Character Sketch

What’s in a Name? Folklore Galore

Character Sketch

Character name: Sinbad (aka Sinbad the Sailor Cat)

Species: cat

Fur: black

Eye color: greenish-goldish

Personality: loyal, brave, adventurous

Distinguishing features: No tail, chip in his left ear, pirate accent

Backstory: Seth found Sinbad when he was a kitten and named him after his favorite pirate. They are best friends, and as such, sometimes get on each other’s nerves. But they always have one another’s back.

Likes: fish, high-sea adventures, long naps

Dislikes: dogs, aliens that try to kidnap Seth, veterinary visits, being stared at

Hobbies: napping, swordfighting

Biggest fear: fear? ha! (*whispers* vacuum cleaners, but don’t tell anyone)

I make character sketches for most of the characters in my books. They look a lot like the one above, but more detailed. I like to know everything about my main characters and to have it all in one place.

My favorite character in The Magic Telescope is Sinbad. While all the other characters in my first book are purely from my imagination, Sinbad is real.

I grew up on a small farm. We had cats, horses, chickens, dogs, rabbits, geese, ducks, goats, cows, emus, and mules, to name a few. My sister and I helped our parents care for the critters and we named each and every one. Several of these have found their way into my stories.

I remember when I found Sinbad. He was a tiny, tail-less, black fur ball; he fit in the palm of my hand. He hissed at me at first but we quickly became best friends. I knew right away that his name was Sinbad. He had a lot of character.

(not really Sinbad, but so cute!)

He was an outdoor cat but hung out with me in my room often. He liked to lay on my bed and kick his little blue football while I did my homework. He kept me company when I did my chores and when I was stargazing.

Sinbad circa 2002-ish

As he grew older, he would go off on adventures. He got into a few fights and one resulted in a chip in his left ear. He’s still out there adventuring. You can read about his adventures in The Magic Telescope and several upcoming books that I have in the works, including a pirate chapter book.

As I mentioned early on in my blog, The Magic Telescope was a Creative Writing assignment. I was having writer’s block and getting frustrated over it. I decided to do something else instead. I opened our hall closet to grab something and saw my telescope. The title popped into my head. Everything just flowed from there.

But I edited it and re-edited it for years. I can’t thank my beta readers/initial editing team enough! They re-read all my edits and were probably so, so tired by the end of it.

The initial setting is (in my mind’s eye) a mix of my favorite woods in MS and my favorite lake to visit in NE, which is where I lived at the time I started writing the story.

In the book, Sinbad is Seth’s best friend. I was excited to throw them into a strange new world where animals can talk. So, of course, he had to talk like a pirate.

My teacher and peers encouraged me to make the story longer. I considered it but decided instead to make it the first story in a series.

The Magic Telescope was first published with Tate Publishing. At the start, it seemed to be a great company. The editors and illustrators were great to work with. I got to talk with the illustration team and tell them how I envisioned my characters. This was a big deal to me. They were amazing. I loved my finished book, minus a few typos that were supposed to have been fixed before printing.

Later however, it became a disaster when the CEO was caught embezzling. That led to me getting the rights back to my book and self-publishing. If you haven’t already, grab your copy here!

I look forward to developing Sinbad’s character in my stories and bringing him to life for all of my readers, while keeping him alive in my memories.

Until next time, dear reader, keep lookin’ up!