I’ve mentioned this before, that when I’ve finished writing a story – and by that I mean what becomes a novel, I have difficulty letting go of my characters. Often – if not usually their story continues in my head and quite often I write it for a while. Sometimes it becomes the genesis for a completely different story, but usually it just fades away. I’ve been somewhat stuck with my writing recently, but there’s one of my continuations bubbling away and I’m now wondering if it might actually blossom and develop into something else.
I have a character who was initially just a walk-on part, someone to make up the numbers at a dinner party. However, they began to insinuate themselves into the story – well, insinuate is the wrong word, suggesting someone creeping in, almost unnoticeably. In ‘The Stalking of Rosa Czekov’, The main character, Tyche, has been invited by Rosa’s husband to dinner and there are other guests:
Tyche looked round as they went into the light airy hall and then the lounge, and gave a shiver as if she too was nervous. French windows led into a large glazed conservatory where four people sat on comfortable padded cane furniture. Tyche hadn’t expected an interview panel.
“Tyche, this is my good friend Brian Makepeace, we’ve been pals forever, same nursery, same school, same band, same Uni.”
Brian stood up to shake hands. He was a huge man with a round pale face, pocked and marked, scarred from teenage acne. He was dressed in black and standing seemed to dominate the room with his unsmiling presence.
“Hi Brian,” said Tyche pulling her hand from his enormous paw. He said nothing, his great wan face as blank and distant as the moon, his eyes small and expressionless.
“And this is Brian’s wife Estelle.”
“Hello, Tyche,” Estelle smiled shyly, friendly and welcoming. Her eyes, although wide with surprise, were warm. She looked insubstantial, somehow, a little timid creature beside her big husband.
Tyche has some notes Rosa wrote, in which she describes Brian:
I’ve thought of all Luka’s friends too, I’ve been through his address book and the Christmas card list and his school photos. Top of the list because he is still Luka’s best friend is Rudi.
Brian Makepeace; his family lived next door to Luka’s, they had known each other all their lives, had gone to the same playgroup, same junior school and on to the High. Rosa had always known Brian her husband’s best friend, had seen them together on the school bus. After the fight when Rosa had saved Luka, when he was so aware of her, Brian still didn’t notice her at all, just a timid little kid sitting with the other little kids at the back of the bus.
Brian was big and burly as a boy, fat as an adult, with a white face and gelled black hair. Because he was so ashen, any spots showed as if they were luminous. After a particularly bad series of eruptions on his nose, Brian was nick-named Rudolph, then Rudi, and Rudi maintained to the present.
Rudi played lead guitar in Swank and sang in a peculiarly aggressive and defiant way. Rosa didn’t like him, and it was clear that he didn’t particularly like her either.
Rudi was meant to have just a bit part, however as I was writing it, the big man seemed to have other ideas! Tyche is trying to find out who had been stalking Rosa before she boarded a train which crashed with devastating consequences. Any of the people she meets at Luka’s dinner party could be the stalker, maybe, Tyche thinks, it could be the best friend, Brian/Rudi!
Now Tyche’s story is continuing in my head, even though the book is published and out there on Amazon. Should I continue, or should I get to grips with my work-in-progress and not be distracted!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/STALKING-ROSA-CZEKOV-Lois-Elsden/dp/B08M7J3SZG/
Lois Elsden 