GOING OLD-SCHOOL

Nothing endures but change.
Heraclitus, from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent PhilosophersGreek philosopher (540 BC - 480 BC)

Welcome to our dear friends from The Lipstick Chronicles..may you find new friends here..and keep the old! And because the world works in mysterious ways--today's blog is from someone you might already know...

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What could be a better holiday present--than to meet two new writers? Today and tomorrow--I'm delighted to introduce you to two guys you might not know--but who are fascinating and talented and friends of Jungle Red.

Today--Will Graham--a gifted story-teller whose "Spiders Dance" is in the new ITW anthology edited by the incredible (I'm such a fan girl!) Sandra Brown. Will is just--an all-around cool guy..

And of course, continues this week's TIME theme!

by Will Graham

Those who know me have mentioned more than once that, to quote the immortal band Jethro Tull, I am ‘Living in the Past’. It’s true, I don’t listen to a lot of music recorded after 1967, most of my DVD collection is in black and white, and I have absolutely no use for today’s buzzwords such as ‘situational ethics’.

Things have changed. I believe we can all agree on that. Things that once counted, like a handshake, a verbal promise, even a kiss, don’t mean the things they used to.

There was a time when kids went outside to play, went home when the streetlights came on, and no one worried about much more than a skinned knee or bloody nose. Dads worked, Moms stayed home, and that was the way life was. A fight between two kids was just that: a fight between two kids. The combatants settled it, and that was that. Everyone on the block knew everyone else, perhaps sometimes a little too well. Lawyers could be trusted, bankers were your friend, and the family doctor was on speaking terms with God Himself.

Readers have pointed out how this is reflected in my writing. The male characters in my fiction seem to share some similar traits: honor, commitment, and a passion to do what is Right instead of what’s easy. Female characters share the same characteristics, with a much different (and in my opinion, superior) strength of their own.

My newest release, SPIDER’S DANCE, went through several incarnations over the years. One day, sitting with a group of other writers and thrashing out our current WIP’s, the inspiration hit me: go Old-School with your hero.

Nicholas White is Old School in a lot of ways. The inspiration for him comes from the heroes I grew up with: Peter Gunn, Napoleon Solo, Jim West, Simon Templar.

I wanted to write about a hero who is a Hero, a man with the skills and knowledge necessary to bring the Bad Guys to justice.

The one thing I knew I didn’t want is a Tortured Anti-Hero, a Man With a Past Shrouded in Mystery, carrying a Deep and Unspeakable Pain in His Life. Like anyone over the age of thirty, some unspeakable things have occurred in his life, but those incidents do not define who he is.

Nicholas will have a martini once in a while, but it’s not an issue or a necessity. He respects and values women for who they are and what they have accomplished, but is not averse to a casual relationship…. until he meets a certain Interpol Inspector who changes his world the moment he meets her. He battles a smoking habit, knowing he needs to stop altogether, but every once in a while, he lights up a good cigar and enjoys it. He’s just a regular guy, trying to get through life like the rest of us, but things keep happening in his world.

He’s a throwback, and a deliberate one. Back to a time when people could be confident, but not cocky. Above the crowd, but not superior. Strong enough to be compassionate and caring, but more than capable of doing what has to be done when it needs to be done.

Personal opinion only, the world would be a much better place if we went back to that. Old school.

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P.S. Nicholas White will return in SPIDER’S TANGO, one of the stories in the forthcoming anthology THRILLER 3: LOVE IS MURDER, due June 2011 edited by the amazing Sandra Brown. My lovely and gracious hostess today, Hank Phillippi Ryan, played a major part in the writing of that one…. but that’s another story for another time….