A key character in my novel St. Catherine’s Crown is Black Orchid—an incredibly beautiful and seductive female—as only an oriental female can be. She is narcissistic to a faretheewell. Quick to hot temper when provoked, inordinately vain, and having no moral compass; she gets what she wants by whatever means are necessary: treachery, seduction, prevarication.
My inspiration for Black Orchid was triggered by the character The Dragon Lady in the comic strip “Terry and the Pirates,” by Milton Caniff. This strip started in the early 1930’s and continued for about twenty years. In those days, most comic strips developed a continuing narrative. Caniff kept his current story alive from two to three months.
The Dragon Lady was a Chinese pirate raiding shipping in the South China Seas and the Yangtze. She was exquisitely alluring, fiercely determined, and a dangerous enemy. When not pirating, she wore beautiful clothes that enhanced her seductive figure. At times she was brutal—gunning down any threat, perceived or in fact. Yet she had, as the occasion dictated, a soft heart—falling in love with Terry’s sidekick, Pat Ryan, teaching Terry to dance, and caring for orphans. During the Japanese war, she developed her pirate gang into a highly effective guerrilla fighting force.
If I’ve piqued your interested, please visit amazon.com and search for “Terry and the Pirates” and enjoy Caniff’s masterful drawings, dramatic dialogue, and intriguing stories.”
Black Orchid has no soft heart. Nonetheless, I invite you to romp with Black Orchid in my historical novel St. Catherine’s Crown. Beware! You’ve been warned.