The Major Players

My psychologist would argue that each of the main characters is a sliver of my overall complex self. She’s probably right. Annoyingly.

As a writer, I’ve learnt to loosen my control over characters. Yes, I can have an idea of where I want them to end up and set challenges along the way, but they are making their own path. These fully-fledged beings tell me how they feel. They decide what to do and what to say. I’m along for the ride.

To allow for this character-based control, I’ve opted for deceptively simple arcs across the six books. Each book will question, advance, and sometimes regress these journeys.

Wren Findley (14), Human, Time Thymus

Arc: To like herself — a hard thing for someone with OCD and complex trauma to do.

Wren Findley (in Book 1) is a fourteen-year-old girl with OCD. She’s a Time Thymus: quick to love, but finds it hard to forgive. A lover of science fiction, she uses clothing to express her true (OCD-free) self. Clever, her first weapon is sass — backed up by ingenuity and a wicked left swing. Plagued by intrusive thoughts, she’s constantly caught between what she knows is right and what her brain tells her is best.

Largely me. Wren is also inspired by Valkyrie Cain (Skulduggery Pleasant), Annabeth Chase(Percy Jackson)Colonel Jack O’Neill (Stargate SG-1), a few comedians I know, and many of the students I’ve taught. You give everything to your students, and they always leave a mark. Even if they think we’ll never remember them — we do.

Wren is the POV of the series. Each book is a field report. We’ll experience other characters’ stories through her dreams — to be explained in a future blog.

Colonel Gomez (23, Utahraptor)

Arc: To find peace — internally and externally.

If Wren is the teenage version of me, still figuring things out, Gomez is the warrior. A veteran of the Great Snake War, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years in battle. Born royal, she’s expected to rule — but refuses to. Colonel Gomez can lead armies, but won’t lead her people.

Sometimes called “Green” or “Queen Killer,” Gomez has fallen for human music. It’s her secret joy. She’s the military leader on Lunar Command and MR-1’s field commander. Driven by guilt, she’s overprotective of her younger (by 30 seconds) siblings. Gomez is a vegetarian.

Hans (23, Utahraptor)

Arc: Life is for living — you can’t keep escaping or avoiding it forever.

Although he shares his name, this universe’s Hans is very different to the plush toy you all know and love. He’s a genius (like, super), but the ultimate manchild. Distracted by shiny things and whatever’s new, he often forgets to ask whether something is safe before he does it.

Hans, named after the bad guy in Die Hard, is mistrusted and mistreated by most. They’re scared of him — and the miraculous things he’s capable of. He can create pocket dimensions, manipulate time… yet he can’t boil an egg.

Wren changes Hans’s life for the better. She’s the first person to accept him for who he is. Hans, the definition of ADHD, is often a source of laughter and loyalty. He loves pop culture and cute things.

The last character we’ll explore today is Lunar Command. Any science fiction fan knows that a place, object, or ship can become an important character in its own right. Situated in a pocket dimension on the Moon, Lunar Command is the base from which our heroes traverse time. The following excerpt from Book 1 will introduce it.