A Song Defined My Characters

I have written previous posts about several of my characters that included snippets of dialogue or entire scenes as examples. One group that appears in each of my books, to a greater or lesser extent, are the seven adopted brothers that make up the Evans family. Just to refresh your memory of who they are:

Randy and Billy, twins; current age is 17;

Brett and Bobby, biological brothers and sons of Vicky; Brett is 17 and Bobby is 16;

George and Michael, or as Michael is often referred to, Two, step-brothers who are Navajo; George is 17 and Michael is 15;

Brian, the only brother who is not related by blood to any of the others; current age is 17.

Each of my books at the very least mention the adopted brothers, while in many of the books, one or two, or even several are featured. In my previous posts, I talk about their physical features, their abilities, what troubles them, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Corey Kent, one of my favorite country singers, has a song titled, Once or Twice. I’ve been listening to it over and over, but only in the last two weeks has it dawned on me that many of the lyrics define and describe my fictional brothers. For instance:

I’ve never looked for trouble
But trouble’s found me all of my life
And there’s a time to walk away
And there’s a time to hold your ground and fight
I’ve never seen the face of God
But I’ve stared down the devil once or twice

And in other lyrics from the same song, Kent sings:

There’s right and there’s wrong
And there’s not much in between

The boys don’t look for trouble, but it finds them- thanks to me who throws them into it. They determine whether to walk away or hold their ground. A common theme in my books is the importance of family, including loyalty to each other and their parents, though at times one or more struggle with their parents, and sometime with each other. Another theme is honesty, a true brotherly love amongst them, and integrity.

I believe I wrote this in a previous post, but I don’t write with a theme in mind. I write to tell a story. It is only after the book has been written and the edits completed the themes emerge. I think if an author writes solely or explicitly to a theme, the writing becomes preachy and boring. A writer tells a story with characters needing and wanting something but are sometimes prevented from obtaining it. Life’s obstacles, if you will.

In my book, Caught in a Web, George finds out MS-13 is after him. The enforcer wants revenge, to teach him a lesson, and to send a message. George’s gruesome death would do just that. George knows this, but instead of walking away, he goes because his brother Bobby has been captured, and if he doesn’t show up, Bobby, another boy, and the boy’s mother will die. Right and wrong and not much in between, as the song says.

In Spiral Into Darkness, Brian faces the prospect of confronting and shooting a serial killer in the woods outside his house at night in a freezing, blinding whiteout. Brian goes anyway because if he doesn’t, the serial killer will reach the house and his brothers might die. Just like in the song by Corey Kent, he stares down the devil, and he doesn’t back down.

In Betrayed, even though he feels betrayed by one of his brothers, Brian keeps the promise he made to his mother to protect his brothers, and it almost costs him his life. Integrity is too important to him, so once again, he stares down the devil and doesn’t back down.

In Fan Mail, Brian races into a room to protect two of his brothers and a friend, and takes a bullet for them. Right versus wrong, and again, facing the devil, unwilling to back down.

In my newest book, Black Yéʼii (The Evil One), MS-13 is back in town (Caught in a Web) demanding answers, and again, George is called upon to defend not only himself, but his brothers, because someone- not George- broke a promise and told a secret. Two deaths already, and there is a target on George and one of the brothers. He faces the devil once again.

I want to repeat that the themes in my books emerged after they were written. As I reread each of my books, some multiple times, I discovered the themes in them. I also discovered in my writing what I try to hold myself to as I walk through life. It ain’t easy, but no one ever said it would be.

As a writer, what thrills me is when the readers come back for more.

This past week, I spoke at a book club luncheon meeting, and it was a joy. So many thoughtful questions and comments about my book, Caught in a Web. But what I enjoyed the most, besides a delicious lunch, was that several bought other books to read and to give away as presents. One member has read each of my nine books and bought number ten, my newest, Black Yéʼii.

There is one other thing I learned as a writer. It isn’t my thought, but I adopted it from someone else I picked up along the way. It is that once the book is written and published, it ceases to be mine. It becomes the reader’s book. They read it through their eyes, with their own life experiences, their own joys and sorrows, their own longings, and their own successes and failures. It is the reader who defines the book and gives it meaning- not the author.

I thank you for following along on my writing journey. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please comment below. If you are interested, you can find all my books, their descriptions, and a purchase button on my website at: https://www.jrlewisauthor.com Below are pictures of the book covers I mentioned in this post. Again, thank you, and until next time …