Top of Tehran, Ma! Top of Tehran!

Okay, so I was having trouble coming up with a blog title, and lo and behold, White Heat came to my mind. For those of you who don't get the reference, try watching movies that came out before 1970.

It's been my intention for awhile to feature world leader reactions once that Very Bad Thing happens in the work in progress. The American President, the British PM, and even the Vatican would play into that. Incidentally, the Pope in my fictional little world isn't anything like the buffoon currently occupying the post (100 Hail Marys for calling the Pope a buffoon, which would be the order of the day if I happened to be a Catholic). My Pope's a progressive sort of pontiff.

Another reaction was always meant to be that of the Iranian President and his boss (the Ayatollah going by the title Supreme Leader; what is it about tyrannies and blowhard titles, anyway?). I considered using the current occupant of the post, Mr. Ahmenda... Amabastard... oh, let's see, what is that man's name...?

Ahmadinejad. I decided against that. Spelling his name would drive me nuts, for one thing. And for another, I'd like to keep the character fictional. Iran is going to loom large in books down the line (spoiler alert!), and creating a fictional President seems suitable for those future tales. Besides, the name I've come up with is much easier to remember.

I intended to leave it to one scene in Heaven & Hell, with the two men talking about a crisis happening in their favourite target  for rants, Israel. Instead, in the last couple of days, it felt right to write in a scene for my fictional President. Yes, there's a great deal of influence from the current chap running the show in Tehran, but this version is his own man. Pretty ruthless, antagonistic, opportunistic, and vindictive. In other words, just the right fit for the job.

Besides, Dick Cheney is too busy shooting lawyers on hunting trips.