Hey, writers and readers!

Here’s just a quick post to introduce you to some characters in my book. I understand that there are a lot, but I’ve been hanging out with these derps for a couple decades now. It’s high time that I get you acquainted with the characters, their personalities, and the inspiration behind them. I tried not to be too spoilery but just enough to get you excited about my book, Destiny Seeker: The Messenger. I’ve included some headshots so you can also get good visual of what each character looks like.

I’m REALLY excited to hear your thoughts. Which character is your favorite? If you read the book, did you have similar or different impressions? I basically want to hear from y’all about this book I love so much. Without further ado, here’s a quick look at six characters from the novel.

Reshma the Fire Weaver

Reshma calls Tijer home—the section of Ravenna that is extremely hot and practically void of water and food. She meets Ilsi early on in the novel and sees Ilsi as her one ticket off of Ravenna and out into the world. She comes from a huge family and would do anything to help them, which is why she relies on Ilsi to escape and find her family. Her parents and siblings were attacked and presumably captured when the Yildirim soldiers come and invade their home; she plans to use all her gifts and talents to bring them back home.

Reshma herself is friendly, extroverted, and confident. She is proud of her heritage and the lessons her parents have taught her. She is athletic, prefers to keep her hair short, and is willing to try new activities. On the flip side, she worries she is “too much” for everyone around her and tries to downplay her opinions for the sake of others. She learns really quickly that hiding her true nature could threaten the lives of those around her and vows to trust her gut and intuition.

As a writer, I wanted to create a character that shares a lot of my own strengths and weaknesses. I see a lot of Reshma in me and so I really love her to pieces.

Tyk the Ice Chanter

Tyk is Ilsi’s childhood friend, and you actually get to meet him right away. He’s a talented Ice Chanter and a budding inventor and engineer. Ever since the Wall separated Ravenna in half, he has tested its limits. He even hopes to create a flying contraption to fly over the Wall. He doesn’t get that opportunity because he is captured by the Yildirim as Ilsi finally has the chance to escape. You and Ilsi will soon realize that he’s not just kept in Dove, but is sent abroad to do Lord Althod’s bidding.

So yeah, he is the romantic interest of the story—I’m not gonna lie. But he’s a bit different from all the other smoldering dudes in a typical YA fiction novel. For example, he’s Ilsi’s oldest friend. He’s been around for a while and knows her pretty well. He encourages her, motivates her, and doesn’t act to necessarily get something from her. Unfortunately, he has his own demons to tangle with before he can find any sort of peace from the Yildirims.

It might be obvious, but I based his relationship with Ilsi off of my relationship with Travis. We were definitely friends and strictly friends before we finally had feelings for each other. Everyone else would say they could see it a mile away, but not us! Just like Reshma, I thought of Tyk as my version of a romantic interest who has his own stuff to deal with and overcome and isn’t just a pretty face or a reward for the protagonist after they’ve suffered through trials. You’ll have to read part one and two in order to see if I got that right.

Reubens the Man in Furs

Well, Reubens is first introduced as the man in furs: he’s all bundled up when he first meets Ilsi in Dove. Throughout the many drafts of this novel, Reubens has been Lord Althod’s right-hand man. Or, he at least does everything possible to be considered as such. Reubens has worked his way up the ranks to get the privilege of finding specific kinds of people to assist in Althod’s plans. That is how he finds himself in charge of raiding and ransacking Ravenna to find people like Ilsi. Reubens has multiple tricks up his sleeve to get the job done.

I wanted to create a few villains for Ilsi to deal with. Reubens is mainly driven to find and capture Ilsi in order to appease Althod. Thus, he pops up throughout part one and two and mainly serves as a thorn in Ilsi’s side. Even though she hates Althod and what he stands for, he’s the one that is actually standing in her way. Because his intentions are to serve another, he is constantly anxious, angry, and passionate. He wants to look good in front of anyone and everyone and immediately unravels if he’s outmatched, talked down to, or otherwise made a fool.

Ultimately, he’s dangerous, especially when he’s pushed over the edge. I mean, would you believe me if I said that he’s basically General Hux and LOOKS like General Hux, but I wrote about him long before the latest Star Wars trilogy?

Lady Ladala the Elf

Lady Ladala is the spiritual and political leader of the elven people. For the longest time, she kept her people safe and away from the rest of the world. When Ilsi and Reshma are able to get through to her, she is then aware that times are truly changing and it’s time to fight. Thus, she stands up as the first political leader against Lord Althod and hopes to encourage others to do the same.

Ladala herself is calm, beautiful, resourceful, strong, and intelligent. When Ilsi comes for help, she’s able to give her knowledge and resources to help her learn what Althod is up to and how to avoid him in the future. However, she’s a bit stubborn and doesn’t truly understand humans and their tendencies. She and Ilsi butt head at times over how to move forward since Ladala sees the long game and Ilsi just wants to go back home.

So, Ladala is based on Galadriel—I’m not even going to lie. I mean, they’re both so wise and secluded that when someone of another race comes for help, there’s a lot of miscommunication. She is purposefully a woman of color because I feel like elves are often depicted as straight up white. It felt good to have her lead a people of various colors and features. Also, I wanted to have a wide cast of female leaders with different approaches to how to lead and make huge decisions.

Gilly the Fire Weaver

Gilly is one of Reshma’s sisters. Along their journey, Ilsi and Reshma find her in Beast Forest with Giselle. She’s a capable Fire Weaver and is doing everything to survive but she’s been through a lot since she was taken from Tijer. Just like the fire she wields, Gilly has a spark in her eye in response to her trials and separation from her parents. Thus, she plays the role of a scared child but is secretly plotting her next move. When Ladala puts out the call for allies, she is ready for revenge against the Yildirims.

So funny enough, I named her after my cousin, Gillian. It was a choice I made when I initially created the character and it just stuck! There aren’t any connections between the two girls besides coming from a large family and having a good relationship with siblings.

I’m excited for you all to learn more about her, especially in part two. She’s a more prominent character in part two and uses her specific skills to help bring people together, get some revenge, and find the rest of her family.

Wren the Rogue Yildirim

Much later in the novel,  you get to meet Wren! He’s one of my favorite characters. He left Ravenna as a kid to apprentice and study. When he can’t return home, he wonders what happened to his childhood home. When Ilsi comes around, he’s finally able to learn what happened and who is responsible.

Wren’s sense of humor and original appearance was actually based on Travis. As in, he looked more African American than Indian. After years of tinkering with the races and representation in my novel, I basically changed his appearance so it matches the Fire Weaver race. However, the sense of humor and genuine kindness that I get from Travis is still there! Despite being forced to work for the Yildirim army as a downcast sailor, Wren still finds a way to relate to others, make friends, and kill his enemies with kindness. You meet him in part one but you’ll definitely see him more in part two.

I could gush more and more about these characters, but I think you just need to meet them for yourselves by getting a copy of Destiny Seeker: The Messenger. If you want to learn more or get reading, you can check out my synopsis page or you can find it on Amazon! I’d love to hear about your favorite characters and why.