Jeremiah Stone - Eris

In the story Jeremiah Stone, Eris is an angel who is first sent to kill Zygi Wolf and later ends up as Isis’ protector. If you know Greek mythology at all, you might questions why GOD would send in Eris to begin with because she is strife incarnate. Secondly, though she is a warrior, why use her as a protector of Isis instead of sending her after Hades. The answer is many fold, so I will discuss them in order.

First of all, Hades and Loki have created an empire on Earth which has remained hidden right under the noses of the angels. In fact, everything is so meticulously setup and covered up by the two demons that finding a weakness in either of them before being destroyed is unlikely. By sending in Eris to protect Isis, it keeps Eris out of the fray while allowing her ability to take hold.

So why would this be important? Eris’ ability is more than just strife and discord, its chaos. Just the fact her power is nearly identical to that of Loki’s means the pot will be stirred in random ways.  By sending her in to protect Isis, her ability to create chaos and sow randomness into the equation, may possibly change Hades’ and Loki’s carefully laid plans. And in some ways, her randomness counters Loki’s own unpredictability leveling them both out so Jeremiah can anticipate what both of them will do. In a way, their two chaotic personalities almost create a predictable pattern.

In addition, Jeremiah’s own ability and beliefs, especially with Eris around, make him less structured. This gives him a level of unpredictability in the presence of Eris, making his normal well-thought out moves more random in appearance. This is one of the reasons why Hades exits the picture and brings in Opus Wright. Hades can’t follow Jeremiah’s train of thought with Eris around. So the best he can do is hope to lure Jeremiah into a trap or have Opus finish him off first.

For these reasons, Eris is continually sent back as Isis’ protector even though the two of them don’t necessarily get along.

One more thing, Jeremiah’s belief in himself is not swayed by Eris. In fact, the tension between Eris and Jeremiah fuels both of them into doing their best because neither one trusts the other. This is the other reason Eris is sent.

Finally, the biggest difference between Eris and Loki is she was never tempted by Lucifer’s promise and therefore remained an angel. Now this may seem like a small thing, but it’s not. It means she is solely dedicated towards GOD’s plan and does not waver, so she will do anything and everything within her power in order to carry out HIS will, even if it means sacrificing herself for the greater good.

Jeremiah Stone - Hades

As discussed in Forevers, Hades is one of the most consistently manipulative demons on Earth, yet there is so much more to him than just surviving. Besides being Hades, the demon has also played the part of other less well known ancient gods on earth. The most significant on these was his portrayal of Mot, a god of death and darkness, who was split by a sword, winnowed in a sieve, burned, ground into dust, and devoured by crows only to come back to life. In reality, this was the demon’s first planned transference from one host to another thus giving him the appearance of surviving anything. That legacy has carried the demon throughout the ages until his time as Hades.

As the god Hades, the demon played his most important and memorable role on Earth and as such has retained the name Hades. His given name has been lost in time except by only a few.

In Hell, Hades was also one of the first to learn Lucifer’s power. Since then he has tuned it through centuries of dealing with humanity becoming one of the most manipulative creatures on Earth. And since Lucifer is forbidden to interact directly with humans, Hades often assumes the demon’s personification in demonic rituals. Also, like when dealing with Opus Wright, Hades takes on the guise of Death, a role he had played many times affecting history in dozens of ways.

In the story Jeremiah Stone, Hades and Loki are the villains. Together they create an entire company based on around a group of cult followers while using Loki’s power and influence with the mob to clear the way. It isn’t until Jeremiah Stone messes with Hades’ next host when things go awry. Even while Hades seeks to destroy Jeremiah by capturing Isis and leading the man into a trap, Hades finds himself looking toward his own vulnerabilities. And seeing as Jeremiah always seems to be victorious, Hades plans for the worst by cultivating his next host just in case Jeremiah Stone does get lucky. Hades, however, never loses.

Jeremiah Stone - Forevers

In the world of Jeremiah Stone, angels and demons exist on earth much like in the movie Constantine. There are a few differences however; one of them being angels and demons only take possession a human body. For angels, certain religious sects solely exist for the purpose of preparing their body for the inhabitation of an angel’s spirit. Demons, however, simply take over the minds of the weak, though there has to be a level of belief in the divine for this to occur. Therein lies a problem, though. The power these godly incarnations possess limits the time they can normally occupy a human body. There are exception to this rule and they are called Forevers.

