copyright 2014, aaron paul lazar
I laugh and tell them, “Hardly. Gus is a much better
man than me.”
I genuinely mean it when I say it.
But is it really true?
When I started writing the LeGarde Mystery series, I planned
to base Gus on my father – a wonderful Renaissance man and a talented
pianist/music professor. At the time, he’d just passed away from cancer, and I
was overwhelmed with grief. The idea of starting the series as a testimony to
him was appealing, and it provided some serious therapy.
Dad and I were a great deal alike. We both nurtured huge
gardens, cooked, and loved kids and dogs. So, as I began to write, particularly
in the first person POV, Gus ended up being a lot like me.
So, am I Gus LeGarde? And is he a better man that me?
Gus and I are very much alike. So much so that my
friends always think it’s me in the stories, and I often get asked questions
like, “What was the name of the book where you and Camille went to Europe with
Siegfried?”
We do look alike. We have the same wavy dark hair with
silver sprinkled at the temples. The same hazel eyes. The same shoe size. But
he’s twenty pounds thinner and more fit than I am. Hey, I’m allowed to dream,
right?
Gus and I grow expansive gardens, cook lush feasts for our
families, adore our grandchildren, and dote on our dogs. We’re good husbands,
and responsible citizens. We live in big old houses in the country, and are
crazy about nature, particularly the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes regions of
upstate NY. We love to ride horses and love to swim. We devour mysteries and
read in bed before going to sleep.
However, Gus can run for miles without getting an
asthma attack. He can hold his own in a fistfight, lucky devil. I get out of
breath if I jog for more than a half mile, and I’ve never been in a fistfight
in my life. Call me a pacifist. I’ve always used words better than fists, I
guess.
Gus can play a flawless Chopin etude without even looking at
the music. His artistry is perfect, his skills precise. I struggle through the
simplest Chopin waltz.
Gus is drawn to trouble, ferrets out the villains, and
fights to uphold honor for the common good. I struggle get through my day to
day existence and only write about courage and upholding justice. I sure believe
in it, but I don’t really participate, do I?
Let’s talk about church. Gus is a better parishioner than I
ever was, even when I regularly attended our local Methodist church. He’s on
all the committees; plays organ for church services when needed at local
nursing homes and prisons, and is an outstanding parish leader. I used to do
some of that, until the committees took up far too much of my writing time and
we lost the best pastor we’d ever had. I became discouraged and let the
organized religious part of my life go – especially when my grandchildren moved
in and going to church meant losing precious hours with them. Right now,
they’re foremost in my life. I know God understands. ;o) And I will go back to
church when they’re older and life settles down a little. I miss it.
Wait just a minute, now. Gus has a lot more time than me,
doesn’t he? Hmmm. There may be something to this line of reasoning. He lives
five minutes away from his job where he teaches music at the local university.
I drive 35 minutes each way to work, twice a day. That’s a lot of driving. And
he teaches a few classes a day and is free to hunt scoundrels and investigate
evildoers to his heart’s content. I’m stuck at work at least eight hours a day.
Now I’m starting to get jealous. Which is really sick, since
he’s my own invention.
Gus also has Siegfried, his gentle giant brother-in-law who
chops his wood, mows the lawn, feeds the livestock, and cleans out the horse
stalls. Wow. Gus really has it easy. No wonder he has time to chase down the
villains!
I’m warming to this angle. Let’s see…
Gus has another advantage – Mrs. Adelaide Pierce! I’ll
admit, I always wanted the “real” Mrs. Doubtfire, and I invented Adelaide
because I longed for her in my own life. During the weekdays she shops, helps
with the grandkids, does mountains of laundry, cooks meals, and cleans the
house. Sigh. Those jobs fall to me most of the time, since my wife is disabled.
And I do lovingly care for my sweetie pie, bringing her meals, monitoring her
meds, and generally loving her a whole lot. We both weave chair seats on the
side, to make extra money. Hey! There’s something Gus can’t do!
And I just thought of one more thing. I take photos. Some of
them are nice. And Gus doesn’t have a clue about photography. He’s got a good
eye for art, but he leaves the photography to his adopted father figure, Oscar
Stone. But Oscar’s a better photographer than me. He’s published coffee table
books galore. Wait a minute, let’s not get off on that tangent.
The next time a reader asks me if I’m Gus LeGarde, I might
hesitate before spouting my usual answer.
We really are one and the same soul – with a few minor
perturbations. His thoughts are my thoughts. When he mourns his first wife, I
tap into the feelings of fear and grief I experienced when my wife almost died,
when the threat of her demise hung over our family. When Gus mourns his
father’s passing, it’s my grief he’s feeling. He cherishes his grandkids like I
do mine, with the same fierce sense of adoration and protection I feel toward
my little buddies, Julian and Gordie. And when he picks his sun-ripened
tomatoes, or his juicy plums, or his aromatic basil, he’s raiding my garden.
Each meal he cooks has been my real-life creation, and every book he reads I’ve
read.
And there’s one important fact here we must address…I
created Gus. He wouldn’t have “life” it it weren’t for me. Ha. So there!
It’s an interesting relationship, this author/character
thing. Kind of crazy. And impossible to ignore. Now that I’ve analyzed it to
death, though, I think I’ll get cracking and let Gus take me on another
mission. ;o)
***
Twilight Times Books by multi-award winning
author, Aaron Lazar:
DON’T
LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (print, eBook, audio book)
VIRTUOSO (~2014)
LADY BLUES (2014)
MURDER ON THE SACANDAGA (~2014)
STANDALONES
THE
SEACREST (2013)
HOLLOW JUSTICE (2014)
WRITING
ADVICE:
Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning,
bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, writing books, and
a new love story, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New
York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids,
grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at
http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books
releases, SANCTUARY (2014), and VIRTUOSO (2014).
Connect with Aaron
Lazar!
Facebook (personal page)
Linked
In
GooglePlus
