Behind the scenes…

…of The Puppet Master, part two!

Nothing like a New Moon to set the tune! (Sorry bad rhyme, I know…)

I realized a few days ago that I forgot to mention one of my favorite tidbits of melon head lore that managed to make its way into The Puppet Master—Dracula Drive, as seen in chapter fourteen. It may seem like a silly coincidence (Vanora comments on how ironic it is), but it’s anything but. Dracula Drive is one of the locations where the elusive melon heads have been spotted, and it was just so fitting that I was compelled to add it into my vampire novel. Like, helloo? Wayy too fitting to ignore.

Anyways, back to part two!

In part one, we discussed the etymology behind my FMC (female main character), Vanora. Today, we’ll go into the other main characters—Kieran, Laura, and Patrick.

Kieran is my MMC (male main character), and first meets Vanora in a coffee shop when she drops her cup on his foot while walking into him.

She’s a mess and we love her for it.

The name Kieran is Irish, meaning “little dark one” or “little dark haired one”. It originates from the Gaelic Ciarán.

Now, I couldn’t name Kieran what I did and not give him dark hair. The perfect contrast to Vanora’s silvery blonde, Kieran has bold features and captivating merlot hazel eyes. Which Vanora is enchanted by, naturally.

Moving right along to Laura. A peppy ball of sunshine, she co-owns the crystal shop that Vanora works at and is the local subject matter expert on all things witchy. She’s incredibly patient with Vanora and is slowly but surely teaching her the ropes. Laura helps Vanora get ready for her first spell—a summoning spell to call forth her ancestor whom Vanora is named after.

The name Laura means “bay laurel plant”—aha, kidding.

Though the name is derived from the laurel plant, it took on the connotation of “honor”, “fame”, and similar as the Romans would bestow a crown of laurel to victors. (*cough cough, WHO bestowed the laurel?*)

Time for Patrick! As I shared in a recent Instagram post, he and Vanora were my favorite characters to write. Patrick is the grumpy husband of Laura and also co-owns the crystal shop. Vanora is convinced he hates her as he makes no attempt to speak with her unless absolutely necessary and prefers to hide outside with a cigarette or in the back of the shop. Basically, anywhere she is not.

The name Patrick means “nobleman” and stems from the word for “father” (Latin pater). I won’t spoil anything, but let that information stew as you read The Puppet Master. 😉

Check out the post and other character vibe posts here!

I have a top secret special announcement that nobody else will know until July/August—I’m working with an artist for The Puppet Master’s cover! *cue squealing* I can’t wait to share tidbits with you as they’re ready to share!

This past weekend I printed out all 319 pages to start a serious line edit. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s so.hard.to.focus on a screen… Not to mention the endless distractions!

The goal for this weekend is to edit the first three chapters—time to get it done!

What are your weekend goals?

xoxo,

Carren