While working on the plot outline for The Local, I decided that the main character had to be changed. David Mitchell, the son of Ryan and Keri Mitchell from the Flight Trilogy, will no longer be the lead character. Using a character from the trilogy would have offered those who have read the trilogy a certain familiarity, but as the story plot for The Local has taken shape, I quickly saw that using David Mitchell was putting me in a box. First of all, his career would not work with the story I am creating. There is no way I can change it and still make the plot work. So David is out. The new character's name is Sollie Mason.
Sollie Mason is a single, 32-year-old securities trader who lives and works in Buckhead, Georgia. Yes...the story setting starts in Buckhead. I know I told you that the story setting was going to be in Dothan, Alabama, so let me explain. Sollie Mason lives in Buckhead and works in the uptown district located in Buckhead. Atlanta basically has three main business districts: Downtown, Midtown, and Uptown. Sollie's office is located on the seventh floor of Tower Place 100.
This works out nice for me since I stayed in the DoubleTree Hotel while on my last research trip to Atlanta. The DoubleTree is located on the Tower Place property. I remember it and have a feel for the area. However, I'm sure I will make another trip to focus on the specifics of Sollie's life. I digress...
Sollie's parents live in Dothan. His dad, George Mason, is a retired Army colonel. He was last stationed at Fort Rucker when he retired. His mother, Anne Marie Mason, is a dedicated wife and mother who has always been very proactive in the lives of her two children. Sollie, like many sons, has a close relationship with his mother. Anne Marie will play a major character in the story as she helps her son with his relationship issues. Yes...there will be a love interest, or two, that Sollie will have to work through. Sollie's 29-year-old sister, Brooke, is married to Dr. Carter Green. They have a home near Seaside, Florida. Carter is an emergency room physician and works at Bay County Hospital or in a walk-in clinic...not sure yet. Brooke and Carter have a two-year-old son named Hunter.
Sollie and Brooke were obviously military brats who spend their growing up years traveling around the world (Germany, Hawaii, Italy, Washington D.C., etc.) from one Army post to the next, never staying in one place more than three years. Sollie is more of the introverted "thinker" while Brooke is the outgoing "creative" type. Constant change during their growing-up years affected Sollie differently than it did Brooke. While Brooke was very adaptive, tending to find change stimulating, Sollie was just the opposite. Sollie found his career to be a satisfying replacement for the lack of deep relationships.
In Sollie's firm there are 84 traders. So far, I have named three characters (co-workers) that will play key roles in the story: Jerry (Mo) Jackson, Harry (Curly) Wilson, and Earl (Larry) Taylor. Yes...Mo, Curly, and Larry...the Stooges nicknames were given to these characters by Sollie for a particular reason. There will possibly be two more co-workers I will use in the story.
This story will be co-authored with my son, David Coe. He will be my resident expert, as he understands Sollie's profession in great detail and is himself a 32-year-old single man.
I'll just tell you now... This story is going to be fantastic! And just so you know, it is being written with a killer sequel in mind. I wish I could tell you more...
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