Tom Shallowhorne
Tom Shallowhorne's Profile
Click on thumbnail to see full-sized picture
A Reluctant and Humble Fighter for Justice
Tom Shallowhorne is pretty much your typical hero from mythology, literature, movies, and comic books, with one subtle difference - he's nothing like your typical hero. He has the rugged good looks, and can handle the action, but the ultimate conflict he faces is within himself. I wanted my characters for West World to be realistic, so I was inspired by interviews with Vietnam War veterans to give Shallowhorne some of the conflicting emotions associated with PTSD. There have been other characters in the past developed in this way, but they're usually depicted as jerks. I wanted a more realistic portrayal, so most of what Shallowhorne deals with is internal. (Besides, I didn't want the hero of my story to be a jerk stereotype!)
Inspirations for Tom Shallowhorne
Tom Shallowhorne was a character that came to mind when I as in my early teens (during the early and mid-eighties). I assume he comes out of the great George Lucas characters of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, as well as the James A. Michener characters from Centennial (the name is derived from John Skimmerhorn). But the actual day that I came up with the character and the idea of writing a sci-fi western was the day I saw the video for Bonnie Tyler's song, Holding Out For A Hero. As I wrote the novel, I cast each character in my mind as if I were making a movie. In my mental casting, Hugh Jackman plays Tom Shallowhorne.
