Standing in front of me, blocking the sun with his silhouette, was this—man-boy. A man-boy is what Calliope and I call guys we think are cute and totally too old for us but not really old—old, like our parents. Take for example, Matt Damon, who did all of the Bourne Identity movies. Cute. But no Zac Efron!
As I was creating Hawk’s character, I pictured him in his mid to late twenties, with a certain mystery about him. He is not a man of many words. He does his job and then fades into the background. Every so often Liberty does something that makes him crack a smile or want to lose his mind, but he always keeps his composure.
Set to modern times, my book, Liberty Layne and the One-Girl Rebelution is loosely based on the book of Esther. In Esther, a king who rules an empire puts his eunuch in charge of a pageant of women vying to be the next queen. In my book, the king is “king” of the music industry and he rules, a music dynasty, Hollywood Idols. Mr. Roy Fredrick III appoints not a Eunuch but his talent scout (Hawk) charge over singing contestants vying for the Hollywood Tween Idol crown.
In the book of Esther, Heghi the Eunuch is rarely mentioned. But what we do know about him is the king put him in charge of a harem of women and Esther listens to his advice and takes only what Heghi advises her to take when she meets with the king. In biblical times, Eunuchs were usually young men who had been slaves or sold by their families in hopes to have a better life. Because a Eunuch was castrated, women were often entrusted in their care. Such is the case with Esther.
I wanted Hawk to be to Liberty what Heghi was for Esther, there to do as “the king” requested, which was to do his job and look out for her, (kind of men in black-ish) So, Hawks personality reminds me of one who is stifled, straight laced, and a bit serious.
Cupcakes and frosting were flying through the air. They made sweet grenades, exploding upon contact.
“Ahem!”
Abruptly, we froze, our frosted ammunition in hand. There, standing in the doorway, was Hawk.
“I am not going to even ask,” he stated flatly. Shaking his head in disdain, he scanned our sticky mess. “But I suggest you clean up this kitchen and tromp upstairs and do–s0mething with yourselves!” Making some head-to-toe gesture, he scolded…”
Liberty’s spunky personality makes interaction between herself and Hawk fun. Liberty slowly begins to grow on Hawk and he even steps outside his stiff personality, if only for a second.
“Libby, are you all right?” Hawk found me wiping the tears which continuously flowed from my eyes.
“A…yeah, I’m fine. The door and I just had a misunderstanding.”
Taking hold of my chin, Hawk turned my head, examining both sides. “Looks like the door won.”
“This time, maybe, but next time, it doesn’t stand a chance.” I said, quite resolutely.
Hawk is an interesting character. Although I picture him a bit different than this drawing done by a fabulous student, he does capture the cool look I hope to portray, after all, it’s a modern retelling, so he’s not a eunuch, but a introverted talent scout.
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