|
|
MEET THE CHARACTERS OF THE LEWINE FAMILY
As many of you know, the names of the characters in my stories are the same as my immediate family members. The only disguise I used was changing their last name from Richards to Lewine, which in fact was my deceased wife's middle name. The character named Wilford, that's me. It's my true first name which I never use and usually only show as the letter W in every thing I sign.
The first four stories were composed as an act of love for my grandchildren. I never expected to have them published. My original intent was to give each grandchild copies of my manuscripts to read when they became an adult. It was my belief that they would then relish each story that portrayed them as a superstar and treasure it as a proof of my love for them.
When I first wrote these stories, my grandchildren were small tots that were in the process of developing their own unique personalities. I increased their ages and tried to develop a character with their same mannerisms, at least as I perceived them. Fortunately for me, all my grandchildren have very strong personalities. Life with my grandchildren is always an amusement park. I never know what they are going say or do next.
Since some of my readers have asked many questions about my grandchildren, I thought I would add some pictures of my pride and joy. They are now much older than they were when I first wrote the stories. Three of them were not even born at that time.
JESSICA CAMERON EHRLICH
Jessica Cameron Ehrlich is my step granddaughter in real life as well as in the stories. She is referred to as Camie, which comes from her middle name of Cameron. I did this so the
readers wouldn't be confused, since her stepsister is also named Jessica. I also love her middle name and think it's as beautiful as she is. In the first three novels, Camie spends a lot of time in Garmich, Germany practicing her figure skating routine, which she intends to use in the winter Olympics.
She meets Senator Domingo in the first novel and they become somewhat smitten with each other. However, they never date until the third novel when the senator wins the Presidency of the United States. Their love story begins when he invites her to join him in the weeklong inauguration festivities.
In real life, Camie is a scholar and an athlete. On her own merit she has received full scholarship offers to three Universities. Scholastically she has maintained a straight A average and has won many awards in track. She could very easily be a future Olympic gold medal
winner. As far as putting her in a role as first lady, I had no difficulty seeing her in that position. All though she is only 18 years of age, she already possesses the intelligence, grace, compassion, and leadership to be an exquisite First Lady.
JULIAN MICHAEL RICHARDS
Julian is my only living grandson. In the stories he is portrayed as my second oldest grandchild when in fact he is the fourth. Jessica Leigh Richards and Rhiannon Bethany Richards
are both older than he is.
In my stories he is characterized as the famous baseball player for the 'Rockies', where he holds the position of catcher. His many fans identify him as the Jewel of the Rockies. He is also a romantic who is wealthy enough to own his own airplane and Jaguar. He is looked up to by his family as Mr. Perfect. Because of his wealth and good nature, Julian is always becoming involved with his younger sister and two cousins. He always has a following of young ladies as well as his many men baseball fans.
In real life, Julian is a good athlete who plays soccer and takes training for hockey. He makes half of the scores made by his soccer team. He is very good skier and extremely competitive in every thing he does. It wouldn't surprise me if he became a professional ball player.
JESSICA LEIGH RICHARDS
Jessica Leigh Richards is the daughter of my youngest son, Eric. In the stories she has a multitude of talents. She's a pilot of not only fixed wing but also helicopters. She has a
third degree black belt in the martial art of Kung Fu and is a certified scuba diver. She attends the Naval Academy at Annapolis and has an interest in under water research. She is an expert horse back rider and loves the dangerous sport of rock climbing. Of the three cousins, she is the most quiet and reserved. She loves her two younger cousins and would give her life for them if it was needed. Since Jessica is the oldest of the trio of cousins, I put her into the leadership position, which had to be given to somebody.
In real life, Jessica is only fourteen years old. She is very athletic and participates in both soccer and track. She is a very good skier and ice skater. Her hobby is horseback riding, which she does daily with her own horse named 'Wonder'. She rides English style and loves to compete in the steeplejack jumping. She loves music and plays the piano like a master. Her goal in life is to become a doctor of Veterinary.
