This is not going to be an easy blog post for me. Not with Iriss as the featured character. Blackridge is a saga of suspense and intrigue. There is so much that I have to be careful with when writing anything about it (outside of the book descriptions and the dreaded synopsis that is such a bane of authors to have to come up with) so as not to give away any secrets or spoilers.
I was hesitant to even feature her because I knew I would be so limited in what I could reveal and what I could talk about with her, because just by looking at the beautifully rendered images that I managed to get for her when I was creating her likeness, you can see the shadowy mystery that surrounds her. I had to feature her, however. Iriss was one of the very first characters created for Blackridge. She's also what I call a "tribute character." She was influenced by an actress from my youth that I immediately connected with the moment that I saw her and a character she portrayed.
Iriss Boynton isn't named until Blackridge: The Dark of Hearts, the third book in the saga. Who she is and what she does remains a mystery to Morgan Callahan, who is one of two characters who initially encounters Iriss in the pages of that fearsome installment of the Saga. The Dark of Hearts is where Blackridge starts to get darker, as I stated in the Cover Story post for that novel. Things start to really get wrapped in shadow and revealing Iriss is a pivotal moment that I was looking forward to. I had to keep her true motives and background a complete mystery for the purposes of the entire story for as long as possible. There is so much about her that fascinates me and I enjoyed writing for her as much as I did for Morgan. Iriss really took on a life of her own, despite being one of those enigmatic characters that has to be featured carefully within the context of a story as intricate and mysterious as Blackridge.
She is very different from the inspiration that drew me to her, but in making her my own, I propelled her into the saga with a background unlike any of the other characters. Iriss is also Kevin's favorite character, which I thought was interesting. When I asked him who his favorite character was, he simply said ... "Iriss." Very cool that he chose her. Iriss is one of the darkest characters in Blackridge, and yet ... she's also amazingly complex and conflicted as the Saga plays out. That's the hallmark of a great character in a story with so many twists and turns down dark alleys and shadowy paths. Iriss is perfect for what she represents and I found that I was able to keep a part of my inspiration with me even when I learned that the actress who had portrayed the character I grew so fond of had passed away in real life.
I was able to keep Iriss with me for as long as I could, letting her have free reign in the Blackridge Saga and allowing her to do as she pleased, because in doing so, it created so much storyline for both the villains and the heroes. It's rare to get a character that goes in-between, but Iriss could do it ... and she did it well.
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