Meet Xander: Character Profile & Excerpt

This is the fourth of six character profiles to introduce you to the group of friends in Beautiful & Terrible Things. Award-winning author Kathy Maresca describes the camaraderie between the six this way:

“Imagine the 90’s sitcom Friends in 2024.”

And she is not the only one to compare my crew to the Friends crew — several other reviewers have done the same.

Today, we meet Xander.

Character Profile: Xander

Meet Xander Wallace: Xander is a 28-year-old white, bisexual activist working as a community organizer for an environmental organization.

It’s funny how some readers love Xander, while others…not so much. I think this is because in his passion to defend equal rights for all, he sometimes oversteps and annoys people. I’d love to know if you liked him or not, in the comments.

What He Represents: Our passion

Personality in Brief: The Idealist

Personality in More Detail: When he’s not passionately defending equal rights, Xander is chill, Zen, and quirky, spouting haiku poems as he goes through life, and using a broad, somewhat formal vocabulary because “there are more than a million words in the English language, each awaiting its turn in the spotlight.” Despite his sometimes abrasive personality, he truly cares about his friends; in fact, he is the catalyst that brings the group of six friends together.

His Challenges, Hopes & Dreams: Xander strives daily to make the world a better place. When the book starts, creating equality and standing up for disenfranchised populations is his focus in life. Does he change by the end? You’ll have to read to find out.

On the home front, Xander struggles to tell his father he is bisexual. There wasn’t room to include that part of his story in Beautiful and Terrible Things, but you can find it in The Wallace House of Pain, an award-winning, short book featuring all of the six friends from Beautiful and Terrible Things. Read more about The Wallace House of Pain here, and see formats and purchasing options here. (And if you follow my News, then you have access to a free digital copy.)

What Others Say

How His Friends Describe Xander:

Charley: He was about her age, tall and wiry, with a mess of dirty blonde hair almost reaching his shoulders, blue eyes, a thin, slightly hooked nose, and a short beard glistening with a few apparently unfelt raindrops. He spoke in a laid-back style bordering on a drawl, in complete contrast to his stilted, formal words.

What Reviewers Say:

I’m quite drawn to Xander who is so quirky and full of life. (Sonni Chullan on Goodreads)

Xander’s infectious energy becomes a catalyst for Charley’s transformation. (Sublime Book Review)

A charismatic activist…Xander’s exuberance and compassion offer a glimmer of hope. (Readers’ Favorite)

The scholarly speaking, eccentric environmentalist is quirky and charming, and Charley can’t help but feel drawn to him and his motley crew of friends. (Reader Views)

I wouldn’t necessarily condone some of Xander’s behaviour. (Chat About Books)

…the charming and eccentric Xander, using words like “salubrious” in everyday conversation and freestyling poetry, barrels onto the scene. (Booklife)

Xander, the quirky idealistic leader of the group, is a real standout. (Author Gail Ward Olmsted)

What Xander Says

Quotable Quotes:

“Life is fleeting, my friend. Drink the wine, eat the dessert, and buy the books.”

“[My haiku are] meant to be savored fleetingly and by whomever I am with, and perchance the universe if it’s listening. Writing them down would diminish their essence.”

“For discrimination to end, against any disenfranchised population, oppressors must travel along a spectrum of change.”

Excerpt: Xander

Xander woke with his promise to the world’s disenfranchised populations echoing in his head: Today, I will make a difference. Today, I will do my part and demand change and equality.

His participation in the afternoon’s march and rally was mandatory in his mind. The more individuals who turned out, the greater the mass and the more powerful the impact.

Every body counts had been his mantra since attending his first protest at age sixteen. His social studies teacher had taken a small group of students to Washington, D.C. for a protest challenging a bill that would classify undocumented immigrants and those who helped them as felons. As he chanted with the other protestors, something fresh and meaningful stirred in him. The awkwardness and insults that defined high school melted away, replaced by the passion and courage required to demand change and the confidence required to think you can make a difference. Gone for the moment was the angst attached to his bisexuality and the imagined reaction from his father if he ever dared to come out, pushed aside by a keen worldview and more holistic sense of purpose.

The bug got hold of him and never let go.

He arose, stretched his wiry arms to the ceiling, ran a hand through his unruly dirty blonde curls, and combed his short brown beard with his fingers. The familiar buzz he lovingly called protest fever began to surge in his veins. He grabbed his shorts and headed to the bathroom.

Where to Buy

Beautiful and Terrible Things is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook, on all major sites. Click here to get to most of them; it’s also available on Walmart and Target.

Side Note: Crows & Ravens

Xander is a treasure trove of animal factoids, for reasons explained in the book. In Chapter 13, he explains the amazing characteristics of crows to Charley. I am a huge fan of crows and ravens, finding them intriguing and incredible rather than dark and scary. Check out my list of “The best novels highlighting the amazing abilities of crows and ravens” on book recommendation site Shepherd.com.

Illustration credit: WebP

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