RHIANNON BETHANY RICHARDS
Rhiannon is the oldest daughter of my middle son, Robert. In every novel she, like her cousin Jessica, has a multitude of talents. She can fly anything with an engine and is not afraid of taking things to the limit. She also has a third degree blackbelt in the martial art of Kung Fu and some times likes to spar with her cousin Jessica. She is also a rock climber, scuba diver, and can ride a horse. The one talent she has above her cousins is she can shoot a rifle or pistol like the famous Annie Oakley. She gets this talent from practicing with her
father who is a Federal Agent.
Although she is very kind and thoughtful, she doesn't take a lot of guff from anyone. She is constantly apologizing to Admiral Bradely, who in the first story helped her to get into the AirForce Academy in Colorado Springs.
In real life, Rhiannon is a brilliant young lady who goes to school for the gifted. She is an excellent skier as well as a snow border. She plays on a girls La Cross team where she holds the position of goalie. Although the ball is as hard as a rock and travels at high speeds, she never flinches or backs away. She likes music and plays the violin in the school orchestra. She is also a very gifted actor and has been in a number of plays.
MADELINE PATRICIA RICHARDS
Madeline is the only child of my oldest son Gregory. In the novel she is the youngest of the trio who work together solving the mystery. Unlike Jessica and Rhiannon, she does not pilot
a plane nor does she have any martial art training. She also is very uncomfortable riding on a horse. Her big love in life is racing cars and motorcycles which she can operate like a professional. She has a natural ability to work on engines or anything electrical or electronic. She has a very sharp mind that can quickly analyze a problem and find a solution. She does not take much guff from strangers and like her grandfather, has a stubborn streak that sometimes drives her cousins bonkers.
In real life, Madeline is only four years old. She was a character in my novels before she was ever born. I was very relieved when my son told me he was going to give her the same name that I already picked for her in prior stories. It solved the problem of changing all
the work I had already done. I'm so glad she wasn't a boy. What has surprised me with her, is how close her personality is to the character I created.
TRINITY BELLE RICHARDS
Trinity is the third child of my son Robert. She's not mentioned in the first two novels because she hadn't been born when I wrote them. However, she plays a major role as a ten year old in 'Calamity at the Devils Door'. Although she is somewhat petite in stature, she is mighty in spirit and personality. She stows away aboard the ship that is transporting the kidnapped Olympic medal winners. Because of her courage and fortitude, she saves the lives of not only her cousin Camie but also the ten athletes scheduled to be assassinated by the terrorist. She becomes a National hero at the young age of ten.
In real life, trinity is only five years old. Although she is small for her age she can hold her own with anyone three times her size. She loves music and can be found dancing to it's
beat every time she hears a tune. She has a tremendous sense of humor and has often been heard saying as she laughs, "I'm so funny, I even crack me up."
ASHTON DRAKE RICHARDS
Ashton was my son Robert's only son, who never lived to see his first birthday. Although he was only with us a short time, he was a happy child who filled my heart with love and joy. I
didn't feel it right not to include him into a novel like his sister and cousins. He plays a major role in the story 'Strange Things at Alice Springs', where the Lord kindly sends him back to us just long enough to help solve the mystery. I didn't think anyone would like this story because it is filled with the unbelievable, however, the few who have read all my manuscripts like this one the best.
In real life, Ashton was unfortunately born in Wheeling West Virginia with a heart and lung defect. The doctors told us it was a rare incident probably caused by a blemish in the
gene pool. The defect would only show up in one out of every million births. However, the next day there were five more births with the same condition. When we voiced our suspicions of an environment contamination in either the air or water, we were immediately told that it was impossible because the families all lived nearly fifty miles apart. After a little investigation by my son, it was found that the six mothers all worked in Wheeling within seven
blocks of each other.
PEYTON BROOKE RICHARDS
Peyton is the youngest daughter of my middle son, Robert. She is only eight months old and has never been mentioned in any of the novels to date. That's because she was not born or
even a twinkle in her Papa's eye when I wrote them. She will be introduced as a new Lewine member in the story I'm creating now, but will not play a major role until one of the novels to follow. In real life, Peyton has been a real blessing to our family. She very seldom cries and is a delight to be around. She is saturated with love from not only her mother and father, but both of her older sisters.
|