The Inspiration for Characters in Midheaven and more
In King's Beach, on the shore of Lake Tahoe, I attended a party where, on one side of a large room, a group of kids held a Bible study, while across the room other kids drank and smoked stuff. And a girl stood between those groups, gazing left and right, looking bewildered, before she dashed out of the house. I followed and watched her run down the road and plunge into the lake. I saw myself in that girl, often torn between what appeared to offer pleasure and what felt good and beautiful but required sacrifice. Together, the girl and I became Jodi, the narrator of Midheaven . Later, I was writing feature stories regularly for the San Diego Reader, a major weekly. As one assignment, the publisher sent me to spend a few days with Mother Teresa's seminarians in Tijuana, and I found them to be among the kindest and happiest people I could imagine. One fellow, especially bright, gracious, and unique, was Dean McFalls. Even now, though he's ha...