It’s been a whirlwind few days, and if you missed the good news, Atlantic Split is now live and available to purchase! It’s officially published and Luke Bright’s story has begun. Spending over ten years creating and developing the character has been such a rewarding and insightful experience, so I dedicate this blog to this made up character who has been such a massive part of my life and in shaping who I’ve become. After all, you spend nearly twelve years with a character, they will most certainly have an impact on you.

Luke Bright has always been the character that I’ve used in various stories ever since I was young. It’s only the age, name and characteristics that have changed. He’s a character I have based on part of myself, the persona I use as an escapism – probably why a lot of my writing is in the first person. But, Luke as a character is an individual person and is the heart of the series because he is so, so realistic. For me, the strongest part of this book series is Luke’s character progression and how he grows from a naive teenager into an extremely admirable and strong modern day hero who you will always remember for his bravery.

So, how do you make a character, just as I did with Luke, become real and believable? Well, you have to make them imperfect – and Luke is definitely imperfect. He’s immature, naive and has quite the temper on him. He doesn’t always think things through and rules his life with his emotions. But he’s also full of optimism, courage and has very strong morals. He’s got a big heart and wants to make the world a better place. All of those traits make him who he is, not just the good ones. You can’t have a perfect character because no one can relate to them and it just gets boring. Most importantly, just like all humans, he’s got his own motivation for what he wants to achieve. Even though Luke is standing up against the Atlantic Split because ultimately he wants to rid the nations of prejudice, his need for friendship guides him as well. Just because someone is self-less, doesn’t mean they can’t be selfish.

As an author, seeing my character progress, it makes me very proud. I suppose, how a parent would feel sending their child off to University for the first time. Luke Bright deserves to let his story be told because without him, none of this would be possible. He’s given me a chance to fulfil my dream, so I’m allowing him a chance for him to fulfil his through this book series.

Atlantic Split is where Luke Bright’s story starts and it is the first of four books in The Luke Bright Series. Please purchase a copy on the links on this page and leave a non-spoiler based review. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope you enjoy reading Atlantic Split.

N.A.K.