Finding Pandora - Insider's Info #1: Casper & His Cabin

Finding Pandora: Book One sees Arriette Monroe meeting Casper, Baby A, Tobias and Reiko for the first time in Casper's Manaia Forest cabin.When I wrote these chapters, I imagined a cabin much like the above. A warm, cosy sanctuary, but one that's secluded, where secrets and identities can remain hidden.Casper's character has always baffled even me, the writer. He's a wise, well-spoken gentleman in his eighties with a caring, teaching nature. Arriette feels a prisoner beneath his wing at first and yet grows to love him as a grandfather by the end of the book. It is Casper's ability to calm others and welcome their trust that I am most proud of.Although the cabin plays a small part in the first novel, I needed it to be significant. This is where Arriette's life as a Supe truly begins; almost as if she is reborn here. It's a two-storey permanent home for Casper and his students, though they are more of a family unit when Arriette meets them.Casper's character needed to match his role in the Recruit, so he's a teacher/ mentor at heart and a family man. He is protective and nurturing, intelligent and in Finding Pandora, plays the 'wise old man'/ 'mentor' archetype perfectly. Against the unknown, mysterious future Arriette faced, I needed a soothing contrast. I believe she finds this in Casper's personality.This is the closest image I could find of how I'd pictured Casper. A long white beard and moustache sit comfortably upon white robes and basic, thin sandals. He's thin and fragile on the outside, but brave and powerful on the inside with a pure soul.The cabin needed to reflect a simple existence, where everything a person needs can be provided by nature. Their furniture is wooden. Their tools are carved and the cabin itself was built by Casper in his earlier years. I wanted Arriette to see how life as a Supe could be - that it isn't always centered around politics, power and leadership like in the city. Those with a clearer understanding of a Supe's purpose on Haeylo can live however they please, with little or no possessions, and be grateful.Casper is one of my favourite characters, not for his ability to shapeshift or for his personality and appearance, but for his developing relationship with Arriette. Within the first installment of the series, 'World' he is able to guide Arriette from terrified and skeptical to excited, eager and capable.It is for this reason that I'd love for you to meet him yourself.Please click here to download your copy of Finding Pandora: Book One for just 99p/99c on Amazon Kindle now.I hope you enjoyed this first post in my 'Insider's Info' mini-series. There will be more to come later in the week!E. Rachael Hardcastle