I've been tagged and invited by my friend and fellow blogger, Patti Abbott, to join the Meet My Character Blog Tour. Each author participant writes about their character on their blog, then tags authors to join. I'm offering up Scott Drayco from Played to Death, my new novel and the first in a series, as part of the tour. (Since I'm a bit late in catching up with the meme, I'm posting links to other authors in the blog hop instead of tagging additional authors.)
What is the name of your character?
Scott Ian Drayco
Is he a fictional or historic person?
Drayco is purely fictional and not based on anyone I've ever known. He is an amalgam of many different people and maybe even certain aspects of my own personality. He's a lot taller, though, a foot taller, to be exact (6'4").
What should we know about Drayco?
Scott Drayco was a promising piano prodigy until a violent brush with crime ended his career and left his right arm scarred. Seeing this as a chance to find justice for other victims, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his formerly-estranged father with a storied career in the FBI, followed by private consulting. But he didn't leave music behind entirely and finds that the complex counterpoint of J.S. Bach helps him puzzle through thorny investigations. He also has chromasthesia, a form of synesthesia, where he sees all sounds and voices as colors, shapes, and textures. Although he's the first to say this doesn't make him a "Super Detective," his unusual perceptions of the world often work their way into cases.
When and where is the story set?
Played to Death is set in the present day on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the fictional town of Cape Unity (and fictional Prince of Wales County). Although the town is a creation of my imagination, it is based on several small towns on the Delmarva Peninsula and incorporates various aspects of each. Sandwiched between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, there are definite nautical ties that underlie the action. But it's the tension of old versus new that drives the story, tension you can see there today, between the old timers and the D.C. weekenders and growing Wallops Island rocket launch facility.
What is the main conflict? What messes up Drayco's life?
Drayco is still haunted by nightmares and self-doubts from his last case that saw the deaths of two innocent children, so much so that he's considering retiring from crime solving altogether. To add insult to injury, he's bequeathed a crumbling Opera House in Cape Unity by a grateful former client. So he heads to the Shore hoping for a quick sale and a chance to nurse his battered psyche in a peaceful coastal setting. What he didn't count on was finding a body on the stage of the Opera House, with a mysterious "G" carved into the man's chest. Finding himself a suspect in the murder, he has to deal with a wary Sheriff, conflicts over coastal development, and the seductive wife of a Town Councilman as he gets pulled into a web of music, madness, and murder.
What is Drayco's personal goal in this book?
Drayco primarily wants to clear his name and keep the violence from spreading. But he also finds he's growing attached to the town and its residents and is conflicted over the Opera House and its potential as a catalyst for change. Will he sell the building? Will he find the resolution he needs to stay with law enforcement as a career? And can he find the killer before there are more murders and Drayco himself becomes the next victim?
What is his general attitude toward life?
Life is a fugue – voices entering, leaving, forwards, backwards, upside down, connecting at certain points, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes dissonantly – life is like being in the middle of a composition as it is being written, being a leitmotif that operates here or there, representing your voice, your music, even if for just a short time; each composition (person) is unique, some you like, some you don’t – we’re all just small notes in the greater symphony of the vast universe (or universes).
For more on Played to Death and future Drayco installments, check out my website.
Here are some of the many other authors who are participating:
And there are many dozens more. Just conduct a web search on "Meet My Character Blog Hop" and have fun learning about some interesting new literary creations.
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