Peter

Image via Shutterstock, copyright bikeriderlondon

In celebration of the countdown till THE VOID's June 3rd release, here's another insight into the creation of the Witching Savannah series.

Peter was the third major character who didn’t appear in the (multiple) early drafts of THE LINE. The original story kicked off with the arrival of a certain Texan named Daniel Trujillo. Daniel, a veteran of the Iraq War came home with an unwanted and extremely nasty hitchhiker. When his local bruja realizes she is in over her head, she sends Daniel to Taylors Ferry, GA—see earlier post—to consult with Ginny Taylor. The only problem was Daniel did not want to be in THE LINE. At one point I wrote that he went to his room to rest. Five chapters later, he still wasn’t ready to come out and play, and the book was moving on without him.

While Daniel was napping, Wren insinuated himself into the story, and quickly made Daniel’s little demon problem superfluous. I struggled to entice Daniel into playing his intended role. It would have been a great part. Battling demons and winning Mercy’s heart. Still, no matter how hard I try to sell him on it, he wasn’t buying it. He started to make it clear that

               A)  He would prefer more scenes with Oliver.

                         (So much for the romance with Mercy.)

               B) He really did not want to be in the story. Period.

So it was farewell Daniel, so long Pazuzu. The story got stripped back to the bare bones. I had found my villain, so there was no grief there, but Mercy didn’t have her guy. After the dark intense stranger expressed more interest in Mercy’s uncle than in Mercy herself, I started toying with the idea of a childhood friend who was desperately in love with Mercy, but who hadn’t quite convinced her to make the leap from friend to lover. Peter, the quintessential boy next door, was born and quickly took root. He charmed me, and I realized he was indeed the type of guy Mercy could love—not just feel passion for, but really love.  Peter’s only problem was that he was too perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I had no idea what to do with him. I honestly thought about striking the character from the book, and trying again. Then he shared his secret with me. He wasn’t so perfect. He had gone to Jilo for a spell before Mercy ever considered it. I breathed a sigh of relief and committed to Peter. I think you will see how happy I am now that Peter made the cut. His story takes what is (hopefully) an unexpected and entertaining twist in THE SOURCE.