Creating Ken, Part Two

The process of transforming a real person -- in this case, a former romantic interest -- into a heroic, fictional character was quite interesting, to say the least. As I noted in Creating Ken, Part One, memory can be a tricky mechanism. At first, when the floodgates had unexpectedly burst open in my mind, overwhelming me with thoughts of the real guy and what had taken place sixteen years earlier, the way he'd treated me, the things he'd said, the way he'd looked, etc. all I could think about were the good times, and all I could do was cry over what might have been.

I remembered our unusual meeting at the club, his initial attraction to my statuesque girlfriend and the means by which we ended up spending the night dancing and laughing until the 2 a.m. closing time. I cracked up reminiscing about going around the traffic circle to The Point Diner with him afterwards as a compromise, since I'd rebuffed several offers to go back his place for coffee (I didn't write this dialogue in the scene in the novel, but I was apologetic, explaining that although he didn't look dangerous, I couldn't take a chance. He just sort of made a funny face in reply, prompting more laughter).

On and on these wonderful mental recreations went, moving into our first real kiss at the top of the Taj Mahal; a weekend spent going to a dinner theater on Saturday evening, followed by an Eagles game on Sunday; hanging out at his place looking through photo albums from his time in the US Navy; and of course, fighting the internal battle between physical attraction and fear, desire and morality.

And just like Madeline, I simply could not express in words what I was feeling. Thus, the occasions when I'd make him drive me back across the 9th Street Bridge from his bachelor townhouse in Somers Point to my family's vacation home in Ocean City, where a houseful of people provided the comfort of knowing there would be no danger of caving in to temptation.

Then came the painful stuff: my mom's uncharacteristic meddling in the relationship simply because the guy had not yet completed his undergraduate degree (to be discussed in a future post) which led me to write a Dear John letter in spite of the facts that I 1) wanted to continue the relationship; and 2) had the support of everyone else in my family.

Ken, after all, had a wonderful sense of humor, an infectious love of life, a quick-wit and obvious intelligence. Moreover, he was cute, romantic, manly and apparently enamored of me. In short, since he was the polar opposite of the jerk who'd dumped me over the phone a few months' prior, I didn't quite know how to handle his penchant for regularly telling me I was beautiful, and complimenting me on everything from the way I was dressed to the way I spoke in enthusiastic energy bursts (especially when the topic centered around the Eagles/NFL football and politics).

Then came anger. Anger at myself. Anger that, in spite of years of dating, I'd not yet found, nor married anyone who'd demonstrated the same sort of affection and respect.

Anger at him for also being human and for doing some pretty darned hurtful and stupid things, like picking a fight with me one summer evening when I casually stated over the phone that I didn't "care" what time he got off from work -- that I would meet him whenever he was done for our date. What I'd meant was that I understood and did not hold against him the fact that he had to work a late shift, and although I perhaps could have stated it better, he did react immaturely. In the end, we made up at the same club where we'd originally met each other. And unlike the book, "Ken" and I danced to Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight that evening, whereas Madeline and Ken partake in a "dance" of a different sort while this song plays in the background in Chapter 34.

And -- lest I forget -- anger at him for standing me up for a ski date without so much as the courtesy of a phone call (to this day, I have no idea what really happened, but suspect he was already either living in Florida, or in the process of moving south); calling me out of the blue six months later to announce his relocation to The Sunshine State; and withholding the minor detail that his so-called "platonic female roommate" was actually his fiancée (not even coming clean after I'd finally declared my intention to make the move to Florida myself).

Was this payback for hurting him?

I'll admit, I folded to unfairly imposed pressure, which led me to cancel out on attending both a family wedding and a work party as his date, then subsequently break up with him (before we got back together in a sense, a month or so later). So it's fair to say that we each dished it out as much as we took it. Still, it hit me like a ton of bricks -- notwithstanding women's intuition -- the day he showed up at my apartment and confirmed what I already knew in my heart to be true.

This particular portion of the memory reel was akin to watching a tragic movie in which -- no matter how hard you might wish for a different ending -- the hero succumbs to his illness, or dies valiantly in a dangerous rescue effort on the battlefield. Shedding my selective, 14+ year-old, self-imposed amnesia was not only incredibly painful and ultimately fruitless on a personal relationship level, it was also quite healing and inevitably useful in a professional sense, as it led to the creation of Water Signs. As I've said, writing is therapy. And when people actually like what you've written, it's also unbelievably fulfilling.

