LiaBraThoCha

Do you listen to the voices that come to you in the silence of the deep morning?

The main character in my upcoming paranormal thriller series, Charlie Holiday, has been bugging me to set him free. He just wants me to get “something, anything” out there so he gets his foot in the door because he knows exactly what’s going to happen then: that door will never be closed again and he’ll have free reign to rule.

If that sounds possibly like my (so-called) fictional character might be taking over this author’s mind (among other things) I’d have to give in that it’s, well, just about right.

CAREFUL: We’re going into the depths of the spirit this morning as I find my way through the jungle of the mind in all its glory and mystery. Just sayin’.

In October, I published a personal development book (Every Single Day). It’s very practical and has received critical acclaim from doctors, painters, and those seeking more in their lives.

Before it came to life, another story was brewing just above the keyboard keys of this laptop. Stories that were coming through to me in between the lines, whispered in the silence of the morning and I can no longer keep it in.

In fact, if I keep it in, it will haunt me until I relent. I have no good reason–no reason at all–to hold him back. As an author, I’m trying to find the right moment in his story to set him free. Is it Florence? Thailand? Holland? He takes strong hold of me as I’m out of my element. Maybe my guard is down and he can reach me more easily, more clearly.

LiaBraThoCha

This came to me this morning. “BraThoCha” has been what I’m using for a few of my accounts for my author name. I think I have it on Twitter and Instagram. My last name being long and hard to spell, I was looking for something that was at least somewhere near my name and not one of my other brands (Pass the Sour Cream, Repossible, Likoma, etc.). Somehow, “brathocha” is almost a chant or mantra to me. If you say in your best American Indian chanting voice (c’mon, you know you want to!), you can find a rhythm to it. Yeah, OK, maybe it’s just me.

In case it wasn’t clear, it’s an abbreviation of my first, middle and last names. But this morning, it struck me that the middle name is the same as my father’s name (where I got the name, of course), but the last three letters, could also be the “Cha” of my grandfather’s name: Charlie. Yes, he’s the inspiration for at least part of Charlie Holiday.

I don’t use Charlie because I knew my grandfather so well and want to bring his characteristics, his character into my character, but more because I want to get to know my grandfather better. I know, you might be asking, “Uh, hey, author dude. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think your grandfather passed away many years ago now.”

Yeah, I know.

That’s where things get interesting.

You see, Charlie Holiday has some, well, I don’t know quite what to call them: superpowers, supernatural powers, paranormal abilities. The thing is, I don’t really know yet because, and I understand that this may be hard to understand if you’re not a creator, an author, or at least someone who allows creativity to come to you, I don’t really know him so well yet and I need to write about him to learn more about him.

There. I said it. The secret is out of the bag. I don’t know my character so well and I need to write about him to learn more.

See how that works? Fun, right? I think so.

To complete the circle, “Lia” came to me this morning. These are the first three letters in my oldest son’s name. He’s the one to make the complete four generations of Charbonneaus and where I need to find the connection to Charlie.

It may seem a bit roundabout, but thus my subtitle: Do you listen to the voices that come to you in the silence of the deep morning? Hey, you don’t have to. But I do. It’s where most of my creativity comes from. It’s the source of my inspiration and the bottomless well of my stories.

Here’s what I know: I need to connect Liam, Bradley, Thomas, and Charlie. They’ll help me build the stories that center, at the moment anyway, around Charlie. That’s Charlie Holiday.

You might not know him so well yet. Well, either do I.

But that will change.

Welcome to my world. Welcome to the world of Charlie Holiday.