Jack is Dead...What Have I Done?

Dagwood and his impression of a professional business person.

The lead male character in the book is Jack Ashmore. His name could change but he would essentially be the same ‘Jack’. He is a prominent businessman with an impeccable reputation around town. He has a great personality, he is physically fit, and is well liked in all social and professional circles he is involved in.

He is also dead…

He had to go…

I have spent the last week justifying his death; it is important to the plot. It is necessary for the development of my other hero. The villain would not be the same if Jack lived.

But I already miss him.

Jack has been in my head for the past 2 years. I have been developing the character on an actual page for 8 months. I will have his character sheet in my desk for a very long time. It is my own fault that he is gone. My hubby lobbied for Jack’s recovery for a while to no avail. I killed him off anyway.

Gruesomely.

Jack does not go nicely. Decades of watching Law and Order with my Dad are paying off. I didn’t realize all those afternoons with Dad I had been researching ways of killing off a character. I ruled out a poisoning early on. I was toying with the idea of a robbery gone wrong but there were too many other variables that could come into play. Jack definitely does not do himself in AND there is no way he faked his death and could come back. He is really, really dead. “A goner” as my Dad would say.

But I can say the way Jack goes is significant to the story and provides the next step in the plot.