YA Horror: Character Interview - Big Jake
- Dan
- Aug 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 30
Meet Big Jake, a former boxer and current full-time gangland enforcer. He's also Zuri's estranged father.
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Where were you born?
Spokane, Washington, into the meanest family I've ever known. If my daddy wasn't beating me, my ma was slapping me around. If they were passed out drunk, my brothers made sure I knew my place as the youngest. I learned to fight as soon as I could walk, maybe even before. By twelve, I could hit hard enough that Daddy didn't want a piece of me after I broke his jaw, and the docs wired it shut for a month.
What is your favorite color?
Green because it's the color of money and avocados.
What is your dream job?
My dream job? World champion prizefighter. Boxing, kickboxing, MMA…hell, even bareknuckle fighting. I've done it all and was good at it. I was lined up to get a title shot, but then I threw out my back, and it's never been the same since. Goddamn back became my Achilles' heel. I was knocked out in the fight before the bout that would have been for the cruiserweight belt, had I won. Then I lost everything else: my money, my day job, my wife, and even my daughter. My wife… she stole my daughter. Abandoned me. Abandoned me when I needed her most. I'll never forgive that woman, never forget. One day, she'll pay for what she did to me, and Zuri, my daughter, will be with me again.
Nowadays? Nowadays I break people who short the bosses. It's easy work. I'm good at hurting people, and it pays well, both in money and the narcotics I need to keep my back from killing me.
What is your favorite food?
Avocados with a dash of salt. Love those damn things. Can't get enough. I heard on the radio while staking out a dive bar looking for a fool who stole from the bosses that climate change might be the end of avocados. That story…it brought me to tears.
What happened to the thief? Don't ask.
How do you spend a typical Saturday night?
I'm working. It's always easy to find those fools who don't pay up on a Saturday night. Most of them go clubbing. Show off their bling and their dead presidents. The only problem for them is that the green belongs to the bosses, and I'm there to collect, with interest.
After that, I relax in my recliner with a fifth of whiskey, ice my hands, and watch fights I've recorded. If it wasn't for my back, I'd be in the ring or octagon right now kicking ass.
YA Horror
Blurb
Zuri and her mother settle in Pinedale, North Carolina,
to start over. For years, they’ve been on the run from Zuri’s father, a retired boxer and full-time gangland enforcer.
In Pinedale, Zuri finds a gym where she can train in mixed martial arts to pursue her dream of becoming a champion fighter. At Pinedale High, she discovers friends among the outcasts, academic challenges, and something unexpected…ghosts.
When Zuri encounters a tween phantom haunting the library, her life is turned upside down and inside out as she attempts to help the spirit. This incurs the wrath of devils, living and dead. Zuri will need her martial arts prowess, heart, and the aid of friends to protect everyone she loves.
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