After weeks writing about Afghanistan, I’m back to Book 5 in the Lola Wicks series, which takes place in Utah.
Pause for whiplash.
But it’s good to be hanging with Lola again, a protagonist I’ve come to love. Lola the character is a major pain in the ass, but she’s a lot of fun to write, and I enjoy finding new ways to push her buttons. Over the years, people have asked me how I envision her – a question that usually takes the form of, “Who would play Lola in the movie?”
My first impulse: a major badass. Geena Davis as Thelma, getting ready to shoot the hell out of that semi.
Lola is indeed a badass. But her badassery is of the more covert variety. The woman’s a reporter, for heaven’s sake. A professional observer. So then I flash to Sigourney Weaver in The Year of Living Dangerously.
She wasn’t a reporter in that movie, although she fell for one (what was she thinking?). But her wary demeanor in that role is perfect for Lola. The trick will be, as deadline barrels toward me, to keep from getting punchy and hearing “Zuuuuullllll” in my brain as I write.
Who ya gonna call? Manuscript busters!
Oops. Looks like the punchiness has already set in.
