Rebecka asked Sebastien de Castell:

I just wanted to say that I absolutely love the Spellslinger series, and want to thank you for giving us Ferius Parfax. She has shot up into my top three female characters of all time (sitting with Hermione Granger, and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so she's in great company). I am hoping that my protagonist becomes as well loved. Do you have any advice for creating an endearing, complex character?

Sebastien de Castell Hi Rebecka,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm delighted you're enjoying the series and, especially, one of my favourite characters to write.

I'll try to answer your question as best I can, but keep in mind that writing advice is a dangerous thing – it always sounds good in the abstract but of all the hundreds of writing axioms we come across, it's only those few that speak to us individually that seem to work. Also, my theories on writing seem to change with every book. With that in mind, however, I'll give your question about complex characters a shot.

Human beings are ironic in nature. We speak in one way and act in another. For example, Frank is a hypochondriac who thinks every germ is going to kill him but he eats junk food for every meal. It's preposterous behaviour, really, since the junk food is likely to kill him long before the germs, but haven't we all met people like that?

The more nuanced you want your characters, the more this irony needs subtlety. Ferius Parfax never actually says, "Hey, I'm just a wandering card player, I don't get involved," but she certainly evokes that sense of being a solitary, almost disinterested drifter. And yet note how she is, in fact, interfering in everything taking place within the Jan'Tep city when we meet her in Spellslinger.

Human beings are often paradoxical as well, embodying two contradictory qualities. Janet can't remember her keys and yet she can tell you what the weather was on any day in the last twenty years. (note: that may seem like irony but it's technically paradox.)

Ferius Parfax has no magic of her own and yet doesn't fear the mages of Kellen's country one bit. The more dangerous the situation, the more she swaggers her way through it. That contradiction makes her compelling (well, to me, anyway.)

There's also some intentional irony in her behaviour as well: she incessantly refers to actual magic spells as tricks and children's games, and yet tells Kellen she's going to teach him real magic when she whispers to him the right thing to say to Nephenia.

There are lots of other elements you can bring to bear in developing your characters, but I find more and more that when a character feels "flat", what I'm really sensing is the lack of irony and paradox in them – the very thing that makes real human beings so interesting.

Hope that helps!

Best,

Sebastien

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