Amanda Meuwissen's Blog - Posts Tagged "image"
Two Important New Characters in Changeling – The Incubus Saga: Book 2
I actually showed off Leven Taylor a little in a previous blog, when the season 7 finale of Incubus was airing on BigWorldNetwork.com.
Leven is important because he was actually the first character ever created for Incubus. I was inspired by a web comic about a teenage boy with blue hair and a demon imaginary friend, which eventually became Leven and Sasha. Of course the story took a very different turn as it realized itself, but I had to keep Leven even if his character became someone very different, just like Sasha’s did.
Leven is a 17-year-old theater kid, openly gay, with teal hair and boundless energy. He is also brother to already known Incubus character Wade Taylor.
Then there is Iain Wilde. Introduced toward the end of Book 2, and an important player in Book 3, Iain is a humble librarian in training, also openly gay though not quite as boisterously as Leven, and has a penchant for swearing. I like Logan Lerman for him, I think, if you know that talented young actor.
Iain was created in likeness of his real life namesake, who was a reader of mine. Iain also has a secret, but you’ll have to read to discover that.
Now, I didn’t consciously sit down and say, I’m going to create two new gay characters for Book 2. Leven, as I said, existed years ago, and Iain is based off of a real person. What I love about them both being introduced in the same book, however, is their duality. Two gay men, one younger and just starting to deal with persecution and discovering who he really is, and one who is beyond that, who accepts himself without question, even though both characters still have trouble with self-confidence. I think it’s important for readers to see how these characters are unique, and yet they both reflect Nathan at certain stages in the story. They are definitely people he is meant to encounter.
I hope everyone loves Leven and Iain as much as I do, and appreciates their similarities and vast differences. You’ll be seeing more of both of them in book 3.
Leven is important because he was actually the first character ever created for Incubus. I was inspired by a web comic about a teenage boy with blue hair and a demon imaginary friend, which eventually became Leven and Sasha. Of course the story took a very different turn as it realized itself, but I had to keep Leven even if his character became someone very different, just like Sasha’s did.
Leven is a 17-year-old theater kid, openly gay, with teal hair and boundless energy. He is also brother to already known Incubus character Wade Taylor.
Then there is Iain Wilde. Introduced toward the end of Book 2, and an important player in Book 3, Iain is a humble librarian in training, also openly gay though not quite as boisterously as Leven, and has a penchant for swearing. I like Logan Lerman for him, I think, if you know that talented young actor.
Iain was created in likeness of his real life namesake, who was a reader of mine. Iain also has a secret, but you’ll have to read to discover that.
Now, I didn’t consciously sit down and say, I’m going to create two new gay characters for Book 2. Leven, as I said, existed years ago, and Iain is based off of a real person. What I love about them both being introduced in the same book, however, is their duality. Two gay men, one younger and just starting to deal with persecution and discovering who he really is, and one who is beyond that, who accepts himself without question, even though both characters still have trouble with self-confidence. I think it’s important for readers to see how these characters are unique, and yet they both reflect Nathan at certain stages in the story. They are definitely people he is meant to encounter.
I hope everyone loves Leven and Iain as much as I do, and appreciates their similarities and vast differences. You’ll be seeing more of both of them in book 3.
