My Latest Baby Goes Out Into The World With A Punch

There's something about the prospect of revenge that taps into the very animal inside us. It doesn't matter who you are. There's not a person on the planet who hasn't at one time or another wished for instant "karma" on someone else.

Movies like The Brave One, or Death Sentence, or the infamous slew of Charles Bronson Death Wish films, a revenge story hits us in the heart.

And so it was with no small degree of emotion that I penned Rabbit Punch. I started by asking myself what subject gets under my skin more than anything else. If someone did "_____" to someone I loved, I would totally lose my cool and go all Liam Neeson on them.

The answer, for me, was child sex trafficking. Considering I wrote the novel right after the birth of my firstborn son, "Rabbit Punch" is as raw and gritty as I could make it.

My other inspiration is real life hero Frank Corti, a retired junior boxing champion who served in the Royal Engineers. In 2009, at the age of 72, Mr Corti stopped a knife-wielding home invader using nothing but his fists. I've always enjoyed stories with a more mature protagonist because, simply put, old people are awesome!

Frank Cort

I can't name ONE horror movie starring a bunch of picture-perfect twenty-somethings that's actually scary. Why? Because young people scare too easily. There's nothing scary about watching a bunch of college students running from the boogeyman. Give me a character like Father Merrin from The Exorcist, a weathered old man who has seen it all. When someone like him gets scared, then you know the stakes are high.

All of this lead to the creation of the story behind Rabbit Punch as well as its main character, a 62-year-old retired boxer and tough-as-nails Scotsman, Glen McLeod.

From the back of the book

Glen McLeod learned to box the same way he learned to drink: through pain. Now 62 and a recluse in the rural community of Bath County, Glen spends his days with his garden, his dog, a bottle of hard liquor and harder memories.

That is until Lauren, the 9-year-old daughter of his next-door neighbor, is abducted.

When the county sheriff appears complicit in covering up the truth Glen begins his own investigation. The clues lead him to something more sinister than anyone expected. Caught between justice and revenge, Glen will discover what he’s truly capable of when he’s pushed against the ropes.

What My Non-Writing Friends Will Never Understand About Me

A character sketch of Lia Falls.

When I create a fictional character they come alive inside my head. Sometimes they're so vivid they start to... um...

...spmarm hmn sbt.

What?

Kombna ksi tish.

Can you speak up, please?

THEY SPEAK TO ME, DAMN IT! All right. I know. I'm weird. But it's true. I hear them in my head, and sometimes I talk back. I don't allow these conversations to take place in public because I'd rather not be introduced to tall men in white coats, a padded cell, and certain types of medication. So I'll carry on in private, thank you.

Maybe it is kind of crazy to have fictional characters speaking to you. Maybe it's like a multiple personality disorder. I don't really know.

All I know is that after I've imagined a character, after my conscious brain and my subconscious brain have come to a deep understanding of who the character is, I start to feel them like the memory of an old friend.

When I think of my friend Zack back in Vermont—big, tall, masculine, but with a little boy face and a teddy bear's demeanor—I can imagine him in any situation and know how he would react. A movie quote is never far from his brain. When he sticks his hands in his front pockets his thumbs always hang out. He's got a kind heart and a gentle nature. If someone picked a fist fight with him he would try to talk his way out of it first, though I've no doubt he could lay a guy on the floor with a single blow if he wanted to. Zack is built like a grassy hillside—he may look soft on the surface, but he's a rock underneath.

Because I know Zack so well, my imagination can predict his actions. If I were to try and write a story involving him, my will would not determine his behavior. His would. I might be able to steer his actions, but his character is still going to drive his narrative.

I've had stories take drastic turns as the result of a fictional character becoming so real to me that I feel them saying, "You're writing me all wrong. I would never do that. I would do this!" And the more I listen to them and follow their character the more awesome things happen.

In Children of the Falls this happens most frequently with the character of Lia. She was the first character who really came alive to me. Right off the bat I felt like I knew who she was. All I do is set her on her course and push her around with plots and tragedies, but I never need to script her response. It's probably why I enjoy writing her so much—I'm never sure what she's going to do.

I've tried explaining this to some of my non-writing friends and they just nod their heads with a somewhat vacant smile on their faces like a person opening a Christmas gift they really don't like. "Oh, slippers. That's... nice."

So if you're reading this and you totally understand it, that means two things. 1. You're crazy like me, and 2. I like you already. Aloha! Let's be friends :-)

Meet The Characters: Merek Viator, The Wildcard

Children of the Falls is a massive seven book fantasy series spanning several decades, three continents, hundreds of characters, and seven main narratives telling one massive story. Key to this narrative is Merek Viator.

About Merek

A praised knight and a skilled soldier, Merek eventually allowed the fame to go to his head. Through alcohol abuse and gambling, he brought the ultimate disgrace upon his family. Now an outcast, Merek seeks to find the one thing that could restore his family's honor: his lost sister, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery as a result of Merek's selfishness.

To get her back Merek accepts a job from a mysterious man working under the high king. His mission is to journey to a neighboring country, kill a wizard, steal from him a rare gem, and return it to the high king in exchange for the help he needs to get his sister back.

I picture Merek as the John McClane of my series. The guy is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has the worst luck, and knows how to take a beating.

Ultimately, Merek is a wildcard. A good guy? Maybe. But he's not above making morally ambiguous choices to achieve his goals.