Happy New Year!

To all my readers and friends: May this New Year bring much happiness and fulfillment into your lives.

From Marsha, the Owen Family, and all their friends.

Character Notes: Albert Owen

Let's take a look at Albert Owen, Rod and Julia's youngest son.

You can probably tell, from looking at the photos I chose to represent Albert's physical characteristics, that I've been dealing with these characters for a looooooooog time. How long a time?

If you're too young to know the face, it's Michael J. Fox. I believe I saw him on the cover of AARP Magazine a couple of years ago. Yep, that long a time.

Here's the notes I made on Albert:

ALBERT OWEN
This one will be 14 in December, and he is excitable and fierce, but has done yeoman service while his brothers and father have been gone. He has been overworked, and now that the pressure is no longer on him, he has some spare time to get into trouble in. Albert has a light complexion, with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

The cross-outs I made on the original card show that I was influenced by the photos I found to change Albert's hair and eyes from black to brown. I also lightened up his natural skin tone.

I have to laugh at myself for the way I constructed one sentence above. I'm pretty sure I would now say "he has sufficient spare time in which to get in trouble." Given the years from the time I wrote this until now, I'd better have learned a thing or two!

Albert's role in the WIP isn't huge, but he will play a part, in the area of aiding and abetting another character.

Character Notes: Julianna Owen

Julianna Owen is the youngest of Rod and Julia Owen's ten children (of whom seven still live). She is the second daughter, five years younger than Marie. She was introduced in The Man from Shenandoah, and will play a crucial part in the current novel. No, the novel still doesn't have a name.

I can't recall the name of this actress whose photo I used as representative of Julianna. Wasn't she on a television series? Anyone?

Here is what I wrote on Julianna's character card:

JULIANNA OWEN
Jule, as she is sometimes called, has light blond hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She looks like a feminine Clay. At eleven, she is still a girl, but will soon be moving into young womanhood. She is a tease, with hands over eyes, pinches, giggles, and stares. She tends to be a little lazy, being the last child, but as the second girl, she has her share of work. She and Marie are not really close, since there is such a disparity in their ages. She is definitely Daddy's girl, and calls her mother and father, Mama and Papa.

It sounds like Jules could drive those around her to distraction. She is now a couple of years older than when we first met her, and probably even more self-aware than before. What will she do in the new novel that is crucial to the plot?

Character Notes: Clayton Owen

Clay Owen is next younger than Marie. On his character card, I used a photo of actor Bruce Penhall of televisions's "CHiPs" (1977-1983) . I don't see him around much anymore. He was the World Motorcycle Speedway champion of 1981-82, which predated his '82-'83 role as Officer Bruce Nelson, a cadet in the California Highway Patrol, playing in the lineup topped by Erik Estrada, Robert Pine, and Larry Wilcox. Since CHiPs featured motorcycle officers, I'm sure his motorcycling skill stood him in good stead.

Now you know how long ago I clipped this photo from TV Guide(R).

Anyway, getting back to Clayton Owen, here's when I typed on his character card:

CLAY OWEN
At fifteen, Clay is still too gangly to be handsome, but he has promising features and a mop of crisp blond hair. His eyes are grey. Clay kept the family in meat for a year after James was drafted, is responsible, but when he pops his cork, look out, he is apt to do something rash and unthinking. He plays as hard as he works. In a few years, he will be a major character in the continuing saga of the Owen family.

Well, we'll have to see what surprises Clay will bring to the family's adventures. What do YOU think he's going to do?

Character Notes: Marie Owen

Of the Owen family's two daughters, Marie is the older. She was born between James and Clayton, and is five years older than her sister, Julianna. She was first seen in The Man from Shenandoah, and appears in Jessie Bingham's memories in Trail of Storms.

I have two photos on Marie's card. They are both far too old for the real Marie. One is of a female newscaster whose name escapes me, and the other is of an actress whose name I never knew. Ha! I didn't need names for the photos. Their purpose was to provide a general physical description I could visualize and describe as needed.

Here is what I wrote on Marie's character card:

MARIE OWEN
Marie has thick dark hair and a beautiful smile. She loves a good mystery, and is good at ferreting out people's secrets. Her eyes range from hazel to dark brown, according to her temperament. She enjoys teasing her brothers. Marie is aware of becoming a woman, but has no anxiety to wed. She would love to have several beaus to play off against each other, but will take what comes with a good will. She loves adventure, and looks forward to the trip west with high excitement.

