A lot of people ask about Brother Lawrence's character, wanting him to have his own book series or requesting more of him. All I can tell you for now is that he comes into the second book a lot earlier, and I plan to have him do a lot of interesting things. Part of his persona is that not much is known about him, so to give too much away outside of the story would injure that a bit. He is definitely one of my favorite characters, though. It's a lot of fun to write his scenes and then go through them trying to figure out the different humorous ways he might respond in each situation.

However, I can say that he was a real person who's been dead for over three-hundred years, and my character has a few similarities with him. Like his love affair with pain and how it confounded his brothers in the monastery. But my character is my one and not meant to be the real Brother Lawrence. My character is far more whimsical and mysterious, and I've put a bit of Anthony de Mello's personality into him, as well.

Anthony de Mello was a psychologist and a priest born in India, so he was a very interesting mix of Eastern and Western philosophy. He was hilarious to listen to, always making jokes. De Mello died mysterious in 1987.

I hope De Mello and the real Brother Lawrence take some time out of kicking back in heaven to look at my character in the story and say, "Oh, that's wonderful!"

***If you liked this note, vote for it! Every vote helps!***