LUKIEN: A DIFFICULT MAN TO DESCRIBE by John Marco

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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today I have the pleasure of
welcoming an author friend, John Marco, back to my blog. John and I go way back
– at least it seems like that. We've spoken many times over email about all matters regarding writing and books. So, without further adieu, I’ll let John take
the floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hello!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>First, I want to thank Debra Martin for
asking me here to talk about my upcoming book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Forever Knight</i>, and in particular about the book’s main
character, Lukien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I’ve had the
pleasure of knowing Deb for quite a while now, and I’m still constantly
impressed by her dedication to writing and to helping her fellow authors.</span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Forever Knight</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is the fourth book I’ve written about Lukien, often referred to as the
fabled “Bronze Knight.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He first
appeared over ten years ago in my novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Eyes of God</i>, and was the main character in two more books before I put him “on
the shelf” for a while to work on other projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>Sometimes, a character becomes so real to an author,
his voice so powerful, that he insists on being heard from again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>That’s what it was like for me with
Lukien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After spending so much time
with Lukien, you might think it would be easy for me to talk about him, and yet
I still find him a difficult character to describe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He’s never been a typical hero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>In fact, he’s an anti-hero in a lot of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Back when he first appeared in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Eyes of God</i>, many readers described
their own mixed feelings about him, and some just flat out couldn’t stand
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I still laugh when I think
about that, because despite his flaws I like Lukien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Yes, he cheated with his best friend’s wife and drove the
poor man to insanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And yes, he
kills people, but hey, they all pretty much deserve it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Lukien might not always be righteous,
but he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tries</i> to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And to me, that’s what makes him
interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">An author that I admire one
time spoke about books being like the writer’s dirty laundry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She mentioned how sometimes writers embarrass
themselves by putting too much on the page and not realizing how transparent
they are being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I suppose that’s
happened to me on occasion, but here’s one thing I can say for certain—Lukien
isn’t me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I’m not as fearless as
he is, or as handsome, or as popular, and that’s probably a good thing because
Lukien uses all those qualities as a shield to protect himself from his own
deep feelings of inadequacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>So
maybe that’s what really resonates with readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I said previously that some people hate Lukien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Well, the opposite is true as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>There are readers who
absolutely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> Lukien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>They see various things in him,
things I might not see myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>They interpret Lukien in their own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>That makes me think I’ve done something right.</span><br />
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Forever Knight</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> takes Lukien in some new directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As I mentioned on a <a href="http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/2...
post</a> here on Deb’s blog, this is the first book I’ve done in his
first-person viewpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>So far the
handful of people who’ve read the book have responded positively to this
change, but time will tell how the rest of Lukien’s fan react.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Whatever the reaction, I’m glad to be
spending time with him again.</span></div>
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