
Characters can vary wildly from one culture to another. The wicked character in one culture may look like an average Joe in another and what is considered a hero for a North American may have entirely different connotations in another culture. My editor wanted a tantric magician...not quite the skulls hanging around the neck look but maybe a mala of human teeth or teeth of some kind. But I still wanted it to be kid-friendly. I still remember promising to take my neighbours 7 year old out for Halloween when I was a teenager. I showed up with my friends, dressed as goblins for the occasion and poor little Scottie would not, under any circumstances, leave the house with us. No way! Since then I've thought to always have a little bit of a twinkle, even in my evil characters so as not to scare the jeebies out of my readers. Here's what I came up with for Ojha the wicked. This guy is definitely a tantric and that's what the editor ordered.
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