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Last one! And my favorite, of course! (from The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions)
Name: Ro Bernard
Role: The Leader
Country of Origin: Palavia
Known associates/affiliations: Former member of The Midnight Scorpions
Greatest accomplishment: Winning a training tournament with other new recruits at the time of her initiation, despite being younger and smaller than most of the competitors
Biggest fear: Never doing anything significant with her life
Additional information: Her full name is Rohalia, but only two people ever called her that. She thinks it's too frilly.
Trivia: After all this time, I still think Ro's my favorite character that I've ever written. I almost feel bad for everything I've put her through, but I know she'll keep getting back up no matter how many times I knock her down.
Anyway, on to real trivia. When writing the original Disintegration, she came very close to being named Rosie (partially due to the song "Cracklin' Rosie"; what can I say, I'm a closeted Neil Diamond fan), and I don't even remember why I changed it at this point. However, it does resurface as a nickname in this book.
Due to my affinity for her, I guess, I've been asked before if Ro is supposed to be me, or an extension of myself, or a projection of how I'd like to be. The answer to that is a big no. Sure, we have some similarities (I assume that's the case with most of the characters I write since, well, I'm writing them), but I assure you, she is not intended to be a self-insert character. We're both a bit snarky and we both hate to cuddle, but that's about it.
And so we come to the end of the "Meet the Team" series. I hope you had as much fun as I did, and don't forget to check out the rest of Boobulon's artwork and show him some love!
(from The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions)
Name: Reggie Quinn
Role: The Muscle
Country of Origin: Charytar
Known associates/affiliations: Occasional patient of Dr. Cassels; cousin to Ted Quinn
Greatest accomplishment: Leaving home and becoming completely self-sufficient at age 15
Biggest fear: Dying alone
Additional information: There are a number of allusions (some made by Reggie himself) to how not all of the jobs and tasks he's performed in the past were completely legal, but he chooses not to reveal specifics. He also mentions some siblings, but they're not close. How and why Ted is the only member of his family he regularly contacts isn't stated, but in some ways, they both need each other.
Trivia: To continue on with how completing Mass Effect was on my mind when I started writing, I'll admit I was thinking of James Vega when creating Reggie. Though if I had to pick a real-life person to model him after, I vote for Channing Tatum. ;)
Without giving away too many details or spoilers, I'll say that I loved writing Reggie's interactions with Ro. "Opposites attract" plots are all well and good, but one of the reasons I love them together is their similarities. There's plenty of witty comments and snark to go around, and that made writing just plain fun.
(from The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions)
Name: Zara Thorne
Role: The Comm. Specialist
Country of Origin: TektanKnown associates/affiliations: Graduate of Coral City University
Greatest accomplishment: Building devices and pioneering technology that (most of) her friends can't even understand
Biggest fear: Humiliation
Additional information: It's not specified in the book exactly what sort of skin condition Zara has; probably something along the lines of eczema or psoriasis. But, as Mielle says, we're not supposed to know about that (and Zara herself never directly acknowledges it).
Trivia: I guess I sort of set up a Betty and Veronica dynamic with Zara and Mielle without intending to. Oops. But just as every team needs some sex appeal, it also needs the shy, nerdy girl, too. Right? ;)
I don't always have people in mind when I create characters (either people I know or actors/actresses), but when writing Zara, and later helping with this artwork, I thought of actress Ariel Winter (from Modern Family) for some reason.
(from The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions)
Name: Mielle Markham
Role: The Explosives Expert
Country of Origin: Tektan
Known associates/affiliations: Previously served with the Tektani military
Greatest accomplishment: Received a perfect score on all her final exams during her military-based education
Biggest fear: Boredom
Additional information: Mielle and Zara (up next!) have been best friends since childhood. Though Mielle's tough and doesn't take any bullshit from anybody, Zara is her one soft spot.
Trivia: Mielle was fun to write, as she's conventionally beautiful and knows it, but it's not a big deal to her. Aside from a few brief comments from others as to whether or not the male teammates are attracted to her, she's one of the few characters with no romantic entanglements whatsoever. She's got better things to focus on, after all.
I also enjoyed writing her as not afraid or ashamed to be "girly" - she likes pink and sometimes wears dresses, etc. (It's never explicitly stated, but I'd imagine she blows out and styles her hair every morning.) I guess it's easy not to worry about liking what you like when you can blow things up with the push of a button!
From The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions:
Name: Ted Quinn
Role: The Hacker
Country of Origin: Charytar
Known associates/affiliations: Cousin to Reggie Quinn
Greatest accomplishment: Hacking into one of the Charytaran military's networks without getting caught, just to see if he could
Biggest fear: Rejection
Additional information: Ted feels much more comfortable dealing with computers and other electronics than he does with people. Aside from Reggie, his face-to-face interactions with others are very limited. While not necessarily happy, he's content with spending his time on little more than movies and games. Whether it's never occurred to him to aspire to do more with his life, or if he's afraid of trying and failing is anybody's guess.
Trivia: Aspects of Ted are very loosely based on one of my closest friends. I think that ultimately helped with making him a more sympathetic character than he appears on the surface.
While never explicitly stated, the handheld game Ted plays in several scenes is Tetris. I did not have any particular film in mind for the porn that is playing on his TV when Ro and Reggie first arrive at his house. :D
Ready for some fun? My good buddy Boobulon has made me some nifty book-related artwork again to celebrate The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions. Now that the book is finally out, I'm ready to present them in profiles of the six main characters. I'll include some backstory that didn't make it into the final book, share some trivia, and otherwise introduce you to this kickass team that's taking on a mercenary cyborg army!
Name: Dr. Karin Cassels
Role: The Healer
Country of Origin: Palavia
Known associates/affiliations: Mother of Vlad Cassels, member of the Midnight Scorpions (though they have not spoken in years)
Greatest accomplishment: Single-handedly maintaining a clinic near the Palavia-Charytar border and offering medical care to those in need
Biggest fear: Never hearing from Vlad again
Additional information: Every now and then she volunteers as a medic with the Palavian military close to the combat zone at the juncture of the three warring countries. It was probably during one of these trips that she learned how to shoot a gun (and pretty damn well!), but the rest of the team never finds out for sure.
Trivia: When I was first plotting out the book, originally Dr. Cassels was going to be male, but Boobulon persuaded me to make Vlad's parent a mother, not a father. Dr. Cassels's role probably wouldn't have changed too much either way, but making her a woman skewed the male-female ratio of the team to 2-4 (rather than the initially planned 3-3). Obviously I don't have a problem with this, and I think I might even like it better this way.
Also, when I started writing, I had recently finished playing Mass Effect 3, and I won't even try to deny that the game influenced me. Once I decided that Dr. Cassels would be a woman, I couldn't help but envision Dr. Chakwas every time I wrote for her. I figured I might as well go all the way and borrow her first name!
