It is easy to establish relationships (good and bad) with the characters you create. After all, they are products of your mind, or approximations of people you know or meet. You infuse them with personality traits and quirks you exhibit or see in others. You see their models at the grocery store, the movie theater, the gas station, church, and a bar on Saturday night. Here are some examples: 

Jakob Sofer was 28-years-old when he got off the boat at a port in Jamestown, Virginia from Ireland. He was an indentured servant embarking on a new life in a new world.

Ichiro Hisakawa was a 16-year-old Japanese-American imprisoned in a concentration camp with 12,000 others in California in 1942 who became the enemy because of their race – not because of what they did.

Huntington’s Disease, a devastating killer, slowly ravages 11-year-old Maria and has a grave toll on her widowed father Pedro. Pedro was desperate to save his daughter, but nothing could be done until she wrote a letter to Santa.

Charlie Beaumont was a cybercrime analyst for a national security firm and his wife Samantha, a former junior prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office, was his stay-at-home wife. He was devoted to her, but something was not right in paradise.

Charon and Gabriel were a sister and brother driving team for an unusual car service. They only drove for specially identified clients.

Jack was the 9-year-old son of Robert and Nancy Payton. His parents uncovered a family secret about Robert’s father. Jack discovered an even greater secret.

There is always one character who is quick with a joke or a sarcastic response. Say hello to Captain Manuel “Manny” Akira of the United States Army Air Corps. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Harriet Knowles would be the last nine-year-old girl that one would notice in a group of third graders. She was a good student but withdrawn. She was the only child of Ronald and Patricia Knowles, two people consumed by their own lives that left little time for Harriet, who would retreat into her own little world.

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Then there are the characters that the writer creates with loathing, disgust, and evil. Unfortunately, their role models can be seen in offices, airplanes, television, political interviews, and all the places one would find the positive models. Such as:

Jurgen Krezt flew with Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron in world War I. He also fathered twin boys, Manfred and Wolfgang. They received a posthumous letter from Jurgen that influenced them to follow their father as German aviators but in different directions.

Warren Pierce was determined to believe the rumors about his daughter’s boyfriend. So, he set about to destroy the young man. Then he learned the rumors were wrong.

Ben Joseph was a good man, a family man – or so everyone thought. He died of a heart attack at 39 but was considerably older than all believed. He arranged the condemnation and death of an innocent man and now must pay the price for his actions.

General Ferrin was the mouthpiece for the Supreme Council. He smiled up to the council, but he frowned down on Dr. Kema Crutcher and Director Frank Pierson on the Kennedy Orbiting Platform. Ferrin’s contempt would result in a steep price tag for human life.

Satan held court on a tree stump. He stood on his toes, knees bent, and hunched over at the waist. He had a long, red-orange muzzle, teeth as sharp as daggers, one blinding red eye, and one a deep pool of black like the tunnel to death. He faced Thomas Barton, better known as Red Smoke of the Keechi Creek tribe.

There are so many more characters in my stories and books. Oh, and wait until I introduce you to Bubba!

Journey with me.