John is principled. Dedicated. Compassionate. Loyal and honest.

Yet for all his virtues, John’s flaws are what make him three-dimensional. He is unwavering in his pursuit of what’s right, but he doubts himself when it comes to those to whom he is closest. He reminds himself to be understanding with the woman he loves. He worries about the choices he makes as a parent. He’s had his moments of weakness. Sometimes those moments lasted longer than he’d want to admit.

I believe one way to know if a character is well-written is if you, the reader or audience, feel as though you know how they would react to situations that aren’t on the page. We know enough about John Jordan to know where he would stand. He advocates for the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the mistreated. He has an obligation to justice, but not to revenge. He makes a case for truth, not speculation. We know this about John because Michael has presented us with a character so well fleshed-out that we know not just his actions, but his reasons for them.

I don’t want to spoil details of any specific books for anyone who hasn’t read them. I wouldn’t dream of robbing from anyone the discoveries that wait in the pages of the John Jordan series.

There is little I could offer to long-time readers of the series anyway, regarding the character.

If I have anything to tell you now, on the twentieth anniversary of John Jordan’s existence as a literary hero of the people, it is probably best summarized in eight words.

Readers know John Jordan; I know Michael Lister.

The reason John Jordan is such a complex, compelling figure is that he comes from the brain—or the soul—of a complex and compelling person. Michael Lister exhibits many (most? all?) of John’s positive qualities. He is compassionate, principled, loyal, and honest.

Yet I don’t believe for a moment that John is a product of wish fulfillment, or a manifestation of Michael himself on the page. That is the province of bad writers, who write themselves into a story to defeat the villain and save the girl.

As I said I met Michael when Power in the Blood was his only John Jordan book, around 1999 or 2000. He was a guest speaker in a writing course I was taking, and having already published a hardcover novel, he was something of a guru to the class.

His hometown and mine are a fifteen-minute drive apart. Without realizing it, as a child I rode by his family home every week. It wasn’t until ten years later that we would meet, and ten after that before we became friends. In that time I had released an album and felt comfortable enough with my work to think I could talk to him without bothering him, or sounding like I was asking for advice or help.