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The Stark Light of Autumn
I have a great friend named David, who as a child was part angel and part devil. As that kid, Davy seemed at times to be obsessed with basketball. When I would visit his home to see other members of his family, he would often walk into the room with a basketball and start bouncing it. Once when I asked him to stop, he bounced it even louder. I chased him, caught him, and (playfully) beat him up. Davy, laughing and screaming, promised he would stop, and he did—for about fifteen minutes. He returned to the room again, bouncing that damned ball, with the most delightful and confident smirk on his face.
It was at that exact moment the character of Randall Arthur Darrick was born.
For months I developed this new character (that ultimately was quite the opposite of Davy’s personality). I created his family, friends, enemies, and an dramatic plot for “Randy” to deal with. The story was not really about basketball, nevertheless, I titled it, The Basketball Kid. I liked the early drafts so much that I started work on what I thought would be a follow-up book titled
The Basketball Kid Part II.
It was at that exact moment the character of Randall Arthur Darrick was born.
For months I developed this new character (that ultimately was quite the opposite of Davy’s personality). I created his family, friends, enemies, and an dramatic plot for “Randy” to deal with. The story was not really about basketball, nevertheless, I titled it, The Basketball Kid. I liked the early drafts so much that I started work on what I thought would be a follow-up book titled
The Basketball Kid Part II.
Around about this time I was introduced to a pleasant family whose members included a son named Colton, who ironically was also part angel and part devil. He also had strikingly beautiful red hair which reminded me of my character Randy. As I continued to write my story, Colton grew from a little boy to a tall teenager. When he visited me one day, after not seeing him for almost a year, it almost scared me how much he looked like the Randy Darrick I had created. I started taking photos of Colton. He also helped me a lot with my story by sharing how difficult it often was to be a red-headed kid. From that point on when I worked on the story, Colton and my image of Randy became one and the same.
One other person helped me with another important character although she doesn’t know that, and I have no idea what her name is. While I was visiting the University of Southern California, a student helped me at their bookstore. She had the most exotically lovely eyes I had ever seen on a human. I asked where she was from, she said Hawaii. That extraordinarily beautiful young lady inspired my character, Nai Lani.
As I continued writing, I decided that the original title would be misleading to readers, so I changed it to Shadows in the Backcourt. I put the manuscript away for some time as I started work on other books. When I returned to “Shadows” I decided to combine both books. The final story turned out to be wonderfully better than I first envisioned it. But I wanted to change the title again. The Stark Light of Autumn (TSLOA) felt like a good fit.
When it came time to create the cover for this book, to me there was no question that Colton had to be Randy. To be fair, Colton is nothing like my character Randy. Nevertheless, to this day, it creeps me out how he is visually the embodiment of Randall Arthur Darrick. And as a thank you to my longtime friend Davy, I created a character named after him in the story. That character, who makes several cameo appearances, is much more like the real David.
When it came time to create the cover for this book, to me there was no question that Colton had to be Randy. To be fair, Colton is nothing like my character Randy. Nevertheless, to this day, it creeps me out how he is visually the embodiment of Randall Arthur Darrick. And as a thank you to my longtime friend Davy, I created a character named after him in the story. That character, who makes several cameo appearances, is much more like the real David.
I love a solid dramatic TV program and I love an engaging movie. Of course, I love the written word. When I create a story I’m not attempting to be a Shakespeare or a Longfellow. I’m trying to give you the warmth and enjoyment of a good movie through words. When reading TSLOA, try to visualize it with transitions and sound effects. When a chapter ends, think of it as fading to black. Some books are created for historical purposes, some for shock, some just for profit. I write books to share my visual experience with you. I hope The Stark Light of Autumn does that.