If you’ve read my novel, you already know Ethan Parker is one of those characters who leaves a mark. He’s not the loudest, flashiest figure in the story, but there’s a gravity to him—a weight in the way he moves through the world. What you might not know is how much real history, real inspiration, and real people went into shaping him. Today, I want to pull back the curtain and share the story behind Ethan’s story.
The Seed of Ethan
From his introduction, Ethan Parker looks like the kind of character you can rely on. He’s sharp, competent, and grounded—exactly the person you’d want by your side when the world starts unraveling. But if you’ve read the novel through to the end, you know the truth: Ethan isn’t who he first appears to be.
His arc is one of the most deliberate character builds I’ve ever written, and the real history behind him explains why his journey throughout the story feels both shocking and, in hindsight, inevitable.
I wanted someone who felt authentic, who could inspire you one moment and frustrate you the next—because isn’t that what real people are like? That tension became the heart of Ethan Parker.
Pieces of Real People
Ethan’s complexity is rooted in traits I’ve seen in real people. His loyalty is genuine—but it’s also selective, driven by his own definitions of who deserves it. His calm under pressure mirrors the kind of leaders who inspire confidence even when everything’s falling apart. And his ability to keep secrets, to compartmentalize, is something I’ve watched in people who thrive under high-stakes pressure.
He isn’t based on any one person, but he is a patchwork of qualities I’ve seen in real life. His stubborn loyalty comes from a friend of mine who would drop everything to help someone in need. His quiet humor is stolen from family dinners where sarcasm was the love language. And his inner conflict—the constant tug-of-war between who he wants to be and who he fears he really is—that part comes straight from watching people I care about wrestle with their own pasts.
Why He Feels So Real
Readers often tell me Ethan feels like someone they could meet in real life, and that’s intentional. He’s someone who lives in the gray. His role in the NSA gives him both legitimacy and cover, but it also places him in constant proximity to moral compromise. He’s the kind of character who can justify crossing a line “for the greater good” — until eventually, those lines blur beyond recognition.
That’s what makes him dangerous. He doesn’t see himself as wrong. He sees himself as necessary.
Inspirations You Might Recognize
There’s a touch of the classic “man in the shadows” archetype in Parker, but I also wanted him to feel modern, real, and unsettlingly plausible. His inspiration came as much from news stories and intelligence history as from fictional sources. I wanted him to be the kind of character who could actually exist in today’s world—a man whose power comes from blending in until it’s too late.
Why His History Matters to the Story
past isn’t just flavor—it’s the engine of his deception. Every choice, every facade, every flicker of sincerity ties back to the history that shaped him. The reveal at the end only works because the groundwork of his character makes it believable: he’s not a villain out of nowhere. He’s a man whose story has been unfolding in plain sight all along.
That’s what makes Special Agent Ethan Parker unforgettable. He’s not just the questionable character in the novel—he’s proof that the most dangerous enemies are often the ones we never see coming.
So when you’re reading Ethan Parker, you’re not just meeting a fictional character. You’re meeting the echoes of real people, real struggles, and real resilience stitched together into someone who, hopefully, feels as alive to you as he does to me.
Bonus Trivia About Ethan Parker
Here are a few behind-the-scenes details I don’t usually share:
- Easter Egg: Sharp-eyed readers might notice that Parker makes a quick comment about Frank Coe in one of his scenes. This ties directly back to Parker in a strange way.
- Personal Connection: The part of Parker that feels closest to me as the author is his relationship with his father. He tells Jake a story about his father and it's the polar opposite with the relationship I have with my son. I'll dive in deeper on this in my Easter Egg post.
Want to see how I put this method to work?
Download The Catalogue today and experience a world built seamlessly into every twist, turn, and character choice.
