Guest Post: Jon Sprunk!
Jul. 27th, 2012 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jpskewedthroneToday, I have a guest post from fellow author (and apparently my long-lost twin) Jon Sprunk. We met each other at this past Balticon and immediately realized that we think alike. In fact, his first trilogy has as a main character an assassin! And the assassin has a sympathetic back story! After talking to him at the con, I realized we'd written rather similar books. I haven't had a chance to read his first book yet, but it's been bought and is sitting on my TBR pile right now. I invited Jon to guest post here at my blog, since I figured those of you who liked my Throne of Amenkor series might also be interested in checking out Jon's books. So, here's Jon talking about how his main character came to be.
In the words of Jon Sprunk:
Thank you, Joshua, for giving me this chance to connect with your friends and readers. My name is Jon Sprunk and I’m the author of Shadow’s Son, Shadow’s Lure, and Shadow’s Master (Pyr Books). This fantasy trilogy focuses on the life and times of a lonewolf assassin named Caim who has a knack for controlling shadows.
Today, I’d like to talk about building a fictional character, specifically a protagonist (or hero) who kills people for a living. When I started out brainstorming ideas for my Shadow saga, I didn’t initially peg the main character as an assassin. I knew I wanted someone who operated outside the mainstream of society, but my first choice was a cat-burglar type of rogue. But as I fleshed out the plot of the first book, I realized that I wanted the main character to be more dangerous, sort of like Clint Eastwood’s hard-bitten gunman personality in those old Sergei Leone westerns.
Yet that decision created a conundrum. Assassins aren’t, by and large, very popular people. (Being a professional murderer doesn’t garner you many friends. Go figure.) So how could I use an assassin as a main character throughout the course of three books without having the readers hate his guts? Well, I cheated. A little.
Like any good character, Caim has a backstory that illustrates how he became the man he is in the books. In this case, I used childhood tragedy to explain a fragile personality that cloaks itself behind external toughness. Not exactly unique, but I think it works. More importantly, it builds a bridge of understanding between Caim and the reader, a reason to root for him even when he isn’t the nicest guy you’d ever meet.
And the “cheat” is that Caim has a code of conduct. It’s not exactly King Arthur’s brand of chivalry. Actually, it’s closer to the personal code of Robert E. Howard’s Conan character. Caim doesn’t kill women or children, and he only takes jobs that target despicable persons. So he operates more like Batman the Dark Knight, except he’s not a billionaire with tons of nifty gadgets and a jet-powered car.
I like all kinds of characters, the great and the small, but I have a special place in my demented little heart for assassins and the ilk. Thank you for reading.
Best,
Jon Sprunk
Bio:
Jon Sprunk lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and son. His first fantasy novel, Shadow’s Son (Pyr Books) was published in 2010, followed by the sequels, Shadow’s Lure and Shadow’s Master. He is also a mentor at the Seton Hill University Writing Program. For more on his life and works, visit www.jonsprunk.com.
In the words of Jon Sprunk:
Thank you, Joshua, for giving me this chance to connect with your friends and readers. My name is Jon Sprunk and I’m the author of Shadow’s Son, Shadow’s Lure, and Shadow’s Master (Pyr Books). This fantasy trilogy focuses on the life and times of a lonewolf assassin named Caim who has a knack for controlling shadows.
Today, I’d like to talk about building a fictional character, specifically a protagonist (or hero) who kills people for a living. When I started out brainstorming ideas for my Shadow saga, I didn’t initially peg the main character as an assassin. I knew I wanted someone who operated outside the mainstream of society, but my first choice was a cat-burglar type of rogue. But as I fleshed out the plot of the first book, I realized that I wanted the main character to be more dangerous, sort of like Clint Eastwood’s hard-bitten gunman personality in those old Sergei Leone westerns.
Yet that decision created a conundrum. Assassins aren’t, by and large, very popular people. (Being a professional murderer doesn’t garner you many friends. Go figure.) So how could I use an assassin as a main character throughout the course of three books without having the readers hate his guts? Well, I cheated. A little.
Like any good character, Caim has a backstory that illustrates how he became the man he is in the books. In this case, I used childhood tragedy to explain a fragile personality that cloaks itself behind external toughness. Not exactly unique, but I think it works. More importantly, it builds a bridge of understanding between Caim and the reader, a reason to root for him even when he isn’t the nicest guy you’d ever meet.
And the “cheat” is that Caim has a code of conduct. It’s not exactly King Arthur’s brand of chivalry. Actually, it’s closer to the personal code of Robert E. Howard’s Conan character. Caim doesn’t kill women or children, and he only takes jobs that target despicable persons. So he operates more like Batman the Dark Knight, except he’s not a billionaire with tons of nifty gadgets and a jet-powered car.
I like all kinds of characters, the great and the small, but I have a special place in my demented little heart for assassins and the ilk. Thank you for reading.
Best,
Jon Sprunk
Bio:
Jon Sprunk lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and son. His first fantasy novel, Shadow’s Son (Pyr Books) was published in 2010, followed by the sequels, Shadow’s Lure and Shadow’s Master. He is also a mentor at the Seton Hill University Writing Program. For more on his life and works, visit www.jonsprunk.com.
