complexity

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Sausage

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Sausage

My vision for the world of Jesse Barrow grew out of some close friendships, two friends in particular who grew up in rural Alabama. Now, obviously these close friends weren’t around in 1911 rural Alabama, but as someone who studies history, I’ve always been fascinated by how our past affects our present. And the older I’ve become, the more I’ve been fascinated by how our present informs how we view our past, which then, paradoxically, informs our present. Both the past and the present can distort the truth . . .

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Fists

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Fists

I scroll through my Facebook feed and man… are we ever talking over each other’s heads.

One friend posts a meme with false, faulty, or disingenuous information with a comment such as, “See, President A, B, or C is the DEVIL INCARNATE!”

Very next friend posts a meme with false, faulty, or disingenuous information with a comment such as, “See, President A, B, or C is the SAVIOR OF ALL MANKIND!”

And I’m like… Really?…..

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Complex

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This may sound like a weird thing to say, but, I do my best not to argue with my characters. I’ve finished my first novel, The Wages of Grace (coming January 2017!), and I must admit, if it’s nothing else, it’s honest.

I had a few trusted people read the manuscript when I was done with the first proper edit, and I had a lot of good suggestions. I took them all to heart and some I even implemented. However, when it came to character’s motivations or specific things they did that maybe didn’t seem to fit their profile, I was really torn. Some of the suggestions were very good. They were rational and made sense. They just didn’t feel right, though.