Readers often find guidance in their book selections by participating in book clubs and online group discussions. Authors sometimes provide discussion questions for readers to use as a means to delve further into the plot or perhaps the superficial façade of a given character. Some fiction authors provide character dossiers as an introduction to what the reader could likely expect from these characters. Although they are not consistently used, these sorts of literary guides may highlight facts or characters' traits that could be easily overlooked by the reader. Of course the reader seeks primarily to be entertained, yet curiosity provides the means by which the reader can even ponder for even a moment about a poignant moment or even the mundane which leads to a greater matter. Though characters may ordinarily be presumed as the driving force of the main plot, they are other integral aspects of the storyline which are just important. Characters move about, they travel, they recline, they sit, they also "do". What they perform, what acts they engage in often include variables external of themselves—even in a void of space, they are interacting with something beyond their person. We may take these ordinary notions for granted, but when reading a story of fiction, even minute details may serve as a catalyst for extraordinary events.

The author previously announced two sorts of literary guides she has created to supplement her currently available novels. They are 'Getting to Know the Characters' and 'Special Objects'. Here the author begins with the person and what they may hold, release or keep on their person as part of telling their story. Some traits may serve as filing the silhouette of the figure, for the reader to be able to see to whom the author is referring to. Other characteristics grant the reader a plausible assumption as to how a character will respond in the next scenario, or with another characters. These nuances provide the reader a form of literary clay in which he or she begins to mould their understanding of what the text is about, or what they presume it is about. For the reader, to see the words, to interrupt, hear their own voice narrate while respecting the life of the character that the author has written is an interplay between artist and audience. The author has breathed initial life into the characters they created and present them for the reader to observe. The characters' stage leaps from sitting on the pages of the book and into the mind of the reader. This new platform has a new person to draw the curtains back. The reader can even consider themselves the temporal director, interpreting how the voices, how tailored and what saturation of hue their garments may be and how bright is the sun is when the author describes a "sunny day". When an author provides these literary guides, they are giving the reader blueprints. The reader may still shuffle some of what the author has outlined, for it is natural to filter through one's perspective and experiences. Yet the reader is still able to connect with the author. This is not just through the words written and read, but it is through the imaginary breath that author and reader's interpretation has imbued into the same characters. Even still, for the author, telling their story provides the basis to incorporate these objects and characters into the primary plot.

So what follows characters and objects? For Patricia M. Muhammad, she has chosen two additional literary guides, places and interesting facts. The character may walk with something in hand, but where are they now, and what is the character's destination. This is the importance of place in the story. A novel may begin with the broader setting of 'place'. For instance, this author has written historical romance novels with a distinct marker of time and place. Love Captured's story is written for 18th century, England. Yet, place may not always be physical. Emmeline, the protagonist knew that she did not "fit" within the family she had known all her life. She trekked across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving one physical place, the North Carolina colony, for another, Liverpool, England. So what is so interesting about that? To sail across the high seas was likely the normal mode of international transport during that time. Yet for Emmeline, her travel was based on a clue, an interesting fact which motivated her to undertake such a sojourn. Another sort of fact the reader may be inclined to learn is how the author created or was inspired by names. Just as the reader will interpret the story based on their own experiences, the author may have created an incident inspired from his or her own experience. This is another manner in which the author and reader who generally have never had contact, have now been linked through a literary work of fiction.

The author, Patricia M. Muhammad, announces that the following literary guides are available on her website (pmmuhammadbooks.webnode.com): 1) 'Getting to Know the Characters', 2) 'Special Objects', 3) 'Places', and 4) 'Interesting Facts'.

Each guide for each available title is free to download as a .pdf for Patricia's currently available titles: Love Captured, Hidden Valor, Ardor's Prestige, Stolen Grace, The House of Marchesi, The Speakeasy Murders and Murder By Dissent. Her literary guides are free and can be found on the author's website as a downloadable .pdf file after clicking the image of each book title.

About the author: Patricia M. Muhammad is a multi-genre fiction author who has currently written 20 novels. She enjoys traveling abroad, landscape photography, and genealogical research. Patricia is currently based in the United States.

Connect with Patricia:
Social Media: @pmmuhammadbooks
Website: https://pmmuhammadbooks.webnode.com