April A to Z Characters: X

X is for Xander.

Xander was once one of the Victims of the Knife, but was recently recycled back into Trust.

He once had a big role as a young man that the MC mentors, but it turned out that angle wasn't necessary for the character's growth so Xander, the conflicted and struggling kid, got whacked.

The Xander that returned has a tiny part, but at least he lives on. He is one of the men that works for Gemmen in the guild that takes from the tech wealthy, repurposes and sells to the highest bidder. Some might quaintly call them space pirates. It certainly cuts down on the long description.

Xander works closely with Gemmen as a trusted guard. In his one scene he pulls a gun on the MC due to his questionable loyalties at the time--the MC's not Xander's. He then stands there, being all threatening until being called off and sent along on his duties.

I meant to get Xander into Chain of Gray as well, but the right situation where he would be required never came up. Alas, Ms. Wildstar lost her fawning boyfriend for the benefit of one little scene. Does Xander regret getting pulled from Victims of the Knife for his bit part?

He says, "Hell no."

Likes: Getting back into a novel, getting to pull a gun on the MC, working for the Pirate Guild again without having to go through all the awkward proving himself that he had to endure in his original role.

Dislikes: His tiny part in the story (Not that he's really complaining. Honest.), not getting to do more than escort the MC into a room and then get ordered out of it. (No really, not complaining.) and not actually getting to fire his gun. (Not that he'd want to kill the MC, that's going a bit far, but would getting to actually kill someone be too much to ask? I mean he never really gets to have any fun. Women don't take him seriously in this role. Did that sound like whining? It wasn't. He's fine with everything. Wouldn't change a word. Nope. It's great.)


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: W

W is for William.

William is from A Broken Race. William is one of many, the leaders of the fortress that holds the best of the survivors of humanity. "Best" being a relative term.

Williams may be impotent, but they compensate by screwing everyone over when it comes to sharing the workload. They give the orders and sit back to watch them carried out. They control the breeding and who eats when. They hold they keys to the fortress and all it's punishments and rewards.

They even hold the say in who lives and who dies, right down to the hour old infants who don't meet their standards. As long as the wildmen don't get inside, the Williams are confident they have everything under control. But even infants can tell a secret. All it takes is someone to find the wrong one.

Likes: A big meal, a comfortable chair, loose clothing

Dislikes: Simples who don't listen, Jacks who learn too much and women who think for themselves.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: V

V is for Vayen.

Vayen is the MC in both Trust and Chain of Gray. If you won't tell my other characters, I'll admit that he's my all time favorite. We've been together for a very long time, have grown up together and gone through a lot of life changes (and name changes on both our parts).

He shares my humor and my love of a good drink after a long hard day. That's where I have to set myself apart though, because I haven't killed anyone, nor am I attracted to my boss even though I know it's a bad idea. (Nor have I ever been. Euw. I need better looking bosses or at least one I respect.) He might not be a nice guy, but he likes to think he does bad things with good results for the population at large. After all, someone has to get their hands dirty to make a difference.

In Trust, he starts off as a naive young man with an overwhelming job. He manages to grow into it and by the end of the story, make a name for himself. In fact, he might have done that job a little too well.

In Chain of Gray, his actions come back to haunt him. All the things he thought he'd tidied up so neatly have unraveled, dragging him and his family into chaos. Chaos comes in the form of Arpex amongst others. He really, really hates Arpex and the feeling is mutual.

Likes: A strong woman, good sex, having an important position of his own

Dislikes: Being manipulated, being a lab rat, and his family in danger

April A to Z Characters: U

U is for Ulrich.

Ulrich one of the Captain's men from Swan Queen. Brother to Timo and friend of Thin Henry, the three men follow the Captain of the Guard into an exile he didn't realize he was sentenced to until after he'd left. Eager to help the Captain clear his name and remove Kenric from the throne, Ulrich and his friends use their skills with swords to protect the Captain as he tries to secure a force to return the princess to her rightful place.

Ulrich and his two friends were originally very minor characters that grew entertaining personalities of their own. They became well-rounded secondary characters over the course of the first half of the plot and will now require me to go back and alter their introductions to make them a more complete part of the storyline. Darn them. Though really, I love when that happens so I'm not complaining too much. At least not this time.

Likes: The Princess back on the throne, the Captain welcome in his homeland and a warm and willing woman in his own bed.

Dislikes: Eating even one more meal of fish anything, the whore tax Kenric implemented, being far from home.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: T

T is for Timininious.

He insists you call him Tim while visiting Not Another Bard's Tale so you don't keep stumbling over his name. Tim is a wizard who accidentally cursed himself to sneeze golden glitter and things have never gone quite right since.

Tim is between jobs when he sees the Evil Overlord is hiring. Though Tim isn't evil, he does need to eat. In the slow economy caused by the oppressive overlord, he can't be too picky. When he wins a round of 'Do you think your evil' by causing, instead of deadly lightning, a heavy rain of blackberries, (thereby forcing the evil overlords minions to set aside their usual fare of boiled kittens for a healthy meal of fruit. Woo. Evil. ), Tim finds himself favored in the eyes of the Evil Overlord. However that might not be the promotion he'd dreamed of.

Likes: Spells that work the first time, women without mustaches, free black hair dye

Dislikes: Going gray, sneezing glitter, and the thought of eating kittens no matter how long they were boiled in baby's tears.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.