There are only a few more characters left to talk about, so let’s go ahead and get it all out in the open!
Wren’s brothers:
Henry (formerly John) – He did not have a character in Forsaken Dreamscape, and so when I killed him off at the beginning, you didn’t quite have an emotional tie to him except what you remembered from your childhood. This time, he’s going to be full-blown, and the more time I spend with him, the more I like him.
Henry is not what you’d expect from the movie or even the book. At 12, he’s a hot-tempered, moody little scamp who never seems happy and always seems to be angry about something. He is bitter because their parents gave them up, and longs to make his own rules. Wren is often worried that he will simply decide to run away, but he hasn’t yet, because he won’t leave his siblings- even though he’d never admit that.
He’s small in size and is often dirty, but he has many good qualities too. He’s not afraid to stand up for himself, no matter how big his opponent is. He has a defiant eye and a sharp tongue to compensate for his small stature, and even though he disagrees with Wren often, he would fight tooth and nail to protect the family that he has left.
Maxwell (formerly Michael) – He’s a cute little guy at 4, and a constant source of worry for Wren, just as Henry is, but I suppose the difference is that Wren does not want to see Max turn into Henry. He’s still young and innocent, and her greatest wish is to get him out of the orphanage before it is too late – before he has memories that he won’t be able to forget. It is undetermined at this time whether or not Max will be present in Nevermor, or whether he will remain at home.
**I’ll admit that in Forsaken Dreamscape, the reason that I killed these two off in the beginning was because I simply could not think of a thing to do with them! It wasn’t part of the story as much as it was an effort to get rid of them so that I could only use Wendy. But it became an important aspect of Forsaken Dreamscape and I intend to keep with the spirit of that.
I have already planned out what their fates will be, so I guess you’ll just have to wait and see if I changed my mind about them. =P**
The Fairy:
Whisper (formerly Tinkerbell) – She is probably the character with some of the biggest changes, though not to her personality. She is still protective of Rifter and has an intense dislike for Wren, and as you might expect, often tries to kill her. Perhaps she can’t be blamed, however. You’ll have to judge her for yourself.
As indicated by her name, she no longer talks with the sound of bells, but instead speaks in quiet whispers in a different language. (I think this will also be nice and eerie.) Another really enormous change that I have made is that I have done away with pixie dust…sort of. The dust might still exist in the form of a fairy’s remains, but the general idea has been changed to a Fairy Blessing, in which a fairy must whisper a blessing over you before you might be able to use fairy-like abilities. Wisp’s bond with Rifter is exclusive, however, and will be explained in greater detail within the book.
I guess that it is safe to say that instead of actually changing her character, I’ve changed the fairy lore.
The Beautiful Savage:
And now for the last one… Tiger Lily, who I have yet to rename even after quite a bit of thinking. I know how I’m going to use her, but I just can’t decide on a name. There is something about the name Tiger Lily that I like, because it’s fierce and yet delicate at the same time. I want her name to be unusual and yet still convey that same sense of wildness and beauty. I’d love to hear suggestions if you have any.
Tiger Lily (????) – I’m not entirely sure that she’s an Indian. She does, at least, belong to a group of natives that seem to be indigenous to the island. More will be discovered about them later. She is around the same age as the boys and Wren, but that is about as far as their connection goes.
I think it’s a common misconception that Tiger Lily is counted among ‘friends’ of the boys. Not true. The Disney movie conveyed their hunts of each other as games, but the book indicated that they often killed each other. The Indians wore the scalps of pirates and Lost Boys, showing that their hunts were a little more serious than that. Keeping in the true spirit, this young woman is not their friend. In fact, she can’t even speak English, but might turn out to be quite a pivotal character.
My version of her has evolved quite a bit since I first started Forsaken Dreamscape. She went from what I considered a snooty, ‘best friend preppy’ type character to becoming what she is now – a lot darker, more sullen and warrior-like. I’m happy with how she is now, even though some people said they liked her better before, or that they don’t like her now. But with her on one end and Wren on the other, there should be something for everyone.
I think that just about does it for our main players. Oh, also, it’s undetermined whether I will feature any other prominent pirate characters, though obviously, there will be more than just Scourge himself.