Forevers are angels or demons who share compassion towards their host’s well-being. Most importantly they are able to limit the power and knowledge they innately possess so as not to destroy the body they occupy prematurely. Because they are able to exist in harmony within the donor, they don’t treat the host’s body with disregard. In addition to this, the longer they spend within the body the more the body can adapt to the angel’s or demon’s abilities, such as their speed, strength, and constitution. However, there are very few angels and demons who possess the level of compassion necessary to occupy a body for longer than a decade or two. Those who can often become Forevers.

Within the world of Jeremiah Stone, there are far more demons on earth than angels. Most of the demons only spend a few weeks or months on earth creating havoc before they ultimately destroy the body they possess. This is because demons are naturally less compassionate, so there are only a few demon Forevers. Contrary to this are the angels, who have very few volunteers from which to select a host, but they can usually last much longer in their bodies.

Of all the angels, Isis is a perfect Forever. Her godly aspects of love, compassion, and fertility have allowed her to occupy the same body for over three millennia. During her time, she’s was the representation of an Egyptian god, but when Christianity began spreading across most of the world she adapted to the change and survived on Earth influencing other cultures towards peace. Her only problem is that she doesn’t age, always having the appearance of a woman between her early 20s to early 30s. This forces her to constantly move around giving up her sphere of influence thus not enabling her to affect real change within society except in times of war. Despite all this, she is well regarded among the angels because she has seen and experienced so much. In other words, her wisdom concerning humanity gives her a power few can match.

Hades, on the other hand, is a different type of Forever. He guides the world towards Armageddon; playing long-term angles which few demons can comprehend for the simple reason those demons can’t exist on the world more than a few months at a time. And even though Hades can only last a few decades within a host, he regularly cycles through host bodies while always searching for a host long before it’s needed. Once a new host is found, he cultivates the new host with promises of power and longevity until the host wants to become Hades. This desire to become Hades allows the demon to exist within the host longer than almost all other demons. For this reason, Hades is almost always a permanent fixture on Earth and one of the most influential demons man has ever encountered. And given that he has power over shadows and darkness, he is one of the most feared demons on Earth.

Writing Female Characters

I can only imagine that for a male author one of the most difficult things to do is write female characters. I know it is for me, but I make the attempt based on what I have observed with every woman I’ve met. It’s not an easy task, considering most of the women I’ve met are not the emotional type. Granted, they shed tears more easily them most men, but they are more logical, less emotional than they are normally portrayed in media. So along those lines, I always seem to create a woman of this type in my stories. My only possible excuse for this is that the heroine of my life is Rosa Parks because her defiant, true-to-self nature inspires me.

Reflecting on all the female characters I’ve written, I’d like to describe three of them from three different books: Chalas from the series Shadow Gods, Christina from Romance Novel, and Isis from the Jeremiah Stone series. All three of these women have very different personalities, but all of them are strong in their own way. Most of all, these female characters provide an insight into the story and the male character each interacts with which brings them all to life.

As described in my Conversation blog entry, the three words that describe Chalas are intuitive, stubborn, and motherly. Despite her leadership skills and being the one person everyone turns to in times of need, she is never in charge because of the male dominated society in which she exists. She passes no judgment and everyone looks up to her, knowing a single word or look from her can make a person quiver in silence. Also, due to her intuitive nature she knows exactly how to deal with people to get what she wants. Arguing with her is also a futile effort. Regardless of her harsh nature when dealing with ‘stupid men’, she does have a soft side. She is protective of those she cares for and she will not give an inch when she believes in something.

Contrary to Chalas, Christina has a very feminine side. She has been hurt is many of her past relationships, but it doesn’t stop her from putting her heart forth to get stepped on once again because she believes in love. She believes she will find the one person for her and she’s not going to give up until she does. Some would consider this a weakness; but this doesn’t stop her from   aggressively searching for what her heart desires. Of course, all this is hidden behind a wall of confidence as she is one of only a few women in a male dominated field. Because of this, she strives to be better and do more than her counterparts (and it shows).

