Who Is Lewis? Teardrops in the Night Sky

Over the past few weeks I have had a number of reviews from annoyed people around the globe about my character Lewis in 'Teardrops in the Night Sky'. Many feel insulted by this character. This is a typical response from one reader. “I would like, however, to encourage Mr. Murison to get rid of the stereotypes, especially with Lewis. Yes, some Southerners may still talk like that, but to make Lewis a Stepinfetchit caricature is offensive to many - me included.”

So why the hell did I invent Lewis in the first place? Why risk all of these negative reviews? Before I answer your questions let me tell you about how I feel about Lewis. Lewis just happens to be one of my favourite characters in the series. I for one, do not think he is stereotypical. Yeah ok he is a big slow talking coloured man from the Deep South with a strong accent; however most of these characters are portrayed as dim-witted and slow. Lewis is a specialist that served his in his countries armed forces, who has one of the highest IQ’s on the ship and can build a nuclear weapon from scratch; hardly stereotypical. Where did he come from though? The idea for Lewis came from watching one of my favourite films the Green Mile. If you have ever seen Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey then an image of how I see Lewis should spring straight into your mind. You may well ask why the hell did I do that. Well that’s simple. I don’t watch the Green Mile to watch Tom Hanks; as much as I enjoy his films and acting. I watch the Green Mile to watch Michael Clarke Duncan and his portrayal of John Coffey, and there is nothing that pisses me off faster, than when my favourite character in a book or film is killed off. Why the hell did I do it? I did it to reincarnate John Coffey. Simple as that. Ok Lewis isn’t John Coffey, he isn’t a backward simpleton with mystical powers who thinks the best thing for the world is if he is killed. Lewis is a forward thinking highly intelligent man with a desire to explore the universe; he may well have a simple outlook in life and talk with a deep southern drawl, but if you mistake him as stereotypical, then you had better read the book again. So if you are offended by Lewis then I apologise unreservedly. It was not my intention to upset or offend; just a simple desire to see a character I loved from the mind of one of the world’s foremost authors and portrayed by one of my favourite actors live again and get a better deal in one of my own novels. There has been one or two other things that keep popping up in the reviews. Some people have discovered an anti-American flavour to them. Those people seem to have missed the fact that most of the crew are American, Steven Gordon himself grew up in the States and regards it as home. Indeed Scotland is almost a foreign country to him and in the second novel he has to take time off to explore it. There are a few baddies in both novels that are American but this should not be taken as anti-American. They are baddies! One of the baddies in the second novel was English, never had any comments about that. Ok onwards. I have a degree in software development, not quantum mechanics. Neither am I a techno-geek. I am not going to try and explain my theories on Black Holes or how Stardrives work, I really don’t care. I love science fiction in all its forms, but the moment an author tries to explain complicated theories on any of the above mentioned is when I either toss the book or begin speed reading. I shall never try and explain the mysteries of the universe, my only interest is to take my readers on a journey in mind. To try and tell a good story that appeals to all ages. As most of the review support that premise then I believe I have for the most part succeeded in that endeavour. As for the spelling mistakes. Ouch Biggie! The first novel was proofread and edited by Grosvenor House Publishing London http://www.grosvenorhousepublishing.c... ,please feel free to email them with your personal remarks or opinions. I will warn you before you do that the book was written and published in UK English and not American English. There are some differences in the spelling of some common words but I have never had a problem reading American English and believe that few Americans have problems reading and understanding UK English. As yet Amazon do not have the facilities to do a separate version for each country. The Black Planet was proofread and edit by Lumphanaon Press up here in Scotland. Lumphanan Press | Self-Publishing | Scotland lumphananpress.co.uk/ Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions then please join me on my Facebook page. J W Murison