I'll tell you a secret. Alban Bane, the lead in my novel The Game—"cranky, pain-pill-popping Bane adds a delightfully sarcastic tone to the action"according to Booklist —is a stand-in for my beloved deceased mother Anna Kane. Anna Kane-Alban Bane, get it? This probably makes me a "mama's boy" but I thought of my mother as dear friend and outspoken personality as much as mother. I think of Bane this way, too.

I guess I hope you will love him and hate him, or both. ForeWord Magazine was a little sweeter on Bane: "Armstrong’s swashbuckling Scotsman is a welcome addition in the thriller tradition of Weisman and Connolly."

Why did Bane evolve from a dark and brooding detective in my first draft, to a laugh-out-loud, sarcastic character who "keeps us chuckling," according to Booklist. Frankly, I believe a thriller author can't be too serious. A thriller may have a strong theme—mine, in Bane's words, "Television is a plot to make people forget how to read; reality television is a plot to make people forget how to live."—but it has to be entertainment first and foremost.

Another secret? Bane's captain DJ, was modeled on my memory of my buddy DJ (pictured), a loyal and wonderful friend who has also passed on.

Back to Bane. In later plog posts, I'm going to post my favorite "Baneisms." He's a witty chap, this "hilarious" detective, according to   Films and Books Magazine . The danger of any use of humor is simply people tend to love it or hate it. I'll take either from you, dear reader, but I hope you'll agree with Booklist that The Game is "an idea as old as Raymond Chandler, but Armstrong injects the trope with new vigor. This is a series to watch from a new publisher to watch." Give Bane a spin. He's taken on a life of his own, now. Already, he's changing in the forthcoming sequel MADicine. But, he'll always been "sarcastic, funny and cantankerous."