Modeling Characters by Michael Spradlin:

Asking a writer to choose a favorite character from their own work is a little like asking a parent to choose their favorite child. Most of my writer friends tell me their characters become very ‘real' to them. My characters in The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail are no exception. Each of them has a unique voice and style, and while I'm personally very fond of Tristan, the hero, I find that all of the characters of the book have carved out a special place in my heart.

At a library event recently, I was asked a question about character development and did I ever use real people as the archetypes for the personalities of my characters? The answer was yes, of course. And in The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail, there is no better example of this than Robard Hode.

Robard enters the story after Tristan has escaped an about-to-be-overrun Acre with the Holy Grail. On his way to Tyre, the nearest coastal city, he is set upon by bandits. About to lose everything, he's rescued by a young King's Archer, a boy just a bit older than he. A young man, named Robard Hode, who was born in Sherwood Forest near the shire of Nottingham.

Robard very quickly inserted himself The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail. In many ways he becomes more than just Tristan's sidekick. He is a force in his own right. Brave and loyal, with a profound sense of justice, he wants to make a mark on the world but he hasn't yet figured out how. He can be surly, temperamental and even unlikable at times. Yet as they say, when the chips are down, you know Robard will always have your back.

When I began writing Robard it took some time for me to find his voice and to smooth off some of his rough edges until he was ready for the page. But when I found the inspiration for his character, it all fell into place. One evening, I happened to be re-watching the movie Tombstone, which stars Val Kilmer as Wild West gunman John ‘Doc' Holiday. About a third of the way through the movie it clicked: this performance, this attitude, and swagger, this sense of loyalty to your friends is what I want for Robard. (Minus of course, the alcoholism and tuberculosis!).

Now when I am writing Robard's scenes, I will occasionally find my self slipping over to YouTube and pulling up a clip from the movie. Just to check. To make sure I still have him the way I want him. Kilmer's performance has had an indelible imprint on The Youngest Templar: Keeper for the Grail.

And it goes to show the old adage is true. You never know where you'll find inspiration. Or rather, where it will find you.

Michael Spradlin, The Youngest Templar, young adult fiction, Knights Templar, Holy Grail,historical fiction,books, Penguin Books