What's Your X-Factor?

So, we finally have arrived at the letter that most participants in the A to Z Blog Challenge have been thinking about since early April.  How can you develop a blog post that is focused on the letter "X"?  The answer . . . with a little creative license.

First, I would like share with you a character I created whose name ENDS in X, as that will have to do.  Monique St. Roux is an on-camera television personality who is introduced in Opur’s Blade. Hailing from France, the good-looking broadcaster gained prominence and celebrity status as one of the best players on the ladies’ golf tour. After her playing career ended, she entered the media world and became the color commentator on the men’s tour. Known simply as Monique, she transferred her success in the world of golf into ventures in cosmetics and fashion as well.  How often do we see this happen in our celebrity culture?  A movie actress becomes a dress designer or a pop singer develops her own perfume.  This astute marketing plan is one that Monique understands well.

I also would like to share an "x-factor" that plays an important role in all of my books.  Without it, the story lines and the physical environment on which the Prairie Winds Golf Course is laid out just wouldn't be the same.  I'm referring to the Mississippi River.  It's been a character in countless American novels, perhaps most notably as the venue for Huck Finn's travels, and inspired many great songs.  The characters in my novels enjoy the gambling and entertainment boats that can be found trolling up and down its waters and one even earned his reputation in music by playing along its banks in New Orleans.  While the Mississippi River doesn't have a single line of dialogue in my novels, its presence is always felt.

If you are a writer, do you have an "x-factor" in your work?  Something that runs throughout the pages and influences people and their actions? 

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, and Pabby's Score jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: http://www.authorjamesross.com/
Publisher Websites: http://www.xlibris.com/ and http://www.nightengalepress.com/ 
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/ 
 Purchase: http://golftwitt.com/46ey