One of my greatest creations, and, believe it or not, I hardly did anything. He made it happen. He did. When I first created the character that was supposed to be Kieran, he was a nameless blond jock. One of those preppy, pretty boy characters who plays lacrosse in college or something. He has all the money in the series, great looks, and believe it or not, a lot of the heart.
At his core, he's a good guy, despite the way he acts and the way he deals with the other characters a lot of the time. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kieran because he became his own character as the series unfolded. I didn't create him to be what he became. Not at all. He was nothing, really. I wanted the “jock” character and added him to the list of guys in the group ... that's all. Seriously, this guy made himself out of nothing!
I've been writing for all of these people for so long, it's hard for me to go back and remember when it happened or how. All I know, is that he wasn't intended to be anything and he became a major part of everything. He wasn't even a character to be taken seriously when I made him and he became one of the main characters of the Double Club. Even his name was different when he was first created. It was plain and ordinary. As he developed, I realized I had something serious in him so I had to give him a better name.
I know he can sometimes be an ass and an arrogant prick, but because I wrote him that way, it’s part of his character and part of who he is. There is no denying he can get under people's skin or be unlikeable, but never forget ... the one thing that drives Kieran is love. He may be the son of a billionaire, but Kieran’s primary motivation in the entire Double Club series is his unwavering true love for only one person.
Yes, believe it or not. Love is Kieran's ultimate goal in the series and if you realize that as you read it, you'll see beyond the image of what he establishes for himself. I didn't even care about him when I created him, and he went on to make himself one of the best, really. There is no better friend than Kieran to the Double Club. If you could find a way to get in touch with him (if you didn’t already know how) and ask him for help, he would help you. If you needed anything, he would provide. Kieran is one of the best characters I have ever created and it still astonishes me to this day that he came from nothing and was intended to be nothing when I made him. I know I keep saying it, but the creative process for long-term characters is a very, very strange and unpredictable thing. Kieran is the perfect example of that.
He's one of the characters I enjoy writing for because I can do so much with him. His wealth gives me a lot of freedom in what I can do with him and his motivations are a huge factor, too. I would say he's one of those all-purpose characters, but he's not. Once you read the series, you will see where Kieran's motivations primarily lie. He doesn't waver in his dedication to his one and only love. For a guy who truly has everything in life, Kieran only wants the one thing that eludes him for the majority of his time in the series. That is another one of the great things about writing for a character like him. You can do a lot with him because of his money and his heart. It's rare to have a character like this come to life on their own, but Kieran Lockhart did it and it's been truly rewarding to see him come alive in my imagination.
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