When I started writing, I didn’t set out to write ethically ambiguous lead characters. Growing up, I loved a great book about  good versus evil. So what happened? I didn’t exactly know myself.

When I started writing The Keepers, the more I wrote, the worse it got. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never meant to make them saints, but as I uncovered their pasts, they just got worse and worse and the bad deeds kept piling up. Even as I continue writing now, I’m a little taken aback myself at the things these people are willing to do.

And then I realized that as I’ve gotten older, I view everything a bit more cynically, and it’s bleeding into my creative side. Gone are the rose colored glasses of my youth and all the pedestals have been long since destroyed. This new world view is not as bad as it might seem though at first glance. I’ve found that I enjoy people’s flaws. I’ve learned to forgive much more easily than I ever did. And although the flaws might be more exaggerated in my novels, the characters are a hell of a lot fun to write.

When I started writing, I began with a plot. Then I realized fairly quickly that my characters didn’t like to be confined. This might sound odd, since they are made up in my head, but you would be amazed how they take on their own personalities. I would tell them to turn left, and they would turn right. If you’ve ever driven with someone that refuses to listen to the navigator, it’s kind of similar to that. I eventually adjusted. As they would make a different turn than planned, I would just redraw the map.

As I started my second novel, I thought that I just needed to be more detailed in my plot. That would keep those pesky characters in line. Didn’t work. I would tell them straight and they would pull a u-turn.

Strangely, the destination never changed. They still end up where they are supposed to be. I’m still rerouting with every wrong turn, so that I don’t end up completely off the map, but I’ve learned to loosen up a little and let them have their say. After all, it is their story.