All of my characters, both major and minor, are composites of people I know or have met through the years, with the sole exception of Erik, who is a composite of men I have never met, but have long admired from afar. While his eyes are those of my favorite teen idol, Bobby Sherman, Erik's voice, both speaking and singing , belongs to Richard White, the actor who originated the role of the phantom in Yeston/Kopit's musical "Phantom" as well as being the voice of the villain of "Gaston" in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". Erik's height and build are based on the Gaston Leroux's character, and his medical and emotional problems, specifically the diabetes and former drinking and drug problems are pure invention on my part. However, the barroom brawls are based on those of an actual actor, the late Oliver Reed, who gained quite a reputation in his life for his exploits off-camera!
I also hope the reader doesn't mind me taking a few liberties with the character of Erik. In my version, he is originally from what is now (at this writing in December, 2000, anyway!) Croatia and therefore, unlike most men from western Europe, would not necessarily be exposed to the English language. I did this so that the character of Roberta would have a way of paying back Erik for his singing lessons. Roberta is one of those morally-straight people that probably wouldn't like the idea of paying for lessons by sleeping with her teacher or doing other things which she would find morally offensive in order to pay her teacher for all of those free lessons. While it's been awhile since I last used French, I hope I am correct in my spelling and word usage (and I apologize for the lack of accents in some of the words, for my word processor isn't set up to write in French!), and as for the British accents, I hope I have those right as well because one usually doesn't come across British dialects when one lives in Colorado, like I do! I also apologize for the spelling errors found throughout my work, for when I'm in a hurry to write down my ideas, I often make typos, and sometimes my spell-check doesn't always work!
As for the locales in the story, all of the places, cities, towns and villages mentioned by name in this version actually exist and can be found on any good map. The maps I used were the green Michelin guide books of Paris, the Loire Valley and the Atlantic Coast, which can be found in the travel section of any good book store, as well as the Rand-McNally International Series map of Spain and Portugal. The floor plans of the buildings I used as settings, however, are pure inventions on my part as is Erik's cottage (or dacha, as he calls it!) in Vouvant. The dacha itself is based on two actual locations, the kitchens found in Byers-Evans house and Four Mile Historic Park, both of which are located in Denver, Colorado, USA. Also, the non-electric items mentioned throughout the work, specifically the oil lamps and the wood-burning stove mentioned in chapter 29 are items that are based on items that can actually be found in Lehman's Non-electric Catalog 1997 Revised Edition.
While the action scenes I used in "Erik" are all fiction, they
are based on actual historical events and incidents, starting with Roberta's
exile to France in the beginning of the story, as well as the incidents
against pro-lifers that Pete describes. The flight of Roberta in
chapter 30 as well as the flight of both Erik and Roberta are based on
actual escapes of POWs. The attempted seizure of Roberta as described
in chapters 32 and 33 as well as the successful seizure of Roberta described
in the epilogue are based on the actual seizure at gunpoint of Elian Gonzales
in April of 2000. And finally, the work camp described in the epilogue
is based on actual gulags in the former Soviet Union and China as well
as the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Many of the actions done
to the main characters in this version, specifically the xenophobic riots
and Carlotta's anti-American sentiments are, sadly, based on actual recent
events that have taken place in Europe. While I used many current
events, both political and religious, I hope I didn't distract the reader
with them, for I merely wished to use them as backdrops as well as to give
reasons why my characters act like they do, and to give reasons for actions
taken against my characters, especially Roberta and Erik. Also, information
on the prayers used by Roberta, specifically the Chaplet of Divine Mercy,
as well as information on (now canonized) St. Faustina, the Polish nun
Pete talks about, can be found in any good Catholic book store.