Changing points of view in a series

I’ve been writing Woven books for over six years now. 

Wait, let me just let that sink in for a minute. That’s nuts. I started writing Paper Beats World because I wanted to support myself emotionally while I was writing the novel. So if you’ve been reading the blog from day one, then you’ve been on the journey with me right from the beginning. 

And I still don’t have any respect for stamp collectors. 

Falling From Grace is the latest book, and it’s far different from the others. It shows a point of view that is parallel to Broken Patterns, taking place at the same time. 

That was weird enough. I was writing about Victor and Lenore, my Tommy and Gina like they’re the bad guys. Because they kind of are. But it does get weirder.

In it, you’ll see Calvin Olendae in an entirely new light. From the view of people who love and respect him. From people that he cared for, people who’s lives he saved. 

You’ll also see Grace, who you might remember from Starting Chains as a rather selfish woman who was bitter that she’d lost Victor to Lenore. You’ll see her as a healer, a protector. You’ll see her as a hero. 

When I started writing this, I just wanted to tell Grace’s story. But as I wrote it, I realized I was writing about how a good man becomes a monster. 

Calvin was a killer. He was willing to murder innocent children, even kill his own brother. But he didn’t get that way by chance. He’s a man who’s watched his people be ground under the boot of oppression. He only wants to save his people. 

The weight of that self-imposed burden drives him to horrific acts. And Grace, who loves him, must watch him along that road.

There’s a great quote from the Joker that applies here. Alan Moore wrote it, that makes total sense.

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”

I don’t know if a bad day’s ever driven me to blow up people for kicks. But it’s sure driven me to some unhealthy food choices.

In all honesty, though, there is only so much a person can take. Or maybe there are just some people who will break instead of bending. Maybe Calvin was always just rotten from birth. 

If that’s the case, how did so many people love him?

This was an exciting book to write, wrestling from this. It made me realize that no one is ever just good or just bad. 

We’re all shades of grey, all along the spectrum. And sometimes that shade changes over time.