Character Blog Roll--Get to know Adrian Randal of "167 Seconds"

I have been invited to participate in the character blog roll for my most recent work in progress, a psychological drama that follows the path of a college student who is sentenced to thirty years in prison for the murder of her brother-in-law. Here are some things you'll certainly want to know about this character.

1). What is the name of your character, and is he/she fictional or a historical person?

The central character's name is Adrian Randal. She is a fictional person; however, given her circumstances she could easily be any one of us, an "everywoman" of sorts.

2). When and where is the story set?

The story is set in 2004 Atlanta, Georgia and takes place over a twelve year span, from 2004 until roughly 2016.

3). What should we know about him/her?

Adrian is a twenty-four-year-old graduate student, working on her Masters in sociology and youth counseling, and she is currently completing an internship in which she works with Atlanta's at-risk youth. She is from a working-class family and has one older sister named Emily and a six-year-old niece with whom she is very close. Her mother is living, but her father is deceased. Adrian is altruistic, well grounded, and compassionate. She's always had an uncomplicated and direct vision for her future, and thus far she's been able to follow that path without many obstacles. She prides herself on making solid, educated decisions, on doing the 'right' thing, and on having done all the work necessary to reap the best benefits in life. She's a "good kid" who enjoys college life and is enjoying being in love for the first time with her partner, Sarah.

4). What is the main conflict, and what messes up his/her life?

Adrian shocks herself on the night of September 6th, 2004, when she shoots her new brother-in-law, Michael Young, sixteen times with his own nine millimeter handgun. Less than an hour prior to this incident, Adrian and her mother had received a distressing phone call from Adrian's sister Emily (Michael's wife) who is hysterical and sobbing about Michael having beaten her up. When Adrian and her mother Joyce show up to console her, however, Emily reveals yet another detail, a fact more heinous than Adrian can handle. Emotion seems to override all the good sense and temperance for which Adrian is known as she takes the law into her own hands and murders Michael Young in a blind rage, destroying her life before it has even begun.

5). What is the personal goal of the main character?

Having been sentenced to thirty years in R.W. Pulman Correctional Facility for Women (fictional), one of Georgia's most dangerous state prisons, Adrian's goals are very simple: stay alive, stay 'invisible', and stay sane so that she might make parole in 2016 and begin to put her life back together again.

6). Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The title is 167 Seconds, and I have a few recent blog entries about it and will be posting more entries on the writing process along the way.

7). When can we expect the book to be published?

I am hoping for an early 2016 release (hopefully through Bedazzled Ink), as the book is in its fetal stages, only on Chapter Two at this point.


Thanks to Rhavensfyre for inviting me on this blog tour! Rhavensfyre's next book is entitled Rest and Relaxation and is coming soon! You can read all about their work and keep up to date with them at www.rhavensfyre.wordpress.com.


I am now passing the author blog torch to:

JL Gaynor https://www.facebook.com/jl.gaynor?fref=ts
Helen Dunn http://on.fb.me/1pyvk4Z
TT Thomas www.ttthomas.com
RE Bradshaw rebradshawbooks.blogspot.com
RJ Samuel www.rjsamuel.com

Finding the Mood Music

It could be considered a crutch, but without the right music--I mean, the absolute perfect music--my books would never get written. This latest WIP, 167 Seconds, seems to require a certain sound (like all of them do) in order to generate provocative imagery, poignant character introspection, and meaningful dialogue. My books are movies in my head, after all, and every movie needs a score, right? I just wish it were possible to somehow include free 'soundtracks' of the music I've used to write these novels, but there are copyright and distribution snags that prevent such a cool perk. So, I've listed a few of the artists whose works have inspired 167 Seconds and linked the YouTube videos above. I also make audio files to post to my website, which you can find at www.carolewolfauthor.com

If you've listened to any of them, you'll notice the darkness in most of these tracks, which is more than appropriate. A good portion of 167 Seconds takes place in a maximum security women's penitentiary, a fictional facility that I've plunked down right in the middle of rural southern Georgia, just twenty miles north of the Florida state line. The central character, 24 year old Adrian Randal, is a Georgia State University student who has murdered her brother-in-law for reasons I won't spoil for you here, but let's just say they're quite controversial. This act has landed her in one of the worst women's correctional facilities in the state for the next thirty years, essentially destroying her life. The place to which she's been sent is a privately owned prison that rivals such institutions as Sing Sing and Attica with a main housing unit designed in the roundhouse style of Stateville Penitentiary in Illinois (an architectural prison style also found in the Netherlands).

One of the biggest concerns my wife and closest friends have had about this novel is whether the prison theme will end up mimicking Orange is the New Black ::sigh:: No. It will not. I believe I may have touched on that subject in an earlier post and dismissed it there as well, and I can assure you--167 Seconds is about as close to OITNB as the film Gravity is to Spaceballs. So, as a reader, if you're looking forward to some new take on OITNB, you won't find it in 167 Seconds. And if you've been cringing at such a cheesy possibility, don't worry, you'll get the same darkness and grit and tortured characters found in my upcoming novel Everything (formerly self-published as The Months of Moon). I promise. 

*all pictures and music copyrighted to their respective owners*