The Story of Freelan — From Villain to Hero
A little something different (i.e., not a story) for this day
Peter Thorn is a fictional character in my Freelan novel series that, no pun intended, really sticks in my mind. (Well, okay, the pun was intended.)
I put up a little about him in a note on 29 Feb 2024 08:53 am. To save you the fuss, here it is:
Happy Leap Day, and time for a Thorny Thursday romance. Well, actually, just the hint of one that appears in my Freelan Series of novels. As mentioned in my Warrior Wednesday post, Peter Thorn transitions from villain to a warrior for freedom. But warriors don’t always win in the battle of love. Peter’s year-long courtship with Caroline Taylor, years younger and the sheltered daughter of Emmanuel and Jessica Taylor, is conducted under the watchful eye not only of her parents but also her two older brothers, her aunt and uncle who live nearby and another uncle who lives a short distance away. Tough to get to know much about each other in such circumstances. And a surprise or two is on the horizon. Peter Thorn’s romance is indeed thorny!
Interesting, and thus lasting, characters change during a story. Peter’s change began before he even appears in part 1 of Freelan: The Dawning. We first see him when he is teetering on the brink of self-destruction—alcohol, drugs, casual sex, and thoughts of suicide—as he wonders where his life is going. He is 25 years old, grew up in an atmosphere of detesting achievers and producers in the world, and saw his parents, living off a trust fund his grandfather had set up, descending into a life of utter decadence and hedonism. Life seems meaningless and corrupt. To survive, sooner or later Peter has to wake up, right? Absolutely. How that happens is a big part of the story.
But it has also spurred me to write an additional novel in the series about his early life. It would be a prequel and cover the years from early childhood until shortly after he appears in the Freelan novels.
Here’s the opening as of this date (subject to change):
The face of a man in his early fifties with a full head of dark brown, curly hair with hints of gray, and bright blue eyes that exuded happiness as he smiled down at the infant in the crib was the earliest memory in Peter Mahanidhi Thorn’s massive information storage house—his brain. He was two days old. And the man was his grandfather, Peter O'Gara Thorn, after whom the infant was named—well, at least the first name.
The infant’s parents, Genevieve and Stacey Thorn, watched all this. They were in the hospital room in San Francisco. Genevieve lay back in bed. Stacey stood next to her, holding her hand. They both had one thought in mind: “We have to be sure the baby survives to his first birthday before that old money-grubbing, profiteering asshole will give us access to that trust fund.”
A young life begins. How it goes from here and how he becomes so messed up... well, that's the story.
And so it goes in Freelan. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into that world. More to come in the days ahead, and thanks for reading!
Please visit my author site for more on this novel series in progress and other writings.
Poll
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If you’ve been enjoying my flash fiction on here, please check out my first book of short stories (a couple are actually novelette length), newly published by Wordwooze Publishing. (I even designed the cover.)