I'm looking forward to getting to know Marie better. Are you?

Character Notes: Amparo Garcés de Owen

Here are the original character notes I wrote up for Amparo, James Owen's unintended bride in Ride to Raton. Some of the names and facts evolved into others as the writing of the novel progressed. Remember, I am typing exactly what I originally wrote. I've learned a lot about many things since I started this writing journey, including punctuation.

I don't have a picture on Amparo's card. On StoryCasting.com, I put Maya Zapata in the role. I don't have accents, either, so maybe I should leave them out, although it irks me to do so.

AMPARO GARCES MARTINEZ (de OWEN)
Amparo, a girl from Santa Fe, is about 17 years old. Her step-mother, Ana Maria viuda de Garces, recently lost her husband, Amparo's father, to death. In her impoverished and hopeless situation, she has arranged a marriage for Amparo with a wealthy young Mexican rancher in the Huerfano River region of Colorado Territory. Then she shipped the girl off with a family moving north and left town with a man who wanted a companion to go with him to San Francisco. Amparo is up a creek when her intended is thrown from his horse and lights on his head upon a rock in the trail to La Plaza de los Leones, where they were scheduled to meet and marry. She arives, is left off by the family that brought her, and she sits in the church, waiting for the man to show up. Then a handsome young gringo shows up instead, with a grim tale of woe: He buried the days-old body of her bridegroom and set out to find someone to tell and to give his effect to. Amparo, in a strange town without friends, and no future husband, uses her wits to find a substitute spouse. Then she binds him to her in the oldest way; with the only thing left to her: herself.

Okay, if you have questions or comments about Amparo, hit me.

Character Notes: James Owen

Back to Character Notes. Since I've devoted two novels to telling his story and getting him to a happy place, you might surmise that one of my favorite characters is James Owen. You would be right. There is just something about James that stirs my soul.

The photos I have on James's two, yes, two character cards, are of some unknown advertising actor from an Adidas layout in a magazine. Over on Storycasting.com, I've chosen Lucas Black to play James's role, although I don't know if his hair curls or not, since I've only seen it short.

Several years ago, I acquired a photo in a heavy frame that was on the wall of a restaurant. When I first saw it, I gasped, because it was James! Serendipitously, when the restaurant changed decor, I was able to buy the portrait. (If he really is some outlaw, or somebody's grandpa, please let me know!)



JAMES OWEN
James was a twin, the one who survived babyhood. He has curly black hair and beard (temporary), and dark brn eyes. James is tall and lanky. He was drafted in 1864 when the age dropped to 17 years, and he got a flesh wound at the battle of Five Forks, Apr 2, 1865, in the unsuccessful defense of Richmond. James sees no marriage in his future, as revealed in the story.* He picked up a habit of creative cussing during his war service. His brother, JOHN OWEN, only lived two days after birth.

*This was the original plan, but it got changed over the course of re-writing, revising, and editing The Man from Shenandoah for publication. Readers know this wasn't the case in the published version of James's life.

Character Notes: Julia Helm Owen

What am I doing up so early? The characters in my head wouldn't let me sleep. Since yesterday was Pioneer Day for LDS Church members in the Western United States (July 24th being the day the Latter-day Saints headed by Brigham Young entered the Great Salt Lake Valley for the first time), I figured I would feature Julia Helm Owen, because she has a cousin who joined the faith. Her son, James, has also done so, but she doesn't know that yet.

Julia's grandfather and grandmother were Elijah Scow and Louisa Phipps. They had two daughters, Phoebe and Emily Scow. Phoebe married Joseph Helm, and their children were Jonathan and Julia. Julia married Roderick Owen, and the rest is "history." Emily Scow married James Marshall. This family joined the LDS Church. Their son, Elijah, chronicles his adventures in an unpublished novel I started several years ago, The Zion Trail.

On the back of the character card, I have two photos of Elinor Donahue, whose early work included 68 episodes of "Father Knows Best" as Betty Anderson, and 12 episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" as Ellie Walker. I think Melissa Gilbert is about old enough to play Julia now. Since Bruce Boxleitner would make a great Rod Owen, the couple is high on my wish list for the roles of the parents in a movie version of The Man from Shenandoah. Of course, there is no movie version in the works at this time. One can hope, right?

