A Persona of Characters, Guest Post by Jean Shorney
Aidan McRaney
On my writing journey I’ve created many characters. Of all of them I suppose my favourite as to be Aidan McRaney, for whom I’ve written the Aidan McRaney Trilogy.
The Trilogy begins with his initial release from prison, to his undercover work as a covert operative for Sir George Treveleyan, a wheelchair bound ex-police officer. Treveleyan’s maxim is ‘who knows the criminal underworld better than the criminals themselves?’
He is 29 when we meet him in the first novel, Stalking Aidan. In Progeny Of A Killer he has already turned 31. But age is unimportant in the scheme of things. What is important is loving your character so much, you hate to lose sight of him. Sometimes he can be tough, even ruthless. At others, particularly when it comes to his family, he’s both a loving father to his eleven year old son Patrick, and baby daughter Catriona.
Prison has taught him much. Losing his girlfriend shows him even more. The night she was shot and killed he was minder to London hard man, Frankie Lamond.
If I met Aidan in the flesh, how would I react? Because to me he is almost real, as all my characters are. If your characters aren’t real to you as a writer, they’ll lack realism for the reader. Meeting Aidan I believe I might feel threatened or intimidated by him. He is swift to anger. One word out of place, and you may end up tasting the dirt. Aidan isn’t a pussycat. He has killed people, often with no regrets. This young Irishman is a great character whom I love very much.
John Byron-Sarony
John Byron-Sarony is an Irish Vampire, recruited in World War two by William Sefton as Sarony lay dying in the snow.
Sefton was a Victorian gentleman, skilled in the Occult, when he was taken by the Old One. He and his French born wife Marguerite resided in a chateau in Rambouillet forest, where Sarony was ‘brought back to life’ as a Vampire.
Sarony is a darkly brooding figure, concealed in the shadows, throughout All Of them Vampires! Although he has a background, he continues to remain rather enigmatic, even to me. To all intents and purposes he appears to Cassie Krieger, who falls madly in love with him as a 26 year old man. But in reality he is over ninety years old.
Ross Fleming, A Passion For Crime (My current work in progress)
Ross Fleming is a young widower who lives with his over-possessive sister and his eleven year old daughter Bethany. An ex-racing driver, he quit the circuits after a knee injury the night his wife was killed.
As a crime writer, one of my favourite genres is the ‘bad girl/ good guy’ persona. Or vice versa. Shelley Kavanagh is the bad girl who enters Ross’ life, and for whom he immediately falls.However his sister has misgivings about Shelley, which Ross puts down to jealousy since her marriage broke up. The trouble is Lorraine, Ross’ sister, is correct in her assumption. Shelley has a dark past, and one which draws her unsuspecting lover into danger…
Title: Progeny of a Killer
Author: Jean Shorney
About the Author
Jean Shorney is a writer in the South of England. Jean’s books cover a wide range of topics, from horror to gangland, while experimenting with other genres.
The modern phenomena of self-publishing has given Jean the opportunity to show her work to a wide audience. Her work has already drawn favourable interest from readers voraciously enjoying the exploits of her characters.
Jean grew up in rural West Berkshire, which is a place rife with tales of folklore and lurid ghost stories. These tales ignited the writer’s passion for writing, allowing her to weave her own tales while absorbing books from classics to science fiction.
Classics such as Dickens’ works were often given as presents by her family, while Jean sought out writers like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, which were sourced from places such as the nearby American airbase. Along with these authors, other influences such as Jack Higgins’ thrillers, and classic TV like The Outer Limits and Gunsmoke, really piqued Jean’s interest in different styles or storytelling.
Now, following a happy marriage and raising two children, Jean has thrown herself back into her writing, exploring the platforms the Internet is offering, such as Twitter.
Interesting post. I agree that the characters you write must be realistic to you, the writer, to be real to the reader. And I enjoyed Shorney’s imagining of what it’d be like to meet her character, Aidan. I’ll check out Shorney’s work. Thanks for sharing!
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Aidan sounds like a really interesting character 🙂 Love the post! I’m impressed with the author’s ability to experiment with so many different genres! Wow…
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