One of the perks of being a writer is spending time with other
people whose minds “work” the same as ours do. Our Lady Writers’ group decided
recently to share our thoughts about the men in our lives. Not our husbands,
our brothers, or our sons, but the other
men in our lives: the characters we write. Each of us picked a favorite, and it
was no easy task. We’ve all written multiple novels and have been a part of
many characters’ lives. But there are always standouts, those characters you
come to love above all others. Here are ours.
The Two Men in My
Make-Believe Life
Sahar Abdulaziz
I’ve written quite a few male characters to date. Some have
been devious, sneaky… sociopathic… evil, and, well, frankly, off-the-wall-nuts.
On the other hand, I have also written brave, loving, considerate, loyal,
charming male characters that can make one’s heart throb and soul ache.
However, if I’m being totally honest, my most favorite male characters of all
time have got to be Melvin Vine, from my book, The Gatekeeper’s Notebook [2019 release] and Irwin Abernathy from my novel, Unlikely Friends, [Feb/2019 release]. In-love doesn’t nearly come close to describing how I feel about these two.Sahar Abdulaziz
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Melvin is a man on the spectrum whose artistic talent is
beyond genius. He is awe-inspiring, kind, a steadfast and loyal friend with a
heart that knows no evil. Despite the curveball’s life has thrown him and the
cruel people he’s had to endure, he’s never stopped being the compassionate and
insightful man more people need to become.
And then there’s Irwin Abernathy, my grouchy, cranky
librarian who would rather be knee-deep in a good book than surrounded by
people… any people. No peopling.
Irwin is what I would describe as a social introvert. A curmudgeon. He finds
humans an unnecessary distraction. However, here’s the thing about Irwin than I
find so appealing. He’s authentic. A
man of his word. What you see is what you get. He doesn’t superimpose judgment,
but when faced with hardship, he stands true and loyal, refusing to back down.
He’s the guy who will move mountains to do the right thing [albeit grumbling
under his breath the entire time].
Despite Irwin’s grumpy demeanor, and Melvin’s over-trusting
persona, they are the kind of friends that everyone needs, but not many
deserve.
About Sahar
Author of The Broken
Half, As One Door Closes, Secrets That Find Us, But You LOOK Just Fine, Tight
Rope, Expendable, as well as the upcoming novel, Unlikely Friends, Abdulaziz again demonstrates that those who have
suffered abuse are not victims, but survivors.
The Leading Man in
The King's Jewel Series
Belinda M Gordon
The King's Jewel Series is full of interesting male
characters, both human and fae. But to select one to tell his story makes for
an obvious choice. Of course, I'm talking about the saga's leading man,
Alexander Mannus.
Alexander (Xander) has been through a lot in his life.
His mother disappeared when he was 7 years old leaving him
and his brokenhearted father with nothing but unanswered questions. In her
absence, Alexander obsessed over the unusual gemstone she had left behind.
Studying geology became his passion.
Alexander became an officer in the US Marines, respected by
his men for his fierce might-for-right attitude and his odd sixth sense. An IED
abruptly put an end to his military career and left his right arm and hand
nearly useless.
While recuperating at Walter Reed Medical Center, Alexander
married. A year later his young wife died in a car accident, leaving him to
raise his infant daughter, Sophia, alone. He became slow to trust and
protective of his loved ones—ever fearful of losing them.
He spent years wandering the globe with his daughter and his
best friend mining gemstones, yet he never found any that matched his mother's.
Until one day he received a letter from an elderly woman in the Pocono
Mountains....
And here Tressa's Treasures begins.
About Belinda
Belinda M Gordon was born and raised in Pennsylvania and
currently lives in the Pocono Mountains wonderfully supportive husband and a
crazy dog named Max. She is of Irish heritage, which is how she became
interested in Celtic Mythology. She used the Celtic Mythology, specifically of
Ireland, as the starting point of her Romance/Fantasy series, The King's Jewel.
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Becoming
Most of my leads are male, so choosing just one to highlight has been a challenge. I’ve enjoyed writing all of my guys, from creating their backstory to watching them grow on the page. Learning from them as they face challenges, crying as their hearts break, sighing with deep contentment as they find a happy ever after—with a partner, but also with themselves.
In the end, I decided to write about Max from Block and Strike. Max is one of my
youngest leads at only twenty-two, but his growth on the page far outstrips
anyone else I’ve written. I think I fell in love with Max when, during a critical
scene in the book, he didn’t react the way I’d expected him to. Instead of running
from a certain conflict (as outlined), he turned around and stood his ground.
As a writer, this was a pretty pivotal moment. I hadn’t had
a character do this before. Max’s love interest, Jake, had proved a little
ornery, but was mostly following my outline (except for nixing my entire first
chapter and telling me where I should start the book). But Max had been
following the program, and it was about then that it clicked for me that I was
writing something more than a simple romance—I was writing the story of Max’s
becoming. Over the course of the novel, he would grow and change into the man
he wanted to be and it was kind of beautiful. So I let him stand his ground in
that scene. I watched with pride as he conquered the rest of the story, not
only allowing himself to trust and fall in love, but to become strong and
self-reliant.
From Max I learned that all of my characters have lives of
their own and that if I listen to them, they’ll tell me their stories. All I
have to do is write them. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with every character
I write, because I always remember how Max taught me to craft a better novel.
About Kelly
Kelly is the author of eleven novels–including
the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke–and several
novellas and short stories. Some of what she writes is speculative in
nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning
dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes
finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.
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My Favorite Male
Characters
Susan Moore Jordan
This was really a no-brainer: my favorite male characters
are Andrew and Jacob Cameron, brothers I followed through two books, Memories
of Jake and Man with No Yesterdays. The books cover a period of many years,
from 1954 to 1992. From a traumatic childhood experience to high school and
college, and then into the Vietnam War and its aftermath. One or both of them
experienced every phase of the Vietnam War, from the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
to the fall of Saigon. And beyond the war, Andrew visited the Wall. Jake spent
time with Vietnam vets who couldn’t get their minds back into being home.
Yet throughout all this, they strove to find a way to lead
happy and productive lives. The love between them was stronger than time and
space, and until they were together, the walls between them obliterated, that
happiness couldn’t be complete. Andrew and Jake took me on a difficult,
sometimes painful, often uplifting journey. The art and music in their lives
became a lifeline for each of them in different ways. Jake, the adventurer,
followed a path that became a physical odyssey as well as an emotional one, and
his new-found love of music eventually brought him happiness. Andrew, the
homebody, used his talent as a gifted painter to conquer the trauma of his war
experience and to connect more completely with the people he loved most.
Andrew and Jake Cameron. Each of them walked through fire
and emerged renewed.
About Susan
Jordan attended the College-Conservatory of Music in
Cincinnati and moved to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania in 1971 with
her late husband and three young children, where she established a private
voice studio and directed local community and high school musical theater
productions. Since 2013 she has been writing novels (nine in print to date), combining her experiences of
tragedy to triumph and her love of music, including “companion” novels, Memories of Jake and Man with No Yesterdays, released
in March and November of 2017.
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