Occasionally you hear about, or if you are lucky enough, meet someone who has what is known as the X-Factor. A special quality that is impossible to define. Claire Steel had the X-Factor.
Not only was she beautiful, inside and out, she was also smart, reliable and when required, tough. Maybe it is a combination of these qualities that create that presence, which is known as the X-Factor.
One thing for sure. Claire was the girl that every girl wanted to be, and the girl that every man wanted to be with. After leading a fairly normal existence for the first 20 something years of her life, everything changed when she met a young man and fell in love.
As is so often the case, the innocent at heart are attracted to the Rogue Gene, and Claire was no exception. Unable to control her emotions, she felt powerless to do anything about the passionate, but turbulent relationship she was entering into.
During moments of despair, she visualised herself as a freshly plucked flower being washed downstream by the current, knowing that nothing short of a miracle could save her from the whirlpool she was approaching, and the falls beyond, which would ultimately seal her fate.
I have always wondered how actors retain their sanity, or do they, when they spend the majority of their lives pretending to be someone else.
However, I experienced their dilemma myself when I tried to create the characters for my book. I would literally spend hours trying to imagine what they would say and how they would say it, in a particular situation, and what the reply would be under those circumstances. Doing this seemed to turn them all into real people. From the feedback I have received, the majority of readers have remarked how much they have loved the characters, so it appears I accomplished my goal of bringing them all to life.
Despite the fact I have read the novel several times, I still experience laughter, loathing, tears and fears as I interact with my imaginary cast.
Tommy is the central figure in the book. Abandoned at birth, he never really knows what makes him tick, or why. With no one to compare himself to, it is almost like he has lost his memory, as he struggles with his identity. He is fearless and happy to deliver his own brand of justice, an eye for an eye, but where does his strength come from?
After the death of his adopted mother, his only lifeline to his past, he is driven to search for his biological mother, hoping that if he finds her she will be able to help him identify who he really is. As I wrote the book, I found it impossible not to live every moment of his life alongside him.
That is the only way to describe how I feel when looking at the reviews to my first novel, Rogue Genes, on my web page.
To listen to comments like, “I couldn’t put it down!”, “Read it, and then read it again!”, “Got to do a sequel!”, “Would make a great movie!” are very, very rewarding.
And for those of you who have ordered extra copies for Xmas presents, thank you so much. I truly hope your friends enjoy it as much as you did.
There are days when the wheels are just not turning, no matter how many cups of coffee you consume to lubricate them. My tip for aspiring writers, when confronted with the dreaded “block” is to pull out the sneakers and hit the road, or in my case the beach. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for fitness sake, it takes a few km’s before the ideas start to flow, and then a mad dash home before they disappear from memory, but it always seems to work.
It was a long and winding road from a housing estate in dark and damp South London, to the Sunny Oceanfront in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Little did I realise during this sometimes hazardous journey, that some of the amazing people and situations I encountered , would one day be woven into the pages of a novel!
WOW, what an amazing journey that was. Basically living 2 lives for a couple of years.
Hard to imagine I could get so involved with the characters I created. A real mixed bag of emotions including, laughter, friendship, tears and loathing. Love to know if it stimulates the same emotions in you, or am I just getting sentimental?
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