Joely Sue Burkhart

It’s taken me years to see Walk The Line.  I knew I would love it.  You might remember me saying that ages ago I chose black as my theme color because of Johnny Cash and his defining song.

Oh, how I adored the movie, and especially, Joaquin Phoenix.

But it was bittersweet, too, because it reminds me of a beloved darling I killed.  Early in the writing of Beautiful Death (before I even finished the first draft), Joaquin was the inspiration for a character I named Bryan.  At the time, I was trying my hand at erotic romance.  He was a lot like Nathaniel in LKH’s Anita Blake series.  Needy, weaker, but stronger because of that need.  He was a perfect match for Isabella’s strength and ferocity.  He brought out her softer side, and represented her humanity.

I abandoned that incomplete version, and in the next draft, I murdered him.  Bryan was completely removed from the story.  I forced myself to expand Hades’ character, to give him the elements of Bryan that I loved.  He had to bring out the softer side of Isabella, alone, without any crutch character to help him.  The vulnerability that Hades shows–a deliberate weakness he knowingly allows because Isabella can’t fight it–is a direct result of Bryan’s demise.

The book is better, much better, for that murder.  But watching Walk The Line reminded me of Bryan’s death.  Sigh.  Fortunately, I’m using Joaquin for inspiration in The Fire Within as Darius, the main antagonist.  He’s a creepy, scary kind of character, more like the Emperor in Gladiator.  Some day… I’ll write him as a hero.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 12th, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.