At times, writing can be a lonely job. One thing that makes it a little less lonely is the encouragement of other writers, whether they live down the road or on the other side of the world. Since I met him online a few years ago, friend and fellow writer, M.D. Neu, has been an inspiring and supportive figure in my writing journey. M.D. is an award-winning, gay fiction writer from San Jose, California. His most recent novel, TAD, was published in September last year. Here’s a little teaser.

When Tad pushes the boundaries of his duties too far, his angel wings are stripped and he is sent to New York City to live as a human. Lost and alone, he meets Doug, and the two start a friendship that will last a lifetime. But nothing is simple when you’re dealing with a former Angel of Death and a Drag Queen. Could these two cause our world to end? Or will they manage to keep the future secure?

In a guest post for this month, M.D. writes about his inspiration for the novel’s two main characters.

TAD — The Angel of Death is something unique to me, as are the cast of characters. For the story, I focus on two people: Doug, a hairdresser and drag queen, and Tad, a former Angel of Death. Despite how fun these characters sound I realized there was potential for them both to be silly and over the top, but for the story I wanted to tell, I needed them to be grounded.

They couldn’t be caricatures; they had to feel real and they had to read as real, like people you might know. Also, we follow both characters throughout their lives. They had to change and grow as they got older, which meant they needed to be fully fleshed out. I had to have a life arc for both Doug and Tad, which was something I’d never had to do before, so it was fascinating to work on. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave me a starting point for each of them and as the story progressed I was able to change and modify bits of it as I needed.

The character of Doug starts out at the age of twenty-one, so he’s in his prime, he loves to party and have a great time, but he’s also somewhat irresponsible and unsure of himself. I based his character on two of my drag friends from when I was in my twenties. They were both full of life, but each of them had hints of sadness behind their bright smiles. One lived on the streets for a while and the other had some mental health issues which plagued him for a while. I was in a position to see how both these conditions affected them over their lives. So with Doug, I needed to ensure he had real-world issues that would affect his life as he got older. Some of his ‘baggage’ helps him, while some of his issues are a hurdle he must live with and deal with for good or bad.

With Tad being an angel (and not just any angel but an angel of death), unlike Doug, I didn’t have any point of reference. However, I believe that angels surround us and look after us. There are too many things that happen in our world which we can’t fully explain and I think this is due to the influence of angels. So pay attention to the people you pass on the street, because you never know…

I wanted Tad to be honest and open. He needed to almost be like a child who we watch and see grow up. And just like a child, Tad can be shortsighted and stubborn. At times he acts spoiled and struggles to understand that his actions have consequences. Major consequences, which he has to learn and grow from. Tad is modeled on the idea of a teenager who doesn’t fully understand the world but thinks they do. That was fun to play with. He changes a lot throughout the story but everything he does makes him a better person, which I enjoyed seeing in his character arc.

With the characters of Doug and Tad, I wanted to explore how our character flaws affect us throughout our lives. Because I’m no longer in my twenties I can see how the choices I made back then have affected who I am now. I wouldn’t go back and change my past because that is what got me to now and has given me the life and friends I have, which I’m happy with. It’s the same for Doug and Tad — they may not like everything that happens to them or the choices they make, but in the end I don’t think they would change anything. Although maybe they would… you’ll have to read and see for yourself.

TAD — The Angel of Death is available at NineStar Press and major eBook retailers. You can find out more about M.D. and his writing at mdneu.com

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