October 30: Required and Bonus

Protagonist Change

Micah “Chance” Vaughn opens the novel as a private investigator, one that’s been married twice with one child, a daughter he fathered while in college. He was arrogant, prideful, and a loner. He preferred to work alone. He upset co-workers and clients alike. To some, Chance appeared to have a death wish, rushing into situations where prudence was best.

When his consciousness returned to his 17-year-old self, Micah returned as well. As a teenager, he was affable, amiable, worked well with others. There were moments when people believed he would do great things, whether on the soccer pitch or in the world of literature. Now that he has a second chance, those things can happen.

Before the prom, Micah understood there was something different, something happened during the dream of him being shot that’s made him believe there was someone/something else inside of him, whether that thing is another soul or another consciousness.
The thing “told” him things, encouraged him to take things a little further, like telling his first love, Antoinette De Fiore, that he loved her. When that happened, the consciousness changed.

He wrote his dream, wrote the names he remembered or heard, but wanted to change them later. He never did, setting off another change in the future.

Through the novel, Micah becomes more and more outgoing, not worrying about who others think of him, except for Antoinette. He knew he had to be careful with her, though the consciousness never informed him.
At the end, he was more mature, more affirmed in his destiny.

Bonus:

Interviewer: Micah “Chance” Vaughn, now that you’ve finished your journey, from teenager just before a prom to published author, how did the events of your story change you?

Micah Vaughn: Good question. First off, thank you for talking with me. I would say they gave me life lessons. I learned that your future is never set in stone, that you can change things, for the better in my case. I had some reservations in the beginning, you know, the entire “Second Persona” inside of my mind thing was scary at first. But, as things developed, he became sort of like Jiminy Cricket, a second thought.


Interviewer: How is your life now?
Vaughn: (Without hesitation) Oh, you wouldn’t believe how well it is. I’m attending a few classes at the State University College of New York at Potsdam, mostly computer language courses, but taking a few in American History and some Literature, enough so I can be on the college’s varsity soccer team. I’m starting as a midfielder.

I’m writing, the short stories are rolling off my fingers, so to speak. Even with the coursework and workouts, I can write at least one story a week, as many as four, each one accepted by magazines.

I have a literary agent, Maureen Harrison. She’s trying to get me to outline a novel, based on the original dream. She’s also receiving feelers from Hollywood about a movie based on it as well.

Because of the reward for finding the painting, I have enough money to rent an apartment. Despite misgivings at the start, Antoinette and I are happy, very happy together. I’ve asked her to marry me, she accepted. We’re holding off on the wedding, however. We’re waiting until she graduates in the spring of 1986.