Superverse in Brief Blog 9
Character Inspirations
Where the hell do any of the coolest characters come from in a totally fictional setting? When I started writing Citadel 7 it was because I was using it as a recovery catharsis after having two strokes, dying twice and losing a career serving the public as Abbot of a Buddhist temple for a decade or two. Big changes back then.
So, the inspiration for my characters had to come from somewhere right? As a theologian, I’d read thousands of manuscripts on ideology and the belief systems mankind has developed to justify his existence. Some of it could have been drawn upon, other aspects were biscuit dry drivel for the easily lead mind. I eventually turned to near past and present day observations of people and events to begin the foundation for the story narrative, heroes and villains who’d step forward as key players in the Citadel 7 Superverse ®. For the main hero of the story, that was easy, I modeled Commander Bloch and his life story from book 1 Enemy of Existence – On Earth on my son. A handsome man now a professional soldier, a multifaceted individual with a sharp wit accompanied by a no bullshit attitude toward doing the right thing and the most loyal friend anyone could ever have. My daughter became the warrior princess, Nattai, in book 3 Coming Storm. Smart, intelligent, beautiful inside and out. As their father, perhaps I was motivated to leave them something to read when their old man is dust, a keepsake to remember me by. But more so, it was because they had the personalities to fit the characters I needed to walk the worlds I was building. I could see them in those roles such that, if fantasy was reality and they were in another life and time, it just might be them.
The Character Uniss from books 1 to 24, is one of Commander Bloch’s mentors. He stems to a greater degree, on a larger than life character in the form of an uncle I spent some of my formative years with. He taught me to hunt, trap and shoot as a lad. But it was his open view of the world, kindness and compassion that made his small stature pale into insignificance to the size of his heart. While waiting for my arm and leg to start working properly again, the character landslide soon started of all the people I’d known or met over the years who offered fertile seed for those who would live and die in that world. Who they were, the way they behaved, very quickly character personas were born. A little make up and costume, another world to stand on and a backstory to boot, and off they marched into the citadel 7 Superverse space time continuum.
The character Rudy Barabbas (Dead End) is the battler. The everyman who wants to do the right thing, but his life’s course constantly throws him into ‘seriously bad’ company. His only real claim to great power amidst the demons, wrathful gods, or interstellar races of struggling individuals he meets is, he’s lucky. Rudy is lucky in a way that makes your jaw drop with how he helps commander Bloch put the Superverse on its ear. Farron Bach, debuting in Enemy of Existence – on Tora (coming soon), is everyone’s hard-core Professor at University who has an obscure past not quite consistent with academic pursuits. Lord Herrex and Regent Trabonus are every megalomaniac and narcissist you’ve ever heard of. They represent the evil in so many who live on this rock called Earth who fend for none but themselves. I have met the noble in heart, bigots and horse traders, weasel worders, the wile, the shifty, would-be king makers, despots, the volatile, justifiers and the hopeless romantic. They’re all there. It’s just been a matter of gluing them together and giving them something to do that suits their demeanor.
So, when you’re reading the citadel 7 series, you’re not just reading an award winning fictional epic series, your reading about humanity and personalities you might know only too well yourself, seen them on the news or talked to at the shops. They’re all there for you to explore, smile at or with, or be shocked at just what they do.
