At the start of every Fairendale book, I have to decide two things: which fairy tale I’ll retell and which person’s story I’ll highlight in the flashback.
For The Boy Who Loved a Swan, I chose to tell Yasmin’s (the monster in Fairendale castle) backstory, not only because she has taken a more obvious role in the main story but also because her death and creation provide more depth to some of the other Fairendale characters. For example: [SPOILER ALERT!] Iddo, in creating Yasmin, faces some of the same internal struggles faced by Oscar, the fairy tale “villain” (though not technically a villain): the desire to be seen as more than he is, the desire to matter, the desire to be loved. These are human needs that can be recognized by anyone, and without them, we become obsessed with something or other: Iddo with raising life from the dead, Oscar with sinking into the company of a book.
Oscar’s character is based loosely on my first son: a boy who loves to read, hates to be underestimated, and would likely eat in the middle of a pack of birds if it meant he could ease his hunger. He has not, thankfully, stolen anything ever.
Most of my characters borrow or expand upon the characteristics of other people in my life or those I’ve met. Arthur, for example, is a lot like my husband; Maude is a lot like me.
Which one is like you?