Last week I confirmed the title of my novel as “The Paisley Soul Of A Stricken Man” and this week I wanted to introduce you to the inspiration behind one of the main characters.
Meet John Edgar Crook
This is John, he is my granddad and cradled in his arms is my mum at 4 weeks old. My novel is a character driven exploration of a family defined by one tragic event and it looks at how such events can define our whole existence and also trap us in a cycle of excuses and regret.
At the centre of the family is the patriarch and grandfather who I have decided to name Edgar Croft. The name is a tribute to my granddad because his middle name was Edgar and at his place of work he used the surname Croft. He was known as Croft rather than Crook because he was a department store manager and felt that Crook would give the wrong impression to customers. My character shares some attributes with my grandfather but only in the way his family view him rather than any real life personality traits. The novel is in many ways based on an event in my life but is not about my life and family but about the decisions we all make and how we choose to deal with adversity.
The novel also asks the question “If you could change the events of your past, would you and what would you change?” It then looks at the consequences of such change occurring. The other main character in the story is Edgar Choudhary and I have given young Edgar the opportunity to change the events of his past by allowing him to travel backwards in time.
Edgar’s time travel is not of the Doctor Who variety though, as he can only travel between two defined points in his life. There are also strict parameters to the time travel within my novel as I want the characters to drive the story and look at the consequences of their actions and decisions.
Let me know what you think of this glimpse into the themes of my story and my choices of character names. Also let me know what your latest project is because as always with my “Tales From The Edge” posts I would love to hear from fellow writers about your concerns, anxieties or just news on your most recent successes.
The World Outside the Window 