Keith Rommel
Author of Spirit of Independence

"The devil made me do it." But when you're a writer, and the devil is one of your characters, there's no getting around it -- you are the one who makes the devil do it! In writing my novel Spirit of Independence, I found getting inside Satan's head-and even imagining what he looks like-to be an unexpected challenge.

I began by studying some of his recent appearances. In the movie Devil's Advocate, Satan appears as a forty-something law firm owner that's bathing in money and power. In Dracula 2000, the devil hides himself behind the appearance of a lady-killing hunk. In Bedazzled he's a grand cartoon, a classic devil: fire red skin, a pointed tail and razor sharp horns atop his head (not mention that he's Elizabeth Hurley).

Next, I interviewed people from different religious backgrounds about how they perceive Satan, and one thing was abundantly clear. Everyone that believes in him deems him the one responsible for bringing sin and violence into the world. A certain sense of hatred filled their voices as they made biblical accusations.

Mulling this over, I couldn't imagine the entire world hating me, blaming me for their wrongdoings. The anger that would fill me would be consuming, maybe even humbling in a sense. I wondered how these people would react if they suddenly woke to find themselves confronted by the devil. Would they instinctively look to run and hide, scream to the Heaven's that they couldn't have done anything deserving eternity in hell?

But what if they couldn't run and couldn't scream? What if... they had to hear him out?

So at my keyboard, I tackled this problem: how could I plausibly portray the devil so that the reader would be able to identify and sympathize with his situation? I eliminated the classic devil and the other clichés and searched for a better disguise. To do this, I needed to become the devil, to brainstorm how I could effectively persuade people to join my evil side. After all, people in all walks of life have heard about the devil-and they're all ready to say "no" to whatever he offers. And though they have different mental images of him and different beliefs about him, they cannot dismiss his existence absolutely.

In Spirit of Independence, when you first meet my devil (though you won't know who he is at first), you will wake to find him inside a steaming cavern below the earth's surface, sitting upon his throne studying you. All around, thousands of souls will be chained to the floor and screaming out in anguish, pleading for your help. But you won't be able to offer them anything because the blistering air will make it nearly impossible to breathe and your deflated lungs will keep your voice silenced. And when you finally realize that the man sitting on the throne is the devil and that you really are inside hell, the devil will slowly rise and he'll approach you. You'll look to run because whether you believed the devil was real or not in life, there will be no denying that he's standing before you. You'll realize that you can't run because you're chained down like all the others. And as you begin to question and condemn Heaven for your fate, the devil will draw ever so near and he'll appraise you in your vulnerable condition. He'll clear his throat to gain your attention and you'll pause in your anguish to find something confusing about him. You'll see that his appearance resembles something that was once beautiful but is no longer that. Beneath the skin that is pale white and cracked like the deserts ground, you'll find the splendor. Within the mouth that is filled with rotting teeth and underneath the clothes that are windswept, you'll find something otherworldly. He'll turn away from you and return to his throne. In an instant you'll remember what he stands for and you'll find panic like you've never experienced before.

Before you can scream, the devil will speak softly, with a voice that twangs gently like the strum of a harp. He will say, "I mean you no harm, I beg you to believe me. Please, hear me out..."

How can you not listen to a pleasant voice and a genuine plea for help? Has my devil piqued your curiosity, maybe even gained a little trust? Maybe you know of someone who has been portrayed in a negative way, but when you finally get to know them, you realize they aren't so bad after all.

In writing the devil as a character, I believed that if I eliminated the usual prejudice against the devil right away, then I could strike doubt into the reader's heart about the motive of the lead protagonist fighting on the side of "good." That way, when it's discovered who the "bad guy" truly is, the punch behind that answer is much more intense, showing how easily an intelligent reader like you or me can be fooled by a fictional character... really scary.

A super-size thanks to Keith for dropping in with Scary Voices! Be sure to visit www.spiritofindependence.com for more information on Keith's work.