Steve Grobschmidt's Blog
May 3, 2023
The Inspiration Behind The Character Darrow
One of my favorite characters to write in the Gamma Trita series is the mercurial mercenary Darrow. I've gotten some feedback from readers echoing their appreciation for him too.
How did I come up with him?
There was always a plan to have a hired gun under the employ of Marco Deed, helping out at the end of Gemini Girl and beyond. However, a revisit to a favorite old sci-fi show over the holiday season of 2022 inspired me how just to write the merc.
The show was Blake's 7. It was a popular British science fiction show from 1978-1981. The setting was a bleak, dystopian future. A very oppressive, totalitarian regime called the Terran Federation ruled Earth and beyond. Among the most prominent dissenters was a ragtag band of freedom fighters led by the titular Roj Blake.
I discovered the show in the mid 80s, on PBS. The effects, even then, weren't very impressive but the strength of the show was the writing and the characters. My absolute favorite was an antihero named Kerr Avon. Not unlike another 80s favorite of mine, Ham Tyler (played by Michael Ironside) in the "V" miniseries and TV show, Avon was a bit of jerk and most certainly self-interested. But he was so captivating and dynamic as a character that he wound up outlasting Blake himself, who went missing and was presumed dead halfway through the show's run.
Avon was played by Paul Darrow. Even after a pretty grim finale to the series, Avon lived in in various books, some of them written by Darrow himself.
Sadly, Paul Darrow passed away in 2019. But I, and many sci-fi fans, will never forget him because of just how cool and cunning Avon was.
So when I came up with my own self-serving, not-entirely-good-but-definitely-not-bad rogue, I looked to Avon for inspiration. My Darrow has similar traits of calling like it he sees it, even if it's blunt and insensitive. He operates by his own moral compass, certainly for money but other reasons too.
I also decided to name him after the great man who played Avon.
Thus became Darrow!
How did I come up with him?
There was always a plan to have a hired gun under the employ of Marco Deed, helping out at the end of Gemini Girl and beyond. However, a revisit to a favorite old sci-fi show over the holiday season of 2022 inspired me how just to write the merc.
The show was Blake's 7. It was a popular British science fiction show from 1978-1981. The setting was a bleak, dystopian future. A very oppressive, totalitarian regime called the Terran Federation ruled Earth and beyond. Among the most prominent dissenters was a ragtag band of freedom fighters led by the titular Roj Blake.
I discovered the show in the mid 80s, on PBS. The effects, even then, weren't very impressive but the strength of the show was the writing and the characters. My absolute favorite was an antihero named Kerr Avon. Not unlike another 80s favorite of mine, Ham Tyler (played by Michael Ironside) in the "V" miniseries and TV show, Avon was a bit of jerk and most certainly self-interested. But he was so captivating and dynamic as a character that he wound up outlasting Blake himself, who went missing and was presumed dead halfway through the show's run.
Avon was played by Paul Darrow. Even after a pretty grim finale to the series, Avon lived in in various books, some of them written by Darrow himself.
Sadly, Paul Darrow passed away in 2019. But I, and many sci-fi fans, will never forget him because of just how cool and cunning Avon was.
So when I came up with my own self-serving, not-entirely-good-but-definitely-not-bad rogue, I looked to Avon for inspiration. My Darrow has similar traits of calling like it he sees it, even if it's blunt and insensitive. He operates by his own moral compass, certainly for money but other reasons too.
I also decided to name him after the great man who played Avon.
Thus became Darrow!
April 5, 2023
Gemini Girl Inspiration
I can't remember the exact date, but I started writing what would become Gemini Girl around 1999. We'll get to a book and video game that influenced me most in a second. Like a number of things I've written (or at least jotted down notes for), I also got some inspiration from a dream.
It's been decades but I still remember the core of it -- I dreamt that I was some sort of super agent who'd been captured or betrayed, along with my partner. What followed was a daring, dangerous rescue attempt into some futuristic high security prison. I don't even remember how the dream ended.
That put in my head the idea of two ill-fated agents who got double-crossed. Over time, that would weave into the larger tale of Lorelei Ogden.
