Aason and Lupe

Two days ago, I reminded you that as we hit the home stretch for Tales of the Vuduri, I won't have time to truly flesh out all the Big Ideas I had for the novel The Milk Run. Today I would like to cover why using a grown up Aason and Lupe Bierak was such a neat idea.

The 35th century world of Rome's Revolution was a hard place to map out. I had to write an entire future history of what happened over the next 14 centuries. I had to imagine a society that was knocked back to the Stone Age and had to pull itself up by the bootstraps so that it rivaled our exceeded our technological competence but not so far as to be incomprehensible.

I also spent a long time developing the characters of Rei and Rome and even spotted them two children when the story seemed to dictate it. Each of them had a unique personality so it was actually enjoyable to figure out how their children would grow up and who they'd become.

Because Aason was the first born, almost the first of a new species, I made him a sweet, intelligent, brave and kind individual, handsome of course, so that he would truyly represent the White Knight that Rei only aspired to be.

Lupe, the younger one, had to craft a different personality to distinguish herself and pull herself out of Aason's shadow. That she was prophesied to be the great communicator of the galaxy was probably a burden she resented to some degree. So I made her a little bratty but someone whom everybody loved nonetheless.

But it was Aason's personality that drove the story so I had Lupe kidnapped within the first two paragraphs and Aason spent the rest of the story looking for her. We learned more about her personality from flashbacks to Aason's life and his experiences with his little sister.

It was kind of a fun way to write a story. I don't know that I'll do it again. And if I ever get around to writing The Vuduri Knight, starring Aason's son, Rory, Lupe will be the "guest hero" who saves the day.

I hope you get to read the book some day and enjoy it for what it's worth. A little slice of life of two extraordinary kids growing up in an age of wonders.