My Main Character is not me. Plus, writing, writing, writing.

Before I get to that… the Rough Draft, minus the Final Giant Battle (FGB), is done for the sequel. I’m now working on filling it out and fixing things.

The FGB is gonna be awesome, just like the last one. And it’s always the most exhausting thing for me to write. I don’t know why, I really enjoy writing action more than anything else. I think it’s because it’s such a culmination of so many characters and moving parts, and there’s a brand new faction for the book that… geez… I want to talk about but I really shouldn’t because it’d ruin the surprise.

But let’s just say the battle is going to include Pterodactyls.

There.

That’s enough of a hint.

So the FGB includes giant leathery birds… Cause, why not? Seems cool – and my motto is that if something seems cool, you should always do it.

Speaking of that, I went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant with some close family friends. And there was a truck parked outside the door with an empty giant metal cage in the back.

It took my wife’s adamant restraint to keep me from getting naked and climbing into the cage to terrorize people coming and going.

Seemed cool. Should always do it.

Unless your spouse doesn’t want to be embarrassed. And in retrospect, it was probably kind of stupid.

Now I’d just like to publicly state: My main character is not based on me.

Yes, I’d do a lot of things that he’d do. But he does a lot of things that I wouldn’t do also.

In real life, I’m 6’4″ and 245lbs (hey! I’m bulking…) and good with a Glock and AR/M16 platform (I shot Expert Award every time we qualified in the Marine Corps, so I’m no slouch, and YES – my first time was with Iron Sights.)

Jedidiah is a stumpy six feet tall and 185lbs and pretty good with revolvers and a badass Winchester 1886 rifle. And a Bowie.

See. Not the same.

But I did base the Love Interest off my wife.

Cause she’s a total babe.

Edit – In case you’re interest what I’m talking about. Here are the excerpts. If you like it, I’ll send you the entire thing for feedback.

West of Prehistoric

Author: Erik 'Tracer' Testerman

Erik Testerman is a Marine Corps grunt, a competitive shooter, and an admirer of fine arms and armaments. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina with his lovely wife, two rambunctious children, and a slobbery English Mastiff. To learn more about Erik Testerman and read samples of his work, visit http://GunPowderAndInk.blog View all posts by Erik 'Tracer' Testerman