Oh happy day!  For the past three years I’ve been working on this story and, up until this week, had yet to find a good face to put on my main character Jarand, an immortal Stonebearer. I needed a face that looked neither old or young. He also has a presence about him, an inner strength that radiates out.  He is noble and mighty but has a troubled past and an uncertain future.  So many elements make his character complex, I never thought I would find a face to match.

Imagine my surprise while watching Les Miserables in Concert when everything I had been looking for walked onto the screen and began to sing with a sensitivity and earnestness that brought tears to my eyes.  I’ve loved the music from Les Mis since I was a little girl singing along to cassettes in the car with my mom.  As I grew older that love grew into a keen interest in the history of revolutionary France.  In college I attempted to read the unabridged novel, but after three renewals from the library they wouldn’t let me check it out anymore.  I’ve since bought the book but haven’t yet attempted to start reading it again.

Meet Alfie Boe, amazing tenor and star of the 25th Anniversary Les Miserables in Concert, playing none other than the unconquerable Jean Valjean.  His performance embodies everything I’ve been looking for in Jarand.  Whether or not he’s like that in person I will never know.

One day I hope you all will get to know Jarand and his story in my novel Stonebearer’s Betrayal.