Jock Murphy Words and PicturesThe writing and photography of Jock Murphy

The sixth installment of the book is in the expected place. I still haven't started a major push to get the word out, but readership seems to be growing at a slow and comfortable pace. And if you are enjoying what you are reading, please do spread the word a bit.

Note what follows does not contain any spoilers per se, but it does reveal more of my intentions with the book than any previous post. You might want to read the new chapters before reading forward.

As I said last week, this installment introduces one of my favorite characters in the book. For the record, my favorite seems to be the same as everyone else's: Betty. More than completing the book, and getting it ready for publication, I am most proud of creating a character that people seem to love. I knew that people would connect with Quinn, but let's face it, he isn't the cheeriest guy on earth. At this point he has spent most of his time inside of his own head. So I knew that would need to have characters around Quinn that would pull him out and connect him to the world.

Betty is one of them -- and do not worry she will be back -- but Odd (or is it Aud?) and her friend Faith are also important. They help to remind Quinn that there is more to this, and his actions, than just himself and Becks. While the book never goes on to confirm the nature of their relationship, I think we can all safely assume.

There wasn't a point when I made a laundry list of things that had to be in to book. I need rockabillies, and punks, and lesbians! Instead these were all things that just fit as I put the story together. To put it another way, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Originally it was just Odd that showed up in chapter 12. Quinn tend to attach everyone he sees to a particular scene, and I knew I wanted to base her on the goth teens that show up in Portland (and elsewhere). Her strength didn't come though till I realized I needed to add Faith, and up till now Quinn's actions hadn't affected someone who couldn't take care of themselves. So Faith got added to the mix, and it somehow just made sense to make them both female. So sue me.

And just to keep you coming back, next week's installment will round out the second act...