While reliving the good, bad and the ugly, I realized that "Ken", like all people, had his faults. He was not above pettiness, nor was he immune to the foibles of human nature. When his heart and ego were bruised, he responded by bruising back in kind. I doubt he ever expected me to work up the courage to uproot my life "up north" and relocate to a tropical paradise where my only known contacts aside from him were former schoolmates of my parents I'd never even met, but who nonetheless opened the doors of their home to me until I could secure my own living arrangements.

I can only imagine what must've gone through his mind as another woman's betrothed, knowing that a former romantic interest would now be living in the vicinity, blissfully unaware of the truth. This is yet another example of something I had to completely fabricate in the novel -- thus fictional Ken embarks on a lot of soul-searching in the wake of Maddy's unsettling news, prompting him to meet his mother for a heart-to-heart at the Deerfield Beach Fishing Pier, during which he expresses his "torn between two lovers" dilemma.

Was this the case in real life? Did "Ken" experience an emotional tug-of-war, featuring conflicting feelings for two distinct women, or was it simply guilt for withholding important information from me? Who knows for sure, although in another entry I will share some real-life events and conversations that transpired as a parallel to the novel's manifestation. Suffice it to say, there are some occurrences in life about which we don't always receive clear, genuine answers, and that is certainly true to some degree in this instance. The best you (I) can (could) do is (was) learn from the experience and draw from it whatever is (was) helpful, uplifting and positive.

For me, that was creating an amazing network of friends and contacts in my adopted state, and writing my first novel.

More to come in another post.

Fact into Fiction: Part Three

Today's installment draws a comparison/contrast between Water Signs' main male character, Ken Lockheart, and Dr. Joseph Rose, the two most important men in heroine Madeline Rose's life. As I've noted in previous posts, both are representations of the American Dream, though generations apart, and both are based on real people who impacted my life to varying degrees.

Dr. Rose (based on my father) is the offspring of immigrants, and a member of that generation that falls in-between The Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers. While he himself had been too young too have served during World War II, like my own dad, he certainly knew of those -- including close family members and neighborhood friends -- who had. Some of these noble men made the ultimate sacrifice, while others were fortunate enough to have returned home safely after honorably fighting for the cause of freedom.

My father did serve in the US Army during the Korean War, although this real-life fact is not obviously noted in the novel. Nevertheless, I grew up in a home that respected the US Military and celebrated traditional American values, quintessential holidays (Independence Day, Thanksgiving, etc), and the right of the individual to pursue any path he or she might desire, whether it entail a career in medicine, law, journalism, engineering, graphic arts or countless other noble fields in which one could put their talents and abilities to their best use.

Although my dad was a practicing surgeon, he never imposed his dream on his children. Like my mom, his fervent desire was for each of us to create the life and career of our own choosing. And though his work schedule necessitated an upbringing in which my mother did the heavy lifting in terms of administering discipline, teaching values and prayers, helping with homework, providing transportation to and from extracurricular activities, planning family outings and parties, and otherwise managing all of the duties associated with raising five children (including one with a handicap), when my dad did arrive home, he was completely engaged in the family. (I will devote a separate post to my mom and her character, Monica Rose, both of whom are quite deserving of their own analysis)

Thus, our dinner (when he was able to make it home in time) conversations always centered on what we learned in school that day, what was going on in our lives and yes -- what we wanted to be when we grew up. My response as a young child to that last question typically vacillated between: "I'm going to be a novelist!" or "I'm going to be a journalist!" To which my dad would always follow-up with approval and encouragement (Good thing, too, because although I was an excellent student, my obvious strengths were English and the humanities; math and science were a daily struggle and almost always marked the difference between the achievement of First or Second Honors in high school).

Another aspect of my father I didn't fully appreciate until old enough to understand the pressures of the medical world (including the pervasive, sometimes devastating impact of trial lawyers and government) was that no matter how tough the day had been, he always came through the front door whistling. More often than not, he'd greet my mother with a cheery, "Che fai, Rosie?" and a kiss upon arriving in the kitchen, where she'd normally be preparing dinner. As a small child, I remember running to the foyer to greet him, where he'd always scoop me up and say, "How ya doing Little Lady?!"

All of these remembrances had their most profound significance in hindsight; I'm not exactly sure why it is so difficult to fully appreciate the gifts you've been given (e.g. a stable, loving family) when you're young. But as I matured and met other peers in high school, college and far-beyond, I began to realize my good fortune of being born into a family that -- while far from perfect -- had almost been ideal compared with the familial circumstances of others.

