They ARE Me and I AM Them

What most people know about me is that I’ve written and published two novels. The first was titled WATER FLOWS UNDER DOORS and the second was called OPEN SPACES. From the feedback I’ve gotten, most of my readers love my unorthodox descriptions, metaphors and plots. They say that they were absolutely captivated by my characters but, that’s all been documented already. Let me tell you something that not many people know.

I’m proud to have given you heroes to love, cry for and adore. Readers have often asked me if these heroes were based on aspects of my personality. I always answer truthfully and admit that they were. Sometimes, they get a look in their eyes as if they’ve been struck by me just as they were taken by the leading men I penned onto their psyche. Many times, they then go off on rants about how much they hated the villains, and the monstrous men I created. What’s always amazed me is that they’ve almost never asked where I found the inspiration for these beasts. Most times I’m relieved when they don’t. It never occurs to them to inquire. They believe that these antagonists are just figments of my vivid, overactive imagination. Oh, how I wish that that were true. If my world had been perfect, it might be but the life I’ve lived makes it unlikely. The truth is that all of the evil, wicked, ruthless men are pieces of me as well. It’s therapeutic for me to purge myself on the paper. The ink from my pen is like a serum that keeps Mr.Hyde at bay. I rather write about them than become them. I’m a better man because of it. I can look at them in the chapters as if I was looking at a distorted image in a broken mirror. With words I describe things I’ve done or thought about doing. I’m just glad that I found a way to bind them to the paperback spine and between book covers.

So, the next time you read about young Tyler falling in love with Tracy, or troubled Sedari struggling to save his marriage with Mika, and you happen to think about Keith Kareem Williams, please remember this: The fire that burns in Remy’s eyes and his twisted love for Tracy is mine. The ruthless determination that fuels Lee’s desires for Mika is also mine. Re-read those stories and when you shake my hand, I’m sure you’ll look at me differently.