I have long said that my favorite aspect of my books is the characters. When I am in writing mode, I awaken in the morning wondering what new and fun thing these people will bring to my life that day. In Penance, which takes place in our near future, the thrill comes solely from the antics of fictional characters. But in Precipice and Pentecost, some of the fun came from the ability to put the fictional characters into the sphere of influence of historical figures.…