Which brings me back to the character of Ken Lockheart. In Chapter Two of Water Signs, Ken completely throws Madeline off-guard by actually following up on his 3 a.m. promise of meeting her at the beach in Ocean City -- a declaration made under the influence of an alcohol-induced buzz. He'd driven her back to her car in the nightclub parking lot, after the couple had gone out for breakfast at a local Jersey diner, and stated his intentions with conviction. Without the benefit of pen or paper, Maddy wrongly concludes that while cute, entertaining and interesting, this guy is far from serious about her. Part of this stems from her own insecurity, and part from her inability to let go of a previous hurtful relationship, both of which are explored in the novel in great detail.

After returning home from church much later that same day, Madeline gets the shock of her life when her sister announces that Ken is on the phone, wondering where she's been all this time, as he's been waiting patiently for her at the beach as promised. This ultimately results in the extension of an invitation to breakfast with the family, suggested by Madeline's mother, Monica. After a brief bout with nervousness, Ken accepts the offer and enthusiastically joins in the conversation around the table, amazed by the way in which the Rose family relates to each other. He's also blown away by their accomplishments, from Dr. Rose to Maddy's attorney-siblings Greg and Lori, and absent brothers Damian (a pathologist in Nashville) and Louis (the Down's brother who was working in PA that weekend, staying with family friends).

Later at the beach, he's even more amazed by how the Rose family welcomes him into their circle, and by Madeline's ability to express herself intelligently in bursts of enthusiasm and passion on everything from politics to pop culture to sports. I recall conversations from real life in which "Ken" would share his admiration of the way in which my family members ate together, amid sometimes boisterous but always engaging conversation on a variety of topics. With some puzzlement, I'd asked him why this was such a big deal. Didn't his family participate in the same kinds of activities?

His response was something along the lines of "not the way your family does." It was a telling example of another seemingly unimportant detail of my upbringing, and one of the first reminders that not everyone I'd meet would share the same kind of family experiences.

In a later chapter, Maddy (as did I) learns of the troubled relationship between Ken and his father, instigated by Ken's admirable decision to enlist in the US Navy to serve his country, earn money for college and to avoid, in his own words, "turning into a surfer bum." During an evening spent perusing photo albums from his years in the service, a teary-eyed Ken admits to her that -- unlike his supportive mother -- his father never once visited him when he was on leave, nor wrote him one letter, although he did show up for the ceremony marking the successful completion of his son's time in the Navy.

As with real life, "Ken" goes on to simultaneously complete his college degree and find success in the corporate world.

In the novel, I explore the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation through several characters. In this particular case, recalling the tension between Ken's human counterpart and his father afforded me the opportunity to start with a real-life element and carry it through the entire work of fiction.

Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day of that same year, "Ken" had spent several days hanging out with my family and me at our home in Pennsylvania. I clearly remember his emotional dilemma on New Year's Day, wanting to call his parents, yet dreading having to speak to his father -- an issue he shared openly with me. After listening for a while, I suggested that he follow through with the call, mostly for his own sake, as it was clearly causing inner turmoil. Further, by doing so, he'd take the high-road, demonstrating respect without actually conceding that his dad was correct in his unfair criticisms of his son. Ken subsequently took the advice and they had a cordial conversation.

Both of these incidents served as starting points to chronicle the evolution of the troubled father-son relationship between Ken and Carl Lockheart. By the book's end, Carl has developed a healthy respect for his youngest son's decision to embark upon a dramatically different path than the blue-collar, union card-carrying one he'd initially envisioned for his offspring.

Having spent several years apart from Ken mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically, Madeline is thrilled to discover this incredible father-son milestone when circumstances conspire to bring him and his family back into her life. In a purely fictional chapter, she finally meets Kenny's parents when she joins him for Mother's Day dinner at their home, where, among other things, they enjoy a round of karaoke (inspired by my own karaoke experiences with friends at a friendly, Pompano Beach bar). This scene is but one of many examples of coming "full-circle" in the novel, and one of my favorites in terms of the writing process. Unlike me, Madeline has been blessed with a beautiful singing voice, which is one of the countless qualities that Ken finds so intoxicating about her.

When I first met "Ken", the similarities between him and my father were not obvious to me; only in hindsight have I been able to fully see and appreciate them. From overcoming difficult obstacles on the way to achieving success, to possessing an incredibly attractive, genuine love of God, country and family, there are many ways in which Ken and Dr. Rose mirror each other. Yet, perhaps the most significant of these is their shared love for Madeline -- one as the man who brought her into the world, and the other as the man for whom she forever alters his.

