Charley

When I decided to write my novel, there were a few characters that I had in my head that I wanted to bring to life.  One of those characters was a guy named Charley.  Granted, he is a fictional character, but he is based on someone I used to know some years ago.

The only similarities between the character in my book and the guy I used to know was the number of years that it took to completely harness his hopefulness about life in general.  You see, there was a time when "Charley" felt like he could make a difference.  There was a time when he fell in love and didn't worry about getting hurt in return.  It was just before the latter years that I wrote about Charley.

To me, he was a pure spirit.  He had his faults as we all do, but he really tried to love better than he was loved, work harder than others worked for him and sometimes, people took advantage.  It was during these times that I saw him help those down and out even though he couldn't see they were dragging him down with them.

Never mind trying to help him or warn him.  People see what they want to see.  While those who took advantage of Charley took on an ugly reflection, somehow, Charley was still able to see the beauty that had been lost long ago on these souls.  It is then that I imagined Nicholas meeting Charley.  Full of emotional baggage but able to love someone who felt totally unlovable without taking advantage.

Sometimes watching life happen is a cruel vision while being a writer can give solace to the weary.

Read about Charley in my novel.  You'll be glad you did.

JRS

Now Begins the Marketing Process...

They say the easy part is writing the book.  (I might beg to differ with that) Now, post novel, the author must bring out every nuance of their book to make it absolutely impossible to resist to their potential customers.

Easier said than done, my friends.  I've held this story close to my chest for at least 3 years.  I know the characters as if they were breathing, living human beings.  I see this book as a movie because I can see expressions of my characters, the horror of discovering the death of a loved one, living through what seems to be hell, to live and re-live trauma until you're sick of it, questioning faith, questioning sexuality, not knowing where "home" really is and finally, going through the emotional work it takes to find your way back.

The book starts with a jolt and the main character, Nicholas becomes our guide into living within a dysfunctional family and trying to find some semblance of happiness.  Sometimes we make it, sometimes we don't.  That's our challenge.

For some reason, the actor Adrien Grenier reminds me of my MC, Nicholas.  I guess he was my honorary muse.  Who knows what will happen with this novel?  The last word was written to the story, so I twittered Grenier to let him know.  I've kept him apprised of my progress all along and offered links to my work along the way.  I'm happy to say that the links were used.  Now we'll have to see where this goes.

Next post, I'll talk about "Charley", the owner of a small drag bar in New Orleans and how he revealed himself to me.

JR

How Does Writing a Novel Begin?

After I got this gig writing for JR, I sent him a list of questions I had regarding his book. In order to give you a "behind the scenes" look at this novel, I thought I would delve into his emails and discuss that very topic with him.

Question: How did you come to write this novel? What was the first thing that got you to thinking about this plot line?

Answer: I don't know if other authors do this or not, but when I create characters, I try to create a unique human being in my mind's eye. Covering everything from physical traits to clothing they would wear, verbal slang, music they like and so on.

I was in my car one day running some errands. I had Jonny Lang's CD, "Wander This World" playing and was listening to the title track. The lyrics paint a picture of a man that feels alone and is homeless. Exhausted both physically, emotionally and hope in short supply. I began to "see" a character in my mind's eye that would feel this way. I could literally envision the character, Nicholas Fontenot walking in time with this song on the streets somewhere in middle America. Feeling desperate and tormented. That's when the creative juices start flowing.

I think the lyric that grabbed me most in that song was, "Even God has lost track of my soul." It's a very lonely, hopeless feeling to really feel that way. The story of "The Long Road to Extradition" was born from that song.

My hat's off to Jonny Lang. He introduced me to Nicholas Fontenot.

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I encourage readers to listen to this song. It's very interesting to see how JR crafted a novel from this song. The links provided for Jonny Lang's music is a free listen.

Til Next Time-

The Freelance Writer