Jack of Harts

Captain William Carter is one of my favorite characters to write. Born in colonial Connecticut when it was still a British colony, Bill grew up right there in New Haven to a prosperous merchant family with strong Puritan roots. New Haven wasn’t some empty English outpost though—the Indians who still lived in the area (Quinnipiac folks and others) kept their ways alive nearby, trading, farming, and sharing the land.

Young Bill was out in the woods early with a Kentucky long rifle in his hands and a horse under him, but he also spent time around those Native people. He heard their ancient stories of spirits tied to the hills and the New Haven Green, learned the land’s secrets, and picked up legends that would follow him his whole unnaturally long life. Those same Indian spirits still recognize him as the Puritan of New Haven beneath whatever uniform he wears—even as a Texas Ranger a century or more later.

It gives him a depth that is fun to play with.

I’ve run into a lot of Editors over the years. Some good. Some bad. Some amazing. Most Editors worth their salt are good at clearing out the bad grammar and wrong spellings and wrong words. The really awesome ones make the story better. They find one piece of the story and come back to the writer and say “we need a bit more right here.”. And man, are they right. I’ve got one of them right now, and I will write stories for her without a second thought. Because with just a little nudge here and there, she makes me write better stories. And that makes her an awesome editor.

I stand with the people of Persia. I sincerely hope the Persian people can reclaim their country and making something that serves them rather than slaughters them.