The Damaged Hero

Erik Toleffson, the hero of Long Time Gone, is the darkest hero I’ve ever written. He’s a cop (chief of police, in fact) with lots of commendations and meritorious service. But he’s got a dark past when he was a bully to his younger brothers and a petty crook before finally wising up and pulling himself together. He spends a lot of time in the book trying to make up for what he used to be and being afraid that he might slip back again. He was interesting, but sort of tough to write.

I’m not a big proponent of the dark, brooding hero. The guys I’d written about before, the other Toleffson brothers, were all nice, although each had some problems to deal with. Those problems, however, were all pretty much external. Cal, the hero of Venus In Blue Jeans, was a newcomer to Konigsburg who immediately fell hard for Docia, the heroine. He spent a lot of time in the book trying to figure out the ins and outs of life in a small Texas Hill Country town, while trying to nudge the romance-shy Docia into his arms. Pete, the hero of Wedding Bell Blues, had to ride herd on a wedding that was rapidly spinning out of control on a whole lot of fronts. Meanwhile, of course, he’d fallen for the maid of honor, Janie Dupree, and had to reconcile his career as a county attorney in Iowa with the love of his life in Texas. And Lars, in Be My Baby, had to deal with all the problems of single fatherhood while fighting off kidnappers who were threatening his girlfriend, Jess Carroll. All tough situations, to be sure, but none of them affecting the fundamentally upright and true character of my heroes.

Erik, on the other hand, spent a lot of time not being upright and true in his youth. And he doesn’t exactly feel good about that. Writing somebody like Erik makes you delve into areas that aren’t always comfortable, because you can’t create someone who suffers without suffering a bit yourself. There are lots of heroes in other books who are even darker than Erik, and those authors have my admiration. They had to spend time in dark places, and that probably wasn’t a whole lot of fun.

Still, creating Erik was interesting for me. He’s very different from my usual heroes, who tend to be both sarcastic and sweet. Erik’s the strong silent type, and nobody in their right mind would call him sweet. I’m fond of him, though. Creating him taught me a lot about the variety of feeling that goes into a character. I don’t really have a favorite Toleffson (they’re all my boys, after all), but I notice Erik turns up a little more than the others in the Konigsburg books. Maybe dark is good—it helps to set off the sunlight all around.

Here’s the blurb for Long Time Gone.

A future with the woman of his dreams is within his grasp…if the past will stay that way.

Konigsburg, Book 4

Erik Toleffson wasn’t looking to become Chief of Police. He’s got enough trouble trying to rebuild his relationship with his three brothers who, until just recently, ran the other way when he approached. He’s not the bully they grew up with, but bad memories are tough to overcome.

Morgan Barrett is as worn out as a vat full of crushed grape skins. She never planned to run Cedar Creek Winery, but there’s no one else to shoulder the load as her father recovers from an injury. All she needs is a little sleep. Just a five-minute nap in the booth at the Dew Drop Inn…if that guy across the bar would stop staring at her as if putting her head down on the table is a crime.

After Morgan yawns in Erik’s face, there’s nowhere to go but up. With time, though, their relationship warms like a perfectly blended Bordeaux. Until the shady mayor digs into Erik’s past and dredges up information that could drive a permanent wedge between him and his brothers—and sour any chance of a future with Morgan.

Warning: Contains hot sex with mango sherbet, crooked politicians, yuppie bikers, Bored Ducks, and a Maine Coon Cat with attitude.

Here’s an excerpt.