The Warlock from Legend
Readers of Dogwoods Blush know that the murderous Roscoe Parker was recalled from the dead to do the bidding of the evil Vladimir Buchinsky, only to come face-to-face with his arch enemy also resurrected from the dead, the powerful Jeremiah Bronson, aka Night Terror. Their battle for the future of mankind forms the explosive conclusion in the book. In previous posts we've discussed how I came to use the gypsy curse to bring Parker back from the dead and my last post dealt with the Necronomicon, another possibility I considered. Today I'd like to share with you a third and final option I considered along with why I decided against it. Today's post deals with the ancient evil we all know as ... witchcraft.
From my earliest childhood memories of Halloween, witches have always been scary. At a very early age I also recall the wicked witch of the west from Wizard of Oz and her flying monkeys, sure to spur on a nightmare or two in my formative years. Children tales like Hansel and Gretel only made things worse! As time went on, I learned more about the fear of witches like everyone else did in high school, shivering in history class at the true tales of the Salem Witch Trials and turning the pages of Arthur Miller's The Crucible in English literature. As more and more horror films began using the theme of witches and warlocks as the beasties to fear (Warlock, Fear No Evil, The Craft, Suspiria, Black Sunday, etc) I began to consider this approach as a means to unleash the terror of Roscoe Parker on the unsuspecting citizens of Timmonsville, GA.
Readers of Dogwoods Blush already know that Jeremiah was bred to kill and was always destined to become a monster, according to the evil Vladimir:
You are the most lethal and perfect killing machine to ever emerge on this planet! You have exhibited this skill on more than one occasion, yet you always side with the sheep instead of the wolves!
At that point, Vladimir forced Bronson to make a choice ... side with him and the monstrous Parker or be destroyed. Readers of the book know what choice Jerry made and why he made it, but what f I'd followed the witchcraft angle? What would happen then?
If I'd followed this storyline, Vladimir would have indeed been a Warlock, a male witch from the "old country," and his agenda would have clearly been more lethal from the beginning than depicted in the published tale. But the big difference would be in the resurrection of Parker ... and of Jerry. Again, while readers understand why Jerry returned to the land of the living and they can also determine HOW if they decipher the clues, this approach would have left no doubt. Both Jerry and Parker would have been raised from the dead by the evil Vladimir to do his bidding, which was to destroy the town and bring about Hell on Earth. In the published version, I even allowed for that possibility ... remember that Vladimir arrived in town a day AFTER his bed & breakfast reservation, saying he "had business to attend to" that forced his late arrival. That "business" would have been raising Sheriff Bronson from the dead to seek and achieve his revenge on his murderers (now sold out by Vladimir), then to link-up with Parker a week later and destroy the town. He would have killed his killers brutally and returned to Timmonsville with readers thinking he was as monstrous as Parker, only to discover ... well ... not so fast!
We all know (if you read the book) why Jerry stood against Parker and Buchinsky. So I won't spoil it for those who have not read it or readers who have yet to come to that point in the story. But in this version, Jerry is stopped by the heroic Reverend Roman Spindola because he learns that while his beloved Angel died 15 years ago, before she died, she gave birth to a daughter ... Jerry's daughter ... the innocent child who now stands before him in his murderous path to death and destruction. Seeing the child he never knew he had (a major point in the book is Jerry's desire to become a father with Angel as his wife) would turn Jerry from the "dark side" to stand against Parker and Buchinsky and, in a fiery climax, sacrifice all to save the town, his mentor Roman, and the little girl he never knew. Sound sad? Yep. And that's just one reason I rejected this storyline.
While fans of Star Wars and Darth Vader all appreciate the Shakespeare inspired tragedy of the tainted hero who turns from evil and saves the day, I wanted Jerry to be pure from day #1. I felt it would be hard to have readers sympathize with his plight if they'd seen him commit brutal murders in the name of revenge, plus this version made the appearance of Ol' Blue seem forced and out of place. And my teenaged sons assured me that the plot of "the child he never knew he had" is tired and overused now.
So when I finally put pen to paper to tell my tale of love from beyond death, I abandoned the witchcraft angle as well as that of the daughter. But sometimes I still wonder how readers would have reacted to it. So do me a favor ... tell me what you think of that potential plot line that never happened. I'd love to hear from you.
