Character Evolution

When you ask Clarks Summit resident Keith Gilman about his evolution as a writer, chances are he will tell you that, like his character Lou Klein, it is a work in progress.

Lou Klein is the protagonist of Gilman's first novel, the Private Eye Writers of America award-winning "Father's Day," as well as of his second novel, the recently-released "My Brother's Keeper." Because Gilman works full-time as a policeman in the Philadelphia area, he finds himself writing whenever he can, even if that means jotting down notes while waiting for his daughter to leave dance practice.

"Oddly enough, this helps Lou evolve as a character," Gilman said. "As you're writing, a lot of things occur to you but they are still kind of vague and they haven't become concrete yet. If you don't touch it for a few days, sometimes you see things in a different way and you can take your character in a different direction."

Gilman explained that his experiences as a policeman, which he readily admits wasn't his original career path, actually helped make him into the writer he is today.

"I did not set out to be a police officer," he said. " I was at the University of Scranton and I got a job working security there and that is how I put myself through school. I was thinking about law school at that time and a lot of the guys I worked with wanted to become policemen and wanted to go into law enforcement. I thought it was a good idea so I ended up putting myself through the police academy."

"At that time, I really wasn't writing," he continued. "The writing is a separate issue for me; it is something I always wanted to do and it was something that was always in the back of my head. It was where I was headed at some point in my life but I hadn't picked up the pen yet."

Everything changed when Gilman first picked up his pen to write about Klein and his experiences in "Father's Day".

"The books are about a guy named Lou Klein who is an ex-Philly cop that is carrying around a lot of baggage," Gilman explained. "In "My Brother's Keeper," we see Lou trying to become reacquainted with his estranged daughter and back in his old neighborhood. In the first book, Lou's mother was murdered in her home in Philadelphia before he could get her out. Now Lou is living with that guilt."

"This book is about Lou and how Lou deals with life," he continued. "Of course, there is a crime and a murder, but it isn't as important as how Lou deals with violence and his broken relationships and his own growth as a person. The Lou Klein that you meet when the book begins is a little different from the Lou Klein that you say goodbye to when the book ends."

Lou Klein's experiences as a Philadelphia policeman are based on Gilman's real-life experiences; however, Gilman is the first to admit that the character and himself are simultaneously separate and similar.

"As a writer, you have to resign yourself to the questions that people ask, especially 'Is Lou Klein you?,'" he said. "Lou Klein isn't me, my mother certainly wasn't murdered in a row home Philadelphia, but we do have similarities but more in our point-of-view. He is a twenty-year cop and I am a twenty-year cop. We're in the same age group. I have a daughter in her early 20s, like he does. Lou is not me; yet, he is me. As a writer, you learn that you end up putting some of yourself into your character whether you want to or not."

Gilman is already working on his third Lou Klein novel and intends on continuing the series as well as pursuing other literary interests.

"I don't know how long I will keep writing about Lou Klein," he said. "But, for now, I am enjoying it. I am enjoying taking him through the healing process of his emotional scars. For me, Lou Klein's story isn't about healing his physical scars, it is about healing his emotional scars."

"My Brother's Keeper" is available at all major book retailers as well as online. For more information on Keith Gilman, visit www.keithgilman.com .

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