Coming soon: More paths to reconciliation, and fact versus fiction.

Fact into Fiction: Part One

Now that we've discussed copyright laws, and the obligation to remain mum about your "fictional" characters for legal, moral and ethical reasons, let's turn to the process by which real people become characters in a novel. This of course, is based on my own experience of writing Water Signs, so the information is purely subjective, and intended as helpful advice to others embarking upon the same kind of adventure.

Since there is so much I want to share with my fellow authors, I am breaking the topic down into several posts, to allow me to concentrate on specific characters in my book, in order to support my statements.

My novel is infused with many themes: first love, second chances, family, faith in God, personal resiliency, patriotism, traditional values vs. modern-day society, reconciliation, The American Dream (embodied by two specific characters, Ken Lockheart and Dr. Joseph Rose), and spirtual/personal growth. I explore and uphold these themes through the use of characters, plot, circumstances and symbolism. But for this particular post, I will focus on characters, as it ties in with the practice of basing them on actual people.

So let's start with my hero, Kenneth Lockheart. Also known as Ken and Kenny in the novel, he is modeled after a real guy I met and dated back in 1992. At the time, he seemed so much larger than life, as although we were both young adults of 25 (yes, I am giving away my age...:), "Ken" had already amassed so much more life experience, having spent four years in the United States Navy. An outgoing, energetic, intelligent and good-looking man, I was blown away by the fact that he'd summed up his young life and decided if he wanted to go after his dreams of a college education (something his parents could not provide), meaningful career and eventual wife and family, he had to go after it himself.

While this might not sound so unusual to my readers, as the youngest child of a successful surgeon, whose parents were determined to provide all of their children with a college education, it was a refreshing change for me. My dad, affectionately known as "Dr. Al" on Blog Talk Radio, was the child of Italian immigrants who supported him emotionally, but did not have the financial means to finance his dreams of higher education. Thus, beginning with high school and continuing on through medical school, my father worked several jobs, always grateful for the opportunity to achieve something greater, thanks to the USA (more on that later).

When he became a father himself, Dr. Al was adamant about removing as many obstacles for his children as possible. Thus, I never had to worry about attending college; it was a given in my family that -- at the very least -- a Bachelor's Degree would be the path for every DiGiovanni child (with the exception of my exceptional brother Ralph, a Down's guy who achieved his own remarkable success. More on him later).

Back in 1992, I'd just come out of a very painful breakup with a guy (my first boyfriend) who'd spent a lot of time criticizing me, whether for my fashion choices, hair color or weight (years later, he sincerely apologized and we put the past behind us, which is another plot point in the story). Having come through a challenging adolescence, during which an extra 10-15 pounds made my life miserable in terms of my desirability among high school boys, I was still carrying around the unwanted emotional baggage of this relationship, along with my previous disappointments pertaining to the opposite sex. And although I'd lost most of the weight and had become -- in the eyes of most others -- a beautiful, sweet and attractive young woman, it was nearly impossible to see myself that way.

Which brings me back to Ken. When we "accidentally" ended up hanging out together at a Somers Point, New Jersey nightclub, I couldn't reconcile in my mind his interest in me, expressed through conversation, hugs, high-fives and chaste kisses on the cheek. And the more I learned of his independence and self-sufficiency, the more impressed (and somewhat intimidated) I was.

To this day, no man prior and no man after him has treated me with the same genuine respect, admiration and affection. So when crafting the story, I realized that the Ken character had to be larger-than-life, in order to set him up as a stark contrast to the other men Madeline dates in the novel. Thus when readers meet Ken, they see a hard-working, optimistic, traditional, intelligent and determined young man who believes in his dreams and pursues them with passion. He knows the blue-collar job he's currently holding is a means to an end, a way to keep himself going financially, save for the future and figure out his next moves.

All of that is very true to the real man, along with his physical description. Sure, I could have changed eye/hair color, stature, physical build and place of residence (on this last point, my advice is to stick with the places you know, if indeed your novel is based on real life...what a time-saver!). I chose not to do that. This is obviously a personal decision for each author, but for me, authenticity is paramount. So while I did change the names for all of the obvious reasons, I wanted to remain as faithful as possible to his other characteristics.