So now that we've covered many specifics of the forces of evil in the story, I've had a few readers ask me to delve more into the more peaceful aspects of the tale ... the love story between Jerry and Angel ... and details of how that came to be. Check back with me next time for a look at an eternal love, destined to end too soon, but sealed forever ... somewhere in time.
From my earliest childhood memories of Halloween, witches have always been scary. At a very early age I also recall the wicked witch of the west from Wizard of Oz and her flying monkeys, sure to spur on a nightmare or two in my formative years. Children tales like Hansel and Gretel only made things worse! As time went on, I learned more about the fear of witches like everyone else did in high school, shivering in history class at the true tales of the Salem Witch Trials and turning the pages of Arthur Miller's The Crucible in English literature. As more and more horror films began using the theme of witches and warlocks as the beasties to fear (Warlock, Fear No Evil, The Craft, Suspiria, Black Sunday, etc) I began to consider this approach as a means to unleash the terror of Roscoe Parker on the unsuspecting citizens of Timmonsville, GA.
Readers of Dogwoods Blush already know that Jeremiah was bred to kill and was always destined to become a monster, according to the evil Vladimir:
You are the most lethal and perfect killing machine to ever emerge on this planet! You have exhibited this skill on more than one occasion, yet you always side with the sheep instead of the wolves!
At that point, Vladimir forced Bronson to make a choice ... side with him and the monstrous Parker or be destroyed. Readers of the book know what choice Jerry made and why he made it, but what f I'd followed the witchcraft angle? What would happen then?
If I'd followed this storyline, Vladimir would have indeed been a Warlock, a male witch from the "old country," and his agenda would have clearly been more lethal from the beginning than depicted in the published tale. But the big difference would be in the resurrection of Parker ... and of Jerry. Again, while readers understand why Jerry returned to the land of the living and they can also determine HOW if they decipher the clues, this approach would have left no doubt. Both Jerry and Parker would have been raised from the dead by the evil Vladimir to do his bidding, which was to destroy the town and bring about Hell on Earth. In the published version, I even allowed for that possibility ... remember that Vladimir arrived in town a day AFTER his bed & breakfast reservation, saying he "had business to attend to" that forced his late arrival. That "business" would have been raising Sheriff Bronson from the dead to seek and achieve his revenge on his murderers (now sold out by Vladimir), then to link-up with Parker a week later and destroy the town. He would have killed his killers brutally and returned to Timmonsville with readers thinking he was as monstrous as Parker, only to discover ... well ... not so fast!
We all know (if you read the book) why Jerry stood against Parker and Buchinsky. So I won't spoil it for those who have not read it or readers who have yet to come to that point in the story. But in this version, Jerry is stopped by the heroic Reverend Roman Spindola because he learns that while his beloved Angel died 15 years ago, before she died, she gave birth to a daughter ... Jerry's daughter ... the innocent child who now stands before him in his murderous path to death and destruction. Seeing the child he never knew he had (a major point in the book is Jerry's desire to become a father with Angel as his wife) would turn Jerry from the "dark side" to stand against Parker and Buchinsky and, in a fiery climax, sacrifice all to save the town, his mentor Roman, and the little girl he never knew. Sound sad? Yep. And that's just one reason I rejected this storyline.
While fans of Star Wars and Darth Vader all appreciate the Shakespeare inspired tragedy of the tainted hero who turns from evil and saves the day, I wanted Jerry to be pure from day #1. I felt it would be hard to have readers sympathize with his plight if they'd seen him commit brutal murders in the name of revenge, plus this version made the appearance of Ol' Blue seem forced and out of place. And my teenaged sons assured me that the plot of "the child he never knew he had" is tired and overused now.
So when I finally put pen to paper to tell my tale of love from beyond death, I abandoned the witchcraft angle as well as that of the daughter. But sometimes I still wonder how readers would have reacted to it. So do me a favor ... tell me what you think of that potential plot line that never happened. I'd love to hear from you.
So now that we've covered many specifics of the forces of evil in the story, I've had a few readers ask me to delve more into the more peaceful aspects of the tale ... the love story between Jerry and Angel ... and details of how that came to be. Check back with me next time for a look at an eternal love, destined to end too soon, but sealed forever ... somewhere in time.
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