A couple other influences are worth mentioning. Perhaps my favorite science fiction/fantasy series of all time is The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. The first book, Nine Princes in Amber, starts off with the main character Corwin in a hospital, unable to remember who he is. Despite that, he realizes he's something far greater than he appears. He spends part of the book bluffing his way into a dangerous power struggle within his own family, hiding the fact his memory is gone but still able to play the game effectively.
I absolutely loved how Corwin pulled that off, and it inspired me as I wrote Ogden. She doesn't know what the hell is going on at first, but something triggers inside her that compels her to survive at all costs.
Gemini Girl, or Gamma Trita as I simply called it, sat in a file on my computer for many years, untouched. I'd poke at it here and there, but then get distracted and move on. Then along came the brilliant game Cyberpunk 2077. Some of you may be grimacing right now, recalling its less-than-stellar launch. I was lucky to play it on a Xbox Series X and by and large didn't encounter too many of those early bugs. The game stands as one of my all-time favorites.
When I created my character, I chose a female. I've lived my life as a (now middle-aged) white dude -- I prefer to play game characters as unlike me as possible. The main character of Cyberpunk 2077 is named V, regardless of gender. V is such a great character -- equal parts bad-ass and vulnerable. Her evolving relationship with Judy Alvarez, if you chose to follow that path, is one of the most fantastically written things I've experienced.
That game made me hungry to find other cyberpunk literature and games. It also gave me the inspiration to finally crank out Gemini Girl. Over the years, the main character went from being William Storm to William Ogden. And then Lorelei Ogden. I really dig writing strong females, and I'm proud of how both Ogden and April Vasquez have turned out.
Next time, I'll share the inspiration behind another character I loved writing -- the mercurial mercenary Darrow.
It's been decades but I still remember the core of it -- I dreamt that I was some sort of super agent who'd been captured or betrayed, along with my partner. What followed was a daring, dangerous rescue attempt into some futuristic high security prison. I don't even remember how the dream ended.
That put in my head the idea of two ill-fated agents who got double-crossed. Over time, that would weave into the larger tale of Lorelei Ogden.
A couple other influences are worth mentioning. Perhaps my favorite science fiction/fantasy series of all time is The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. The first book, Nine Princes in Amber, starts off with the main character Corwin in a hospital, unable to remember who he is. Despite that, he realizes he's something far greater than he appears. He spends part of the book bluffing his way into a dangerous power struggle within his own family, hiding the fact his memory is gone but still able to play the game effectively.
I absolutely loved how Corwin pulled that off, and it inspired me as I wrote Ogden. She doesn't know what the hell is going on at first, but something triggers inside her that compels her to survive at all costs.
Gemini Girl, or Gamma Trita as I simply called it, sat in a file on my computer for many years, untouched. I'd poke at it here and there, but then get distracted and move on. Then along came the brilliant game Cyberpunk 2077. Some of you may be grimacing right now, recalling its less-than-stellar launch. I was lucky to play it on a Xbox Series X and by and large didn't encounter too many of those early bugs. The game stands as one of my all-time favorites.
When I created my character, I chose a female. I've lived my life as a (now middle-aged) white dude -- I prefer to play game characters as unlike me as possible. The main character of Cyberpunk 2077 is named V, regardless of gender. V is such a great character -- equal parts bad-ass and vulnerable. Her evolving relationship with Judy Alvarez, if you chose to follow that path, is one of the most fantastically written things I've experienced.
That game made me hungry to find other cyberpunk literature and games. It also gave me the inspiration to finally crank out Gemini Girl. Over the years, the main character went from being William Storm to William Ogden. And then Lorelei Ogden. I really dig writing strong females, and I'm proud of how both Ogden and April Vasquez have turned out.
Next time, I'll share the inspiration behind another character I loved writing -- the mercurial mercenary Darrow.
March 15, 2023
Gemini Girl Featured in Prolific Works Giveaway
I'm excited to share that Gemini Girl is one of 16 books featured in a group giveaway on the site Prolific Works.The Matter and Energy - Sci-Fi and Action Adventure group giveaway launched on March 15th and lasts until March 19th.
Check out the giveaway.
If you'd like a free copy of Gemini Girl or any of the other fifteen works featured, sign up and give it a shot!
