Well here we are, back in Crazy Town. Some of you remember this blog from way back in the day, when the only people reading my stories were a handful of people I went to church with and select few faceless internet friends. So much has changed since 2009 with me, with my characters, and with my books. Two of them are published now and a third is being worked on. I've gotten more confident in my craft, and my characters have become more well-rounded and fleshed out. That's not to say I know exactly who each and every one of them are now; even just yesterday I wrote a scene where a character revealed something about herself that I had not know and it kind of blew my mind. Some faces have come, some faces have gone, but one thing still remains the same.
My characters are loud, obnoxious, and very different personalities in my head than they are on paper.
This blog will be a documentation of my
mental breakdown conversations with them and their conversations with me. If you want to go back and read all the old entries, see how Ashlynn's name used to be spelled, you're more than welcome to. If not, you really won't be missing much. Trust me. Well, there is the issue of the Shack that has been reconstructed, but we'll get to that later.
Entries from here on out will likely contain spoilers from book one, so if you haven't read it yet...quite frankly, I don't know why or how you're here, but
buy my book and look away until you've finished. Things you should know before any real entries are posted: all of these characters are chibis (three inch tall, animated versions of themselves), some of them have personalities that are wildly different from the ones they have in the books, I can see them, others cannot, and the sass is strong with some of them. I'll introduce you to the current cast and explain a bit about their roles here...in my head. Let's begin, shall we?
Little Miss Ashlynn has a bit of a temper. Okay, I'm being kind, she's usually downright grumpy and ready to throw things and/or people. She is ridiculously protective of her people, which sometimes includes Merrik and Laidley, depending on the situation, and has a bit of an evil side to her. She's pretty much a lit fuse that sometimes burns slowly, other times burns quickly. When she explodes, Lord help us all.
Badru is the cool, calm, and collected one of this crazy lot. If you've only read book one, I'm sure this feels like a stretch. Just go with it. He's a big fan of everything organic, likes to tell me when I'm being lazy or eating too much sugar, has blood made of tea (I swear he drinks so much, where the heck else would it go?), and can often be found singing. I blame him for the weird songs I get stuck in my head.
Cailin is my safe girl, my center, my only normal character among the lot. She's reasonable most of the time, logical, and easy to talk to. That being said, she can be a bit stubborn when she gets her mind on something. She's the one always making sure I'm reading and not just writing, mostly because she likes to read over my shoulder. She's also not shy in telling me my taste in books can sometimes can be questionable.
Ah, Cavalon. Perhaps more than any of them, he stays fairly true to character. He is the biggest trouble-maker of the group, though Jaryn runs a very close second. This guy likes to create problems because he thrives on discord, though most of it is harmless. He just hates when everything is all unicorns and rainbows. Pot-stirrer-man. He's the one I blame for my headaches. Every. Single. Time.
Elas had become a melding of two different characters and often rides along with me on my shoulder as something of a conscience. He's a good secret keeper and the one I often find myself in conversation with the most. Unlike his actual character, he's got a very level head and is always looking out for me.
Look at that face. That face says, "Hey, baby," in a really sexy Scottish accent, "if you're looking for trouble, I'm standing right here." Jaryn is the flirt, the one who can charm his way out of any situation. He and Cavalon often work together to irritate the girls, though where Cavalon takes his tomfoolery so far as to annoy Merrik and Laidley, Jaryn gets his kicks making the girls irritated enough to chase him around. They're all preschoolers, I swear.
Kenayde is my little sweetheart. She's the peace-keeper, but she's not as much of a doormat as she is in book one. She's just plain cute. The unicorns and rainbows Cavalon hates usually come from her. She finds particular glee in making everyone happy around him when he's exceptionally grumpy. When no one else will, she also looks after Merrik and Laidley. If they're unhappy (or unhappier than usual) she is very sensitive to it and tries to make things better.
Laidley is my emo kid. He's usually just standing around with his hands in his pockets, half his face hidden by hair. He's my eternal pessimist. Your glass half full? His is half empty and teeming with germs, bacteria, and a touch of salmonella left over from whoever drank the other half. Life will always suck. I will always suck. You will always suck. Everything will
always suck. He's a real joy to have around.
Luella is my special snowflake. She and Merrik are so different from their literary counterparts, it's comical. Notice those stars in her eyes? That's because she is the polar opposite of her brother. Where he sees no possibilities anywhere, that's all Luella sees. She's ditzy, flighty, air-headed, and...yeah, okay, I'll say it...she's kinda dumb. But she's a cute dumb.
My other oddball is Merrik, here. He looks fierce, but really he's a big softie. His job - one he adamantly claimed for himself no matter what he may try and tell you - is to look after the pigs and sheep. Did I mention those also take up brain space? Yeah. That's a thing. He's very protective of them and can often be found in their shared pen, just cuddling them. So far he hasn't had much more of a brain presence than that, but I'm sure that will change.
The female equivalent of Cavalon and Jaryn is Misuzu. In fact, they are my Three Amigos del Problema, if you will. She is not a fan of the days when nothing is happening and will dramatically fling herself in my path, across whatever project I am working on, ride my cat around exclaiming how bored she is. I've tried to give her chores to keep her busy but then she just plays the whole, "I'm only three inches tall!" card.
If you don't know who this is...again, how are you here? Nuala is the mom of the group. She knows how to reel things in when they get too wild, will suggest creative ways to discipline those who need it, and cleans up after everyone. While Elas is my conscience, she makes sure I'm emotionally stable and is the only one to not head for the hills when I'm going to lose it. She encourages my faith and spirituality, and loves quiet time the best.
Last but certainly not least is Tasarin. He likes to binge-watch Netflix and YouTube with me. Though he claims it's to "better understand your kind," I think he enjoys watching drama unfolding with people he doesn't have to live with day in and day out. He's also Luella's keeper. Not that she really needs one, she's not helpless or anything, but he's kind of her brain. He's also gotten Cavalon and Kenayde addicted to certain shows because he's obsessed with them and needs someone else to obsess with.
So that's it. Not that the list is all that short, but that is the current cast. I'll have little images of them next to their dialogue in future posts so it will be easy to tell who is talking. As I said, book one spoilers for sure but I will try my hardest to stay away from spoiling books two and three. More characters may appear, some may disappear. I know some are wondering where so and so are, and I wish I could tell you. Some muses, along with some characters, just...die. It's sad, but it's reality.
I'm excited to be doing this again and hope you all enjoy a peek inside this crazy nonsense that is my brain, and a behind the scenes look at characters who are otherwise always on point.
