Relationships are...complicated.

How hard is it for you to create character relationships? 

It's so hard for me. I don't usually start out knowing who's going to end up together, if anyone. I'm not much of a romance writer, so romantic relationships are really hard for me. Now other relationships aren't as hard for me, but they do require work on my part.

Do you pre-plan them or do you end up letting them develop as the novel goes on? 

Sometimes I pre-plan them, but usually not. I just let the relationships develop as the story goes on. Sometimes I end up with surprise romances out of what I thought was a friendship. Sometimes I find relationships that are very different than what I had thought. When it comes to romance, the relationships I tend to pre-plan are those of the one-night-stand variety. I guess that's what my brain needs sometimes!

Have your characters betrayed you and paired up with someone you didn't expect? 

They haven't paired up with someone else, yet. But I wouldn't put it past them. Usually, like I said before, I get relationships I don't expect between characters I put together.

Give us the story of how your favorite written characters got together and what makes their relationships strongest.

Probably my favorite relationship so far is a bit of fanfiction Alternate Universe.

Here's a little back story on the AU: Take 5 Backstreet Boys, plop them in a sci-fi/Kindred-esqe type story. 4 of them are vampires, 1 of them is a werewolf. Now, the story line is this: the leaders of the supernatural world are upset because vampires being killed. This could out the whole supernatural society to humans! Enter 3 women, a vampire, a changeling and a human "Watcher" who is making sure everything stays under wraps from the other humans.

Okay, now with the back story set, here's my favorite relationship:

Werewolf and changeling were in an intimate relationship in college. Then one night, the changeling is kidnapped by the other changeling she was betrothed to. Werewolf kind of goes insane looking for her, but doesn't find her. He continues his search for the next number of years.

Now that the changeling has been assigned to this group, she must go back into the city where the werewolf lives. She changes her appearance so to not surprise him too much. Unfortunately, he knows it's her, he just can't prove it to himself. After a series of mishaps, fights and other strange episodes that almost makes it out like they hate each other, an encounter where the werewolf is injured sends the changeling to his side. They both brush off the bond as a fluke. Well, later, when the changeling is seriously injured, the werewolf is at her side and seriously protective. It's then that everyone else makes the connection that they are meant to be together. They eventually figure it out as well.

Oh, and a note about the guy she was betrothed to: he dropped her as "damaged" and was a real jerk about it!

I have no idea what makes this relationship so strong. Probably the idea that it goes over a long period of time and the fact that I know the two are bonded together but they don't know it.