The author commentary for Spectral Advocate continues! This installment takes a closer look at the newest addition to the DSA’s world: Cal Cooper. SPOILER WARNING is in effect!
Who is Cal Cooper?
I love guest stars. Watching television dramas growing up, it was always a treat when the main character(s) were able to play off someone new–some guest to their world who brought with them a unique problem to be solved.
Cal Cooper was my attempt to really sell the wider world to the reader. With all the focus on scientific anomalies and government conspiracies, Spectral Advocate allowed me to open the doors to new ideas and more bizarre threats.
Cal is the Spectral Advocate, a lawyer with the uncanny ability to look through the veil to see the ghostly plane. That dichotomy really sold the character for me. Here was a guy working firmly in the natural world. He’s rational, believing firmly in the law, yet there’s this other side of things. He can see ghosts and interact with them.
The first potential spin-off
When I originally put together my plan for the DSA, I did so with the intention of creating a broader universe of stories. DSA was the spine for this shared universe. Each season I hoped to introduce some element that might spin out from the DSA into something new.
Cal Cooper, Spectral Advocate, was the first. His story may start here (what will eventually – hopefully – be considered Book 0 of his tale) but there is so much more to tell.
What other spin-off’s are in the works? Look no further than Season Two, Book Three. (Hint, hint)
One of my favorite characters
I tell people all the time about my love for Cal Cooper. His story has been locked in my brain for almost a decade now. One of these days I’m going to get the chance to write it all down.
Why haven’t I?
Not enough people have reached out. I swore I would not write the first Spectral Advocate novel until a certain number of people demanded more.
Six books of his series are scripted, if you can believe that. They have been since 2016. Every once in a while, I get the itch and read through them. They still hold up, even after all these years.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to bring his world back and finish his story. You tell me if that’s something you would enjoy.