Tag Archives: vogue

How Do You Come Up With a Character?

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This question was asked to me last night and I wanted to share my answer with the rest of the world. Generally, I know what a story needs. For example, although I am going through the edits for The Ace of Diamonds, my mind is still on the plot for Book No. 4, Black Diamonds. In the fourth book, I know that I need a character who can basically stand-in for Jay while he is somewhat out of the picture (dont’ get scared- he’s not going too far, promise!). I also wanted Jay to have some kind of family other than his children.

I decided to create a male character who just so happened to be Jay’s first cousin. This person needed to be fearless, aggressive, smart, and attractive, all at the same time. I didn’t have a name for this person until I was watching an episode of Chrissy and Mr. Jones on VH1. I can’t remember what was going on, but I knew that Jim Jones had made a facial expression that just screamed the character that I needed in my book. I remember staring at the TV and the words, “That’s him!” were being thrown around in my mind.

I immediately went to the Internet and started the search for a name that now matched the face I had in my head. Lo and  behold, I learned that Jim Jones’ middle name was Guillermo. Perfect for a Hispanic character, right? Thus, was born Guillermo Perez, who I decided to refer to as Gully in the fourth book. Gully can be defined as something from the street, gangster, or gutter , which fit the character I had just created to the T.

So as you can see, I take what I need for a story, throw in what I want, a little TV and internet, and here comes a…CHARACTER 🙂

Behind the Book: Jayceon King Santiago

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When I first decided that Carmen would become a mother, I instantly knew that her first born would be a boy. The next thing I knew was that he was going to be a bad ass. I didn’t want him to be as tough or as ruthless as Jay, but I wanted to set him up on the trek where he had the potential to maybe one day become just like him.

Now that I’m older and more mature, I want my characters to make that same transition. My plan is to transform the character of Jayceon King Santiago (born Jayceon Santiago Kane, but generally known as King) from a troubled young male to a legit businessman.

The Troubled Young Teen

If you’ve read Diamonds are Forever (DAF) then you know that when you are first introduced to King that he is beating up an old comrade who owes him money for drugs. The purpose of this scene was to set the tone for the kind of persona that King has. It also allows you, the reader, to see that although he was not raised nor has knowledge of Jay, he still possesses some of his characteristics.

Most of King’s teenage years were spent in juvie and behavioral centers as a result of selling drugs, truancy, fighting, and theft. In DAF, he attributes this behavior to wanting his mother’s attention. He realized early on that he got it whenever he was getting into trouble and she had to come to his rescue. When he finally reveals this to her, Carmen expresses her love for him and tells him that she will try and work on their relationship.

Making the Change

Throughout the course of the book, his persona starts to change, which is due to his new relationship with Jay (who is first introduced to him as Jigga). In addition, Malik encourages King to stay out of trouble so that he can successfully maintain his new position in the Santiago cartel. Although King is still involved in illegal business, he does become more levelheaded. This can be seen in the scene when he is arrested by his stepfather for a jewelry heist. In the past, he usually put up a fight, but this time, he keeps his cool. He just wants to do his time, get his sentence over so that he can get back to business.

Behind Bars

Most of his downtime is not described or shared in DAF or AOD, but I can tell you that he spent most of his time developing several business plans including one to start his own record label (King Records). A millionaire before the age of eighteen (due to his father’s constant financial support), his money nearly doubled because of his involvement with the Santiago cartel. It is with this money that he plans to fund his record label along with two silent partners.

King’s Future

I will go on record and say that King has a bright future ahead of him. After he is released, you will see more of this as he branches out and creates his own businesses. He also becomes more of his own person and gets out of his father’s shadow.

Tidbits about Jayceon King Santiago

-Jayceon is normally pronounced Jay-see-on, but his name is actually Jason which is a play on Jay’s son

-He is short for a male, only 5’9 and weighs approximately 160 lbs.

-He keeps his hair cut low and closely resembles his great-grandfather, Vincent Santiago (Hector’s father).

– He changed his name to Jayceon (first name) King (middle name) Santiago (last name) when he was nineteen years old to reflect his true parentage.

-The collection, King, manufactured by Flame is named after him.

-His love interest is Coco Masterson, who is best friends with his sister, Kristian.

Something else you want to know? Feel free to leave a comment!

Behind the Book: Michael Antonio Kane

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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!