Of these three women, Isis is by far the most timid and most feminine. Her strength exists in the fact she dares to defy God even though she’s an angel. Her nature is love and fertility (as in the Egyptian god Isis) and when she meets Jeremiah Stone she becomes torn between her growing love for him and her inherent love for God. To her fellow angels, she’s considered a traitor and weak, an angel doomed to be sent to hell because she is choosing to love someone besides God. Of course, Isis’ strength is her belief in love, along with the belief that if God disagreed with what she was doing than God would deny her this love. Since she is allowed to continue her relationship with Jeremiah Stone, she is defiant towards those who disagree with what she’s doing and challenges them to speak otherwise. Within Jeremiah’s arms, however, she is only his.

All three of these women are strong in their own right and they reflect a bit of me, a bit of what I desire within a woman, and a bit of the women I know. This is not to say I know how to write female characters. It is only to say I strive to present them in a light which shows both their strengths and weaknesses. I hope I do them and myself justice.

Writing Jeremiah Stone

The idea for Jeremiah Stone was driven by several things, the first of which was the need to get published. If you’ve read my ‘Why Jeremiah Stone’ entry, then you know I was told by an agent that getting a single book published was far easier than a series of nine books, especially for an unknown writer. The agent’s remark prompted me to start thinking of a single-book storyline. This was a bit of a challenge for me because my other series (Shadow Gods) all began with a single character, and as I wrote the story grew around him. Jeremiah stone was quite the opposite.

My initial thought was to go to back to the traditional storyline found in all the books I read as a youth. I disliked the repetitive nature of those stories, but it is the standard, so I delved to conform. Once I made that decision, coming up with the story only took a few days, though not the details. Those came later, after the main character was decided.

As always, I wanted to create a controversial character, someone that blurred the lines between good and evil. My basis for this goes all the way back to a college philosophy class in which the professor asked us to define good and evil. After giving the concept some thought, I came up with this response: ‘Good and evil are defined by the morays of the society in which you exist. Something considered good one place may be the most heinous of acts someplace else.’ Taking this into account, I wanted a character who knew the difference between good and evil, but was not motivated to abide by those societal standards. In fact, he wouldn’t be compelled to do anything except what he desired to do, though knowing full well the consequences of his actions.

With this is mind, I tried to figure out two things: ‘Why would he be this way?’ and  ‘What would his job be?’

To answer the first question, I thought of ‘The Book of Job’ from the Bible in which God and the Devil tortured a man’s life to find out if it would affect his faith. My modern day twist on it was to have a similar bet between the two, but instead of directly affecting the characters life, the two would allow the character to develop un-influenced based on a ‘gift’ each of them gave the single soul. Thus God gave belief since it’s the anchor of faith, whereas the Devil removed the soul’s morals. From these ‘gifts’, Jeremiah was born with the ability to do anything he believed in, but without the moral signposts to guide his actions. And with that defined, discovering that Jeremiah Stone would be an enforcer in the mafia/mob was an easy step to make.

Now let’s consider the ability Jeremiah Stone developed. With the last name of Stone and an overbearing father who lived through his son’s sports, Jeremiah believed his father when he was told to ‘float like a butterfly and sting like a bee’. In sports that translated to run like a cheetah and hit like a rhino. The only way Jeremiah could do that was to alter his weight (or density). Yet there is so much more to Jeremiah’s ability. Because of his belief in himself, he has the ability to alter those around him in everything he does, as long as he believes it himself. If he thinks he’s going to fail or has any doubt whatsoever, then he’s just like you and I, (or worse).

Throughout the series, there are times when Jeremiah doubts himself, but every time he does he tries to blank those thoughts and remain positive, as we all should. He is the ultimate personification of the self-fulfilling destiny. He believes and therefore it happens. And he makes other people believe in him also, which is why some character’s go against their better judgment to help Jeremiah. It’s all because they are caught under Jeremiah’s spell, at least when he’s around. Once separated, once Jeremiah has completed his task, the person’s beliefs revert back to their own.

Of course initially, Jeremiah only knows of his one ability, which is altering his weight.  He has yet to discover his other talents.