“Wild and animated described the essence of Boone.” –Jaclyn Bennett, The Roaming Adventurer
My character, Boone Colter, is the middle Colter Son and hero of The Roaming Adventurer (Colter Sons Book 2). Others around him think he’s a little on the crazy side. Wild. A risk-taker. In the modern world, he’d be labeled an adrenaline junkie and probably would have been a skydiving, rock climbing, bungee jumping dude.
So, what was the inspiration behind his character?
Honestly, it all started with a few sentences in my book Joy for Mourning. The main male character in that book sees Boone’s mother for the first time in eight years. He’d had a thing for her back then, before she married Boone’s father. And that main character never married. I wanted to show the contrast between that character’s disappointing love life and Hannah’s very successful love life. So, I gave Hannah five sons (which inspired the entire Colter Sons series).
“Boone is the wildest of us all. His barometer for risk is broken.” –Sam Colter, The Reluctant Cattleman
In that book, I wrote one brief sentence about Boone, a red-headed little boy running around church before it started. That sparked my curiosity. What kind of man would a wild and crazy little boy grow into? Would he settle down or would his thirst for life and adventure remain intact despite repeated scoldings from his mother?
“I could tell you my name, but growing up at my house, I thought it was almost a curse word.” –Boone Colter, The Roaming Adventurer
The answer, you may have guessed from the title of the book, is that Boone maintained his adventurous spirit. In fact, in his character development sheet, I wrote this: Boone feels like his mother has a low opinion of him. He does outrageous things to get her attention, hoping she will love him as much as Sam.
“It was Boone. My brother. The one who tormented me as a young man. His blue eyes flashed with fire. He came to help me when I needed it.” –Preston Colter, The Restless Wrangler
One thing I loved about how his character developed was that he had a strong moral code. He never ignored all the things his parents scolded him about. Instead, he internalized them into his impeccable moral code without compromising the essence of who he was. He fully embraced his wild and animated nature.
“‘If you toy with Violet’s heart…’ Boone uncrossed his arms and cracked his knuckles. ‘You’ll deal with me.’ Then he laughed and slapped me on the back. It was enough to scare me.” –Zayne Harrison, The Resilient Bride
If you haven’t read his story, you can check out Boone Colter in The Roaming Adventure (Colter Sons Book 2). Enjoy!
