One of the things I love about doing research for a novel is how one little factoid can completely reshape my approach to a character. In this case, I’m talking about the orphan trains, which ran between 1853 and 1929. Meant as a way of finding a better life for the many orphans of New York and other over-crowded eastern-US cities, they carried upwards of 250,000 children to new lives in the Midwest. At train stops in farming communities, the children would be paraded out in front of interested adults, who would basically pick out the ones they liked the looks of and take home. It was a system ripe for abuse and cruelty, but even so, a large number of children ended up being formally adopted and become a real part of the family who took them.

When I was first developing the character of Griffin for my Whyborne & Griffin series, I thought having been shipped from New York to Kansas on an orphan train would add an interesting bit of color to Griffin’s background. But it became much more than that.

It had become apparent to me that Griffin was someone who had never been very true to himself. Yes, he’d developed some undercover skills as a Pinkerton detective, but it was more than that. Even in his personal life, he’d change himself to be whatever he thought the other person wanted. And I realized it probably stemmed from the experience of being abandoned (via death) by his biological parents, and realizing his only chance at having a family and safety again was to please these strangers who had taken him in. To be whatever they wanted him to be.

At the opening of my latest release in the series, Stormhaven, it’s a pattern that has always worked for him, so he’s never broken out of it. On some level, he thinks if he can just present the right façade, then everyone will love him and everything will be perfect.

Of course life doesn’t really work that way, and nothing can undo the damage already done. But it all came from that moment of idle speculation on my part, when I thought how interesting it might be to incorporate a random tidbit of research into a character.

STORMHAVEN

BLURB: Mysterious happenings are nothing new to reclusive scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne, but finding one of his colleagues screaming for help in the street is rather unusual. Allan Tambling claims he can’t remember any of the last hour—but someone murdered his uncle, and Allan is covered in blood.

Whyborne’s lover, dashing ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty, agrees to prove Allan’s innocence. But when Allan is deemed insane and locked away in the Stormhaven Lunatic Asylum, Griffin finds himself reliving the horrifying memories of his own ordeal inside a madhouse.

Along with their friend Christine, the two men become drawn deeper and deeper into a dark web of conspiracy, magic, and murder. Their only clue: a missing artifact depicting an unknown god. Who stole the artifact, and why can’t Allan remember what happened? And what is the truth behind the terrible experiments conducted on Stormhaven’s forbidden fourth floor?

It will take all of Whyborne’s sorcery and Griffin’s derring-do to stop the murderers and save Allan. But first, they must survive an even greater challenge: a visit from Griffin’s family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jordan L. Hawk grew up in the wilds of North Carolina, where she was raised on stories of haints and mountain magic by her bootlegging granny and single mother. After using a silver knife in the light of a full moon to summon her true love, she turned her talents to spinning tales. She weaves together couples who need to fall in love, then throws in some evil sorcerers and undead just to make sure they want it bad enough. In Jordan’s world, love might conquer all, but it just as easily could end up in the grave.

GIVEAWAY

Jordan L. Hawk is giving away a $5 Amazon GC to one lucky winner from this contest. To enter yourself, all you need to do is leave a comment under this post mentioning your email ID!

Contest ends 9th December, 2013 @ 23:59 Pacific Time