“20, 20, 20, 20, 4 hours to go,
I wanna be sedated
Nothing to do, Nowhere to go,
I wanna be sedated” (2)
I had a vision of myself in high school as being more against the establishment than I probably actually was, but I don’t think that’s uncommon for a teenager. I wore converses and an army jacket to school and somehow this made me believe that I was counter-culture. A more accurate representation of me going against the grain likely lies in the fact that I was a theatre, choir, Harry Potter nerd, and damn proud of it.
But I digress.
If you haven’t been able to tell from talking about Alanis, Josh, and Aimee, I have this love for writing characters who are different than myself. I also enjoy surly, unlikeable characters, who have a big heart. I think this may be the way I’d describe the next character from Otherside: The Serenity, Paul Peterson.
Paul is the bassist of White Clover. He’s my “angry” character. His favorite bands are of the punk persuasion: The Ramones, The Runaways, The Clash, and on the post-punk rock side, Nick Cave.
He has a real problem with authority, and he’s adamant about the band being true to who they are, and true to what rock music should be. He’s got this idea that they should rough it as a band, so that they don’t sell out. He’s that kind of musician.
He’s my darker character of the group — very sarcastic. You might even say he’s a borderline jerk, but I like him.
I like that he’s rough around the edges. Of the core characters, he’s the one I would say is the most withdrawn.
As far as his personal life is concerned, he doesn’t really talk about his parents. He doesn’t even like them much, because they’re the, “leave it to Beaver type,” and he’s not down with that kind of existence. This is where he aligns with Alanis and Josh, in that he believes music is their way out, and he’s determined to make it happen.
He just wants to do it on his own terms. And I think sometimes he doesn’t realize that there are other people in the band, too. He has to compromise, and that’s hard for him.
It’s not always going to look the way he thinks it should. The dynamic between Aimee and Paul was enjoyable to write, because they are stubborn and prideful, and want to make their own rules. There’s some great banter in the book I think you guys will enjoy. At least I think it’s funny, which I know is probably not saying a lot because I wrote it. So, you’ll have to let me know.
Otherside: The Serenity is currently available on both Amazon and online at Barnes and Noble. You can get the book in both Kindle and Paperback versions. If you have read the book, and would like to review it, you can do so on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble.
(1) “Please Kill Me” is not a request by the author, so don’t be alarmed. It’s a reference to the book, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
(2) “I Wanna Be Sedated,” Road to Ruin, The Ramones, 1978
H.J VandeRiet 