Here is the content of Julia's character card notes:

JULIA HELM OWEN
Julia is about 5' 2" tall, dark brown hair and brown eyes, she loves her husband and family, she's not an aristocrat, but a farm woman, but she is very attractive. Her hair is beginning to have a few wisps of grey, she has become quite independent because of keeping things going during the war with her man gone. Levelheaded and quick thinking, Julia taught her children to work and to amount to something thereby. She is called Ma, except by Julianna, her youngest, who calls her Mama. She is a passionate woman, who enjoys her marital relationship, and understands her husband. They usually can say a lot between them with a glance, catching the other's meaning easily. Julia is very religious, has a strict code of gallantry which she has passed to her children.

Character Notes: Rulon Owen

Since Rulon is the subject of my question on the just-concluded 30-day-long Summer Treasure Hunt, I thought it would be appropriate to post my character card notes on him next. BTW, congratulations to Rachel Hanchett of Arizona, who won my prize for the correct answer.

The photos I have for Rulon are actors Geoffrey Scott, who started out his career on Dark Shadows and continued with a role in Dynasty and guest shots all over the tube in the 80s; and Nicolas Surovy, who started out in The Big Valley, and played roles on soaps and Westerns, and even Star Trek: Voyager. IMDb last shows him in Deadwood.

RULON OWEN
Rulon has dark brown hair and grey eyes. He is not tall, but he is solidly built--might have trouble keeping weight down later. Rulon had been casually courting Mary Hilbrands, but as the war broke out and he joined up, he married her. 9 months later they had a son. Mary lived with her parents until Rulon came home wounded in Oct, 1864. Fulltime wife and motherhood was a shock to her.

Rulon welcomes the change to go to the west. He has nothing to show for 4 years of marriage, and wants to start on building his life.

Character Notes: Carl Owen

Carl is the main protagonist of my novel, The Man from Shenandoah, so I'll continue this series with him. The photos I put on his note card are of Bruce Boxleitner. He was probably too old to play Carl in a movie at that time, but now I could see him playing Rod.

Carl Owen
Carl is tall, 5-11 or 6 feet, with blond hair, blue eyes, and when he doesn't shave, grows a red beard. He is nice-looking, with a strong, rangy build that has been thinned down by hard riding and short rations while in John Mosby's Rangers. He has matured through his war experiences & thinks he takes responsibility well. Has no vanity, returns from war hardened and much quieter than the pre-war Carl. Still has a sense of humor, but it is hidden, repressed by his initial anger against Phil Sheridan & his burning tactics, then his subsequent anger at his father for treating him like a 16 year old while at the same time arranging his betrothal to a girl he does not care much for.

How do you envision Carl Owen?

Character Notes: Roderick Owen

For years, I kept the original note cards I made for my first novel's characters. Although the major characters rated 4- x 6-inch cards, some of the minor characters only got 3- x 5-inch cards. I'm thinking I ran out of the larger ones, which were the first ones made. The lesser characters' notes were typed up as they were created in the writing of the novel. All the cards are typed with a typewriter I haven't owned for probably more than twenty years. I came across the cards about three years ago, to my vast delight. I thought they'd been tossed out when I moved.

Here's the note card I wrote about Roderick Owen. I'm going to write it out just as I originally typed it, run-on sentences and all. It's sort of a stream-of-consciousness, creating-on-the-spot note. Interesting to see some old conventions, like the apostrophe after the contraction of "though".

Roderick Owen
is a tall man, with med bl graying hair + full beard throughout story, craggy face, a strong man, he's a stockman, he's worked with dairy cattle in the east, he has blue eyes, and he is tough, he's used to command, he's the head of his household, what he says goes, even with his adult sons. The years have filled out his once slender build with muscle, but he is not fat. He served with Ashby, then with Rosser in the regular Cavalry. He also grew wheat and corn on his farm outside Mount Jackson, Shenandoah Cty, VA. He supported states rights, and thus, the South, tho' he was not a slave-holder. Loves Virginia, but sees hard times ahead. Not a coward, he has gained a sense of adventure from his wartime experiences, and hopes to make a better life in the west.

On the other side of the card I have a photo of actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., with an overlay I made of a clear film, upon which I penciled a full beard. A second photo is of Charlton Heston. Below the photos I wrote by hand:

Domineering
2 items in code: Build an empire, and maintain family solidarity (supports the empire)

In your opinion, did Rod Owen come across in The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton according to my original vision, or somehow else? How did you envision him?