Imagine someone saying the following to you:
"I wasted my youth on you! You've let yourself go. Look at you! I don't even want you anymore!"
That's what Steve Cavanaugh said to his wife, Liz, before leaving her for Gloria, a twenty-something plaything.
Seeing the anger in Liz's eyes, he bolts for the door as she hurls a vase at him. Barely missing his head, the vase smashes into the wall.
He mocks her. "You broke it! I was going to give that to Gloria."
This fictional scenario sets the stage for Love's Sweetest Revenge, Book 1 in my Castle in the Sun romantic-suspense series, published by MillerWords.
Although Steve has redeeming qualities, such as being a good father and provider for the twin sons he had with Liz, he says and does many hurtful things. This continues even after Liz begins a relationship with Carlos MartÃn, a brilliant, sophisticated and of course, handsome Presidential aide.
But Steve just cannot bear to see Liz happy, especially with someone so accomplished.
When I started the series, I didn't expect Steve to play a major role. He was supposed to be a background character, the ex-husband referred to in passing.
As I wrote, however, Steve kept stepping out from the shadows and I realized he has an important role. He is the antagonist or villain essential to every story. He represents the challenges we need to overcome.
Who can better appreciate home's warmth than one who has struggled through cold, wind and rain? Who can better appreciate success, then one who has tasted the bitterness of failure? And who can better appreciate hearing I love you, than one who has been rejected?
Whatever or whoever the "Steves" in our lives may be, they test us, just as the character in my book tests Liz and Carlos' relationship. These people and problems can embitter us or make us flex our mental and spiritual muscles to grow stronger.
A friend who reviewed my book had her own take on Steve. "He's a control freak, wanting to manipulate Liz and Carlos like puppets on a string."
Here is what Steve said to Carlos after learning about the motorcycle accident that nearly killed him. "Too bad about the Harley. Maybe it was just too much bike for you."
So where did I get the dialogue for this character? Much of it came from my mild mannered husband, Dan, who would never dream of speaking such hateful things. Might there be a little bit of Steve inside every one of us? Hmmm.Meet Steve and other characters in the pages of Love's Sweetest Revenge, first in the Castle in the Sun romantic-suspense series, then in Book 2, Love's Sweetest Deliverance and Book 3, Love's Sweetest Truth. Book 1
Book 3
Can "the secret" cast a cloud over Liz and Carlos' sunny life?
