.png)
Behind Lexi follow a parade of odd male figures, each with a claim to characters in the fiction myth of The Josephine Chronicles. Some of these odd male figures have helped shape Lexi's overzealous father figure who in the books is borderline cult-like in his beliefs.
I grew up in a home that attended a very conservative Baptist Church. In these types of churches "spare the rod and spoil the child" could be taken too far. While I have no admiration nor tolerance for those extremes and characters, I am likely to use them in the coming books, as material for local town eccentricities, and for the backdrop of the cult commune.
Another likely candidate for the evil character of the cult leader is a man I met while living close to my mother for a couple of years after going through separation and divorce. This particular man displayed many of the cult leader-type characteristics. Being in a very large town, driving an hour and a half to work was difficult. I plugged into a group of professionals who attended a large church in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Being a single girl among a group of what seemed to be trustworthy people, I connected with a single man who pursued me. I found myself face-to-face, with a very scary personality, who was prepared to harm me. It was a situation I had to literally escape without sharing details with my family for fear they might also be harmed. This became the backbone of a certain type of personality, which I will write about in my novel, The Josephine Chronicles.
My male hero protagonist will display some characteristics of a man who was a parole investigator in Alaska for many years. It is his description of some situations he experienced that will be the backdrop of some intense scenes.
Another such male influence is a military intelligence captain, whom I call a friend. He is brilliant and lives miles away. It is the distance and lack of contact that gives this particular friend, the black op influence for my FBI series. He is mysterious and delicious in my eyes. I feel privileged to call him a friend and also care about how I carry this weighty friendship with the carefulness of the deepest respect.
Comments