I’ve been tweaking character designs and working to establish personality traits, habits, expressions, and mannerisms. I’ve also been spending some time “getting to know” the characters by observing things I see and encounter in real life and recording how I think they would react. I spent a good part of last week Saturday at a local mega-mall and had an opportunity to watch all of the different interactions, expressions, and whatnot. In several instances, I’d find myself smiling and thinking, “Wow! That’s exactly what <<character>> would do!”

In any event, Lorie has been present in my creative mind, lately and I spend some time working on her proof of concept. When (or if) readers are introduced to Lorie, she will seem like a glowing ray of sunshine to Nash. While the word “fixate” may be a strong word, he will find himself drawn to her for some inexplicable reason. Their age difference (she is 18 and he is 26) will be an initial barrier to any potential romance. Nash is overly independent and mature for his age. His experiences have sharpened a rather cynical edge to his personality. Lorie is quite immature for her age and has experienced a relatively idyllic youth. Family circumstances have turned her perfect life on its ear and she struggles to understand and process the complexities. As a result, she has developed some unhealthy lifestyle choices.

If readers decide to direct Nash to spend more time with Lorie, he will become a close friend, mentor, and confidante to her. And when the time is ripe, he may potentially become her lover. The question remains, should he?