #1515	Signing and ARC Giveaway

As you can see I'm available all day Friday, so if you want to meet, send me an email (michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com) and we'll setup a time. You don't have to have a SDCC badge to meet with me but you do need to be able to get to the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina since I won't have a car.

And of course there are plenty of other authors besides myself to visit such as: (To find a complete list of their event schedules click here).

• Renee Ahdieh
• Sasha Alsberg
• J. Patrick Black
• Mike Braff
• Terry Brooks
• Jeffrey Brown
• Pierce Brown
• Lorraine Cink
• Peter Clines
• Jessica Cluess
• Cristina Colangelo
• Andrea Cremer
• Blake Crouch
• Melissa de la Cruz
• Indras Das
• James Dashner
• Sylvia Day
• Camilla D’Errico
• Christopher Farnsworth
• Matt Forbeck
• Cory Godbey
• Alwyn Hamilton
• Kevin Hearne
• Matthew Holm
• Jennifer Holm
• Cole Horton
• Colleen Houck
• Jason Hough
• Rachel Ignotofsky
• Gini Koch
• Sarah Kuhn
• J.M. Lee
• Stacey Lee
• Todd Lockwood
• Tahereh Mafi
• Drew Magary
• Meagan Marie
• Seanan McGuire
• Chloe Neill
• Sylvain Nuevel
• Ryan North
• Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Sydney Padua
• Natasha Polis
• Bob Proehl
• Christine Riccio
• Ransom Riggs
• Brendan Reichs
• Patrick Rothfuss
• Paul Ruditis
• Romina Russell
• Cavan Scott
• Scott Sigler
• Nalini Singh
• Alan Smale
• Kathleen Smith
• Sherry L. Smith
• Thomas Sniegoski
• Anne Sowards
• Hayley Stone
• Rebecca Sugar
• Michael J. Sullivan
• Sabah Tahir
• Harry Turtledove
• Jessica Wade
• Andy Weir
• Chuck Wendig
• Scott Westerfield
• Kiersten White
• Judd Winick
• Lisa Yee
• Brenna Yovanoff

Hope to see you there!

From the mailbag, advice on creating characters.

I get a lot of mail from aspiring authors who are stuck or looking for help with their writing. It takes time to answer them, but I try to be as complete as I can. Robin was going through my email recently (she sorts it for me) and saw a response I made and said, "You should share this with others...why help just one person when others might find it useful?" She's so smart.  Well, I'm not sure whether this will help others or not, but I do think it makes sense to share it.  So here goes:

KS wrote: "I am having a hard time developing the characters. The story revolves around , a hobbit type creature."

My response:

First decided what you want them to ultimately do. What role they will play in the story. 

Let’s use Lord of the Rings as an example. 

Frodo. 

What do we need him for? To carry the ring. 

Why him? He is decent, kind, lacking in pride or a desire for power, making him resistant to the ring’s influence. This makes him ideal to carry it, and why others cannot.

In this way you can see how the plot will dictate much of the character. You need a person to be a certain way, to fulfill a task in the plot, and so you create that character. If you don’t need a character, don’t make them.

Once you make a character, get to know them the same way you might a real life person, by asking them questions:

How old are you? How tall? How much do you weigh? 

These are important while what color their eyes are is not. Even the color of their hair is not, but the length might be. Why? Because these aspect can influence the story. Many aspiring writers spend a lot of time on eye color, but I’ve never known eye color to affect a story, except for Dune. 

Parents? Siblings? Grandparents? Children? What are their names? What are they like. Do you like them? Do they like you?

All of these are standard physical features questions. They don’t usually make the character come to life, but some of these next questions might.

What is your goal in life?

What is your greatest fear?

What secret(s) do you not want anyone to know about you?

What are you most proud of?

What bad habits do you have?

What hobbies, or side interests do you have? (that have nothing to do with the story)

What would you say are some of your quirks—everyone has them.What’s yours?

What is your greatest failure? 

What are you most embarrassed of?

Who are your friends?

Who are your enemies?

What are some things that you like? And what things do you dislike?

What odd talents do you have?

What is your greatest weakness?

What is your greatest strength?

The more of these sorts of questions you can answer about your character, the more real they become, both in your mind and the mind of your readers. Knowing the characters well, knowing more than will ever be put in the story, is what makes them interesting. 

Don’t think you have to answer all these questions for every character. Knowing the answer to a handful will usually get you going. And they can change as you develop the character. The point is that in trying to answer the questions, you’ll learn things about the individuals you create, they will gain depth and you will see them better, understand them as people. (If you have trouble coming up with answers, do real life studies of people you know. You can even ask them the questions and see how they answer.) Also you can add more questions if you think of some good ones that might help.

The last thing you might need to do, is a brief history. 

You thought it might be fun if your character built ships as a hobby. Now the question is how did this develop? Did he learn this trade from his father? Oh—but no, you answered “orphan” to the parent’s question. So now you need to build a logical solution to this aspect of the character’s life. Working out that solution may provide important backstory that can be used in the novel. 

Also consider going on line and doing an image search for pictures of people you think might look like your character. Copy and paste it into a file that you can reference. Sometimes seeing a face will give you ideas about them. 

Hope this helps,