I think that it is only fair to say that Kane is a character that I still haven’t figured out yet. When I first introduced him in Diamonds in the Rough, my plan was for him to be the reincarnation of Rakim. I wanted him to be the good Christian guy that rescued Carmen from Jay and was also the polar opposite of him.

Then, while writing the novel, I created a twist in the storyline and revealed that he was a Triad agent (the Triad is a fictional government agency, somewhat of a mix between the FBI and DEA). Some readers were already suspicious of him because he was so accommodating to Carmen and wasn’t that surprised when I revealed the secret. However, I took it a step further with his dramatic turn in Diamonds is Forever.

My whole plan for him being the perfect man for Carmen was now officially out the door.

As I continue writing the series, I see now that I am showing more of his alter ego than the real him. The “real Kane” is the man that Carmen met inside of her store and fell in love with. His alter ego is the one who pins her down in the bed, calls her out her name, and is quick-tempered. This is the same alter ego that Kane uses when he goes undercover.

In terms of Kane’s background, I shall start with the origin of his character. In one of the earlier versions of Diamonds in the Rough, Kane was actually the name of Jay’s character. Somehow, I ended up sending that version to the chop shop. There was also another version of the book where I introduced Kane at the beginning of the story as an up and coming clothing store owner who was Carmen’s competitor. I actually kept part of this storyline for the current version of Diamonds in the Rough.

Originally, I didn’t plan on giving him a full name until I decided that his character would be prevalent throughout the series. I settled on his first name being Michael and his middle name Antonio, which doesn’t have any real major significance. As for his moniker, “Kane,” he started using it when he went undercover as a drug dealer. Since his product of choice was cocaine, “Kane,” seemed to be the perfect name for someone who was posing as a Jamaican drug lord.

In addition, Kane was born and raised in New York and his family (his parents and sister) currently lives in Manhattan. Right now, I am unsure if they will play a bigger role in the series than what they do. With the way the storyline is going, I don’t really see them fitting in unless I squeezed them into book five (tentatively titled Diamonds N’ Roses).

Of course, I can always change my mind.

When it comes to Kane’s physical characteristics, his looks are somewhat similar to Lotus’. He’s dark-skinned, bald-headed, about 6’2 and weighs approximately 200 lbs. He is also very muscular. Several people have told me that they envision Tyrese when reading about Kane or D.B. Woodside who plays Malcolm Franks on VH1’s Single Ladies. In my personal opinion, I see more of Kane in D.B than Tyrese.

What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment!