I changed a character in UG from being a trader in Chicago's Merchandise Mart to a Chicago cop...and it actually helped add to Devlin's inner growl of anger. He hates the police and Catholic Church for not protecting his mother from his abusive father. It's a bit of a parallel to Brendan, in APoS, but Devlin's reaction is animalistic instead of human.
Also, there's a strong suggestion Devlin killed his father when the man came at him in a drunken rage...maybe deliberately, maybe not, I think I'm leaving that up to the reader to decide. The fact is, he doesn't even know the man's dying when he leaves; he just storms off and is told later they think the man had a stroke...and he dies.
I'm having fun with a lot of ambiguity in UG, and also self-justification on Devlin's part...which finally blows up in his face. Rather like Curt in HTRASG. Devlin is proving to be a wild creature, not a civilized one...like a tiger on a rock star's leash that reverts to the jungle, now and then, and becomes dangerous...but only at times. Curt never was really in control of himself or his situation, which is why he winds up a double-murderer.
I don't want Devlin to slip into deadly...but I'm not refusing anything that comes along if it works. The truth is, if his screw up with Reg hadn't happened, he might have become another John Wayne Gacy or William Bonin. Something else I might hint at. But no question in my mind the story will work out to where he helps stop the beast killing men around London. A sort of redemption...and maybe even an HEA. You never know till it's done.
With Brendan, he's fighting so hard to remain apart from the animalistic part of what's happening around him, I'm not sure he'll be able to keep from sliding into it. He's already showing he's got quick wits when things are tight, like his explanation to British soldiers about Colm's arm being hurt, deflecting them from thinking they were involved in a riot. He also acts responsibly in many ways, like when he's being arrested by the British in book 3 and calms down a situation that could easily escalate into a deadly fight. But he's also pragmatic and sees things for what they are, not what he wants them to be...until the end...
My boys keep keeping on my toes...
Also, there's a strong suggestion Devlin killed his father when the man came at him in a drunken rage...maybe deliberately, maybe not, I think I'm leaving that up to the reader to decide. The fact is, he doesn't even know the man's dying when he leaves; he just storms off and is told later they think the man had a stroke...and he dies.
I'm having fun with a lot of ambiguity in UG, and also self-justification on Devlin's part...which finally blows up in his face. Rather like Curt in HTRASG. Devlin is proving to be a wild creature, not a civilized one...like a tiger on a rock star's leash that reverts to the jungle, now and then, and becomes dangerous...but only at times. Curt never was really in control of himself or his situation, which is why he winds up a double-murderer.
I don't want Devlin to slip into deadly...but I'm not refusing anything that comes along if it works. The truth is, if his screw up with Reg hadn't happened, he might have become another John Wayne Gacy or William Bonin. Something else I might hint at. But no question in my mind the story will work out to where he helps stop the beast killing men around London. A sort of redemption...and maybe even an HEA. You never know till it's done.
With Brendan, he's fighting so hard to remain apart from the animalistic part of what's happening around him, I'm not sure he'll be able to keep from sliding into it. He's already showing he's got quick wits when things are tight, like his explanation to British soldiers about Colm's arm being hurt, deflecting them from thinking they were involved in a riot. He also acts responsibly in many ways, like when he's being arrested by the British in book 3 and calms down a situation that could easily escalate into a deadly fight. But he's also pragmatic and sees things for what they are, not what he wants them to be...until the end...
My boys keep keeping on my toes...
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