When people ask me how I come up with so many ideas for stories, I really don't have an answer. I want to say, "They fall out of the sky and land in my head." I never say that because it's unbelievable.
But it's the truth.
Hawke is a representation of a lot of things. Good, bad, evil, and darkness. He's not black, he exists in shades of gray. He's not a two dimensional character. He lives in three.
Shit, he lives in four.
I wanted to write a love story similar to ones I've written before, but distinctly different. In my experience, relationships aren't easy. They require work. And when one partner wants to give up, you're in danger. But when both want to call it quits, it's over.
When Hawke meets Francesca (AKA Frankie), that innate connection forms. But when he realizes he can't have her, he walks away--somehow. But can he stay away from someone that resonates in a tune only he can identify? She beats to her own drum, but what happens when her drum is the exactly the same as his own?
Relationships are hard. You fight. You cry. You break up. You get back together.
But can you stay together?
These characters fight for one another, but will that be enough? Or will the darkness in each of their hearts keep them apart? Will this journey make them?
Or will it break them?
A lot of my stories are autobiographical, if you read between the lines. This one is particularly close to my heart. Sleeping in my bed one night, I jolted awake because the story came to me and I felt obligated to write it. While my husband moaned and told me to go back to bed, I grabbed my laptop and spent the rest of the evening writing about Hawke, a character I can't stop thinking about.
"Francesca, I'm the kind of man you hate."
"I don't believe you."
"You should."
I haven't gotten very far in the story, but I already know it's a piece of work I'm most proud of. I live in different worlds with different series all going at once, and sometimes I need a break. Not a break from writing, ironically. But a break from those universes.
And now Hawke is my new obsession.
I have a feeling he'll be yours too.
Someday
Publication Date: 02/14/2016
Until next time,
E. L. Todd