Now don't get me wrong: Ken is a flawed human being like the rest of us. It just so happens that, unlike the other men Maddy dates, beneath the flaws remains a deep, consistent, abiding love for her. Therefore, everything he does -- including the hurtful, stupid things -- are a result of pure, genuine emotion. Readers may scratch their heads over some of his actions, but they will most likely never doubt his love for the story's heroine.

Pertaining to the theme of traditional values versus modern-day society, Ken is also very much an all-American kind of guy: a patriot and US Navy veteran with a relentless work ethic, love of freedom and fervent desire to settle down with the right woman. Yes, he's a young gun with all of the usual raging hormones and normal manly desires; however, he's quickly tiring of the dating game, even as he optimistically searches for his perfect woman. Marriage is foremost in his mind -- not meaningless hook-ups that regrettably characterize our current culture. And when he meets Madeline -- a traditional woman in every way, he knows his search is over.

Blown away by the facts that 1.) she refuses to go back to his place for "coffee" after the club closes at 2 a.m. 2.) she's not been with anyone in the Biblical sense, something he'd long given up on finding and 3.) she's planning on attending Mass the next day, he realizes she's a cut above the typical dating scene, and the women he's previously encountered.

Of course, these qualities also become a source of conflict, particularly because Madeline lags behind a bit in terms of her own emotional maturity. While she's adamant about upholding the values with which she's been raised, the thought of marriage -- and everything it entails with respect to physical intimacy -- is incredibly frightening. She's still struggling with body image and a fear of the unknown, a reality she has tremendous difficulty verbalizing to the man who stares at her adoringly and thinks everything she does is wonderful.

Ok, back to some specifics in fashioning Ken after his real-life inspiration.

As I mentioned, I remained true to his physical characteristics and personality traits. As much as I could recall through my journals and my memory, I recreated the townhouse he'd lived in in Somers Point, NJ. I literally retraced some of the steps we'd taken on the Atlantic City boardwalk, and toward Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, on our way to watch a live Eagles game.

Thus Ken and Maddy's first date at Frisanco's (a restaurant no longer in business), subsequent stroll on the A.C. boardwalk and eventual first kiss high atop the Trump Taj Mahal are all straight from real life. Other things are not, but were created with the book's themes in mind. In keeping with the title, I endeavored to place my characters by water as often as possible. Therefore, in one of my early chapters, Ken surprises Madeline with a private beach picnic in Ventnor City. Did this really happen? No, but it certainly is something that could have happened, and it provided me a wonderful opportunity as an author to delve further into my characters' feelings, motivations and outlook.

Other examples of things I did not alter: Ken's birthplace, zodiac sign (the real guy and me are both Pisces), high school, family (both the real guy and me are the youngest in our respective families), faith (both the real guy and me were raised Catholic), marriage to another woman, and ultimate success in the corporate world. The reasons for this are varied -- the shared Pisces sign, for example, ties in with water, which symbolizes renewal and emotions, the foundation of the story.

Examples of things altered:

Unlike the real guy and me, Ken and Madeline share the exact same birthday of March 7, 1967. This supports the "soul mate", spirituality and metaphysical aspects of the book. In real life, we're about two weeks apart, although both born in March. March 7 was chosen to honor my real grandmother's birth, since she plays an integral part in the plot, albeit from the other side of life.

As I've previously stated, the name "Kenneth Lockheart" is completely made up. I needed a first name that would lend itself easily and obviously to shortened versions, thus Kenneth becomes Ken, becomes Kenny. As a side note, I wrote half of the book using the guy's real first name as it took me that long to settle on a fictional one!

Ken and Maddy's date at The Ship Inn in Exton, where he gives her a Pisces pendant is also a purely fictional scene. However, I've shared some enjoyable meals at The Ship Inn with family and friends, so incorporating it into Water Signs was easy to do. It is also relevant by virtue of Ken being a US Navy vet, and the use of water and the Pisces zodiac sign as symbolism in the novel.

Ken's physical fight with his co-worker that ultimately results in his dismissal from the electric company is another made-up element that helps to advance the story and underscore certain themes. In this particular case, it is the tension between "working class" and "middle class", fomented by jealousy on the co-worker's part. It also feeds into Ken's insecurity of not being good enough for Madeline, having not yet completed his education.

In my next installment, I will expand upon the points I've made here. I will also place particular focus on the American Dream theme, with a comparison and contrast between the two most important men in Madeline's life: Ken and her father.

As always, I hope this information has been helpful, and I look forward to sharing more in the near future! :)