Jake Rollins The Protagonist

This week, I thought I’d start introducing my characters. I have no idea if that’s a normal thing to do, but why not?

The main character of The Beast of Rose Valley is Jake Rollins. He grew up in Rose Valley, but hit the road when he turned 18 to become a Software Engineer. The insular town of Rose Valley was just a little more than he could handle.

Fast forward 20 years later, and Jake finds himself back in his hometown, embarrassingly living with his lifelong friend, Steve Witmer. Jake went through a divorce and then a horrible car accident, which landed him in Steve’s guest house. It’s been a bad year for him!

He’s always had a fascination with cryptozoology, and when a mysterious creature starts mutilating animals in Rose Valley, Jake finds himself intrigued. An entire life of fascination with undocumented animals thrusts Jake into the middle of the fray as the whole town tries to figure out what this beast is.

So far, Jake has been relatively easy to write for. Though his life differs pretty significantly from my own, he also has a lot in common with me. We’re both software engineers. We both grew up in a tiny Texas town and left when we were 18. We both have a fascination with cryptozoology.

I’ve never been divorced, nor have I been in a life-altering car accident. But I’m boring, and Jake needed to be more exciting than me so that he can carry the story. He also doesn’t look anything like me. Why make him look like me, when I can make him look so much better?

Together with Steve and another high school friend, Shandi Mason, Jake finds himself in the center of the mystery in more ways than one. How, you ask? Well, you’ll have to read The Beast of Rose Valley to find out!