Inspiration for Redemption : A dystopian military adventure.
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The seed for my eighth novel, Redemption, was planted during a conversation at a
meeting of my Writer's Guild. What makes a character good (protagonist) or bad
(antagonist)? I maintain that no one is completely good or bad, instead,
everyone acts in their own best interests. When those self-centered drives are in
opposition, conflict is created. If someone opposes a person's goals, they become
a villain; in short, we are all heroes of our own story.
Taking that thought process further, I decided to write a novel with no heroes.
To do that, I created two despicable people but gave them reasons why they turned
out that way.
The setting for the story is the world as it was just before the time of my Extinction
Series. Nations have fallen, parts of the globe are inhabitable due to a limited
nuclear exchange, and the USA has devolved into walled city-states surrounded by
anarchist tribes. In the story, Las Vegas is under siege by a tribal army.
Eris Johnson, aka the Witch, was abused as a child and now runs the city with an iron
hand. Her actions come from fear seeded in her past.
Tom Deimos, aka the Reaper, grew up in a forced labor camp and saw his family murdered
by the guards. His actions as a paid assassin are fueled by rage.
In writing, I wanted to move the two main characters from their despicable actions and
push them toward redemption (hence the name of the book). It's about leaving fear and
rage created by past experiences behind, and becoming better people.
It was also the first time I wrote from the point of view of a female. Authors often
struggle with writing a character of their opposite sex, and I think my efforts turned
out pretty well.
Purchase Redemption now.
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