A Drift of Quills for October 2020

This lovely October day, as I look out to see leaves raining down from the trees in my yard, I am turning my attention to my portion of our post for A Drift of Quills this month. Our subject? We are each to tell something about one of our supporting characters. I thought it would be fun to hear from my fellow Quills first.

P.S. Broaddus, author of A Hero's Curse, is up first. Parker?

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The supporting character I’d like to throw a spotlight on today is from my upcoming novel and work-in-progress, “The McGalliard Street Gate.” It’s a fast-paced, action-adventure novel about two brothers, Mikey and Lucas, aimed at 2nd, 3rd, & 4th graders that’s a fabulous explosionary mashup of Jurassic Park and The Hardy Boys. (You might recall I did a character sketch of “Doc” from the same story a couple of months ago. Can you tell I’m excited?)

Today, I want to introduce you to Jim Braxton, a retired Orlando chief-of-police ...

Thank you so much, Parker!

​Robin Lythgoe, author of As the Crow Flies, always has something wonderful to share. Robin?

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​I am neck deep in the writing of Crow’s Nest, another novel about the best thief in all the glittering empire. (According to himself.) Crow is a little bit of an attention hog, so today I want to cast some light on one of his supporting characters: Girl.

First, I promise you that “Girl” is not her real name. Second, I promise that you’ll find out what that is in the new book. And that’s it for spoilers today! But how did she come by such an awful moniker?

Thank you, Robin! And now, for my turn. 

It is a bit difficult to choose, but this time around, I will go with Velia.

Velia is an Oathtaker who I first introduced in Book One of The Oathtaker Series. Her unique magical powers include the power to discern truths from falsehoods, and the power to take on the pain of another. She also has limited ability to communicate with animals. Some might recall that when Velia told Lilith of that power in Book One, Lilith thought that meant that Velia might have a keen ability to understand the brutish soldiers from Chiran who were then at Lilith’s beck and call.

Velia and Mara, along with Basha, all Oathtakers, are particularly good friends. This grouping was a natural creation for me since my own best friendships have typically come in threes over the years. As I’ve experienced personally, these three able to speak truth to one another and to share their pains with one another. Of them, Velia laughs most readily and wholeheartedly. She is also one of the few who can set Mara right—and she doesn’t hesitate to do so, when needed.

We authors are often reminded to "show" and not to "tell" our readers things, so I thought I might do the same when discussing Velia. You see, in Volume Four, currently in the works, it is Velia who is able to force Mara to face some difficult truths. Here is an exchange (as yet unedited) when Mara resists the efforts of others to provide her with some much needed assistance:

This will pass. In the meantime, you need to let those who love you, help you.”

“I don’t need any help.”

“Yes, my friend, you do,” Velia, now serious, scolded. “What’s more, your friends and loved ones need to help you. They want to help you. One of the most important things you could ever give is the gift of allowing others the experience of giving back to you. Since you are someone who so rarely needs anything, they aren’t likely to have many opportunities.” She held her friend’s gaze. “This happens to be one of them. So let them do things for you. Let them give to you. Let them serve you. It will be good for everyone! Believe it or not, you are not the only person who has ever found herself at something less than her best—if only for a time.”

Mara made a face at her.

“Make all the faces you like, but you know I’m right.”

Sighing, Mara wiped her tears away. “I suppose that sounds like goods advice.”

“It should,” Velia agreed. “Do you know where I got it from?”

“No.”

​“You.”

Ouch. Huh?

(If I had to say what Velia looks like, I might choose something like this pic here.

Later, and at a time when Dixon is away, Mara awakens from a disturbing dream. Concerned it might be prophetic, she rushes to visit Velia. The following (as yet unedited) is a rather lengthy conversation between the two of them. However, I chose to share it because it shows how these two relate:

“Now, you were saying,” she prodded as she set the tray on the table, sat down, and then took up the pot of tea.  

“It was awful.”

“Tell me.” Velia poured two mugs, one of which was missing its handle. She set the intact one before her friend, then wrapped her hands around the other as she leaned in to listen. 

“Well . . .” Mara untied the holder that kept Jesse tight to her frontside. “You see, I was away. I don’t know where. But Jesse needed me. I could hear him crying.” She paused, swallowing hard, then started again in a rush. “In my dream I knew where he was and I knew he was hungry, and I knew I had to get to him, and I knew how far away it was, and I knew—”

“Slow down,” Velia said, patting Mara’s arm. “Have some tea and then start again.” 

Mara tested the temperature of her drink with a tentative sip. Setting the mug back down, her hands shaking, she looked up at her friend. 

“Velia, he was so hungry and he was crying so hard. But I couldn’t get to him. I—” Suddenly, she went silent. Her eyes narrowed. She pulled back. “You’re smiling. You’re not taking this seriously! Something is going to happen to Jesse, I just know it.”

Velia nodded. “Yes, I am smiling, but I’m also taking this seriously. And yes, something probably is going to happen to Jesse—but I don’t think it’s what you think it is.”

Mara stood as if to go. “Sometimes I wonder why I bother with you!” she huffed. 

Velia grabbed her arm. “Well you do—bother with me, as you say. And you do it for the same reason that I bother with you, and that Lucy bothers with you, and that Basha bothers with you. It’s the same reason that Dixon does, and that Nina has for all these years. It’s also the same reason that the twins do, and that—”

“What are you talking about?” Mara snapped, pulling her arm free.

“Mara, you come to me for the same reason I go to you in times of need. It’s because I know that with you, I will get the truth along with a bit of wisdom, just like you know that with me, you will get the same.” 

“Oh really,” Mara sneered. “And just what is this truth you’re alluding to that you seem to find so . . . amusing?”

Velia pointed at the chair across from her. “If you want to know, you’ll have to sit back down.”

In a huff, Mara sat. Then balancing Jesse face down across her lap, she folded her arms and glared at her friend.

“So,” Velia said, her brow raised, “you say that Jesse needed you.”

“It was a prophecy, Velia, I just know it was.”

Velia nodded. “Perhaps.” She took up one of the rolls, broke a piece off, and then ate it. “Mara, you know that at any given time, there are not many things we know about the future. And as I’ve heard you tell others over the years, that is a good thing.”

“It would kill us,” Mara interrupted. “If someone knew all the pain he’d go through in his future, he couldn’t stand it. Thankfully, the horrors we face in this life are spread out over time. But can you imagine knowing about them, fearing them, experiencing them, feeling them, all at once, over and over, day after day, before they even happen? Yes, I truly believe it would kill us.” She paused. “And that’s why I would never, ever, go to a fortune teller!” Her brow furrowed as she added, “Most of them are frauds anyway.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Velia said, patting her hand. “Still, there is one thing we do know about the future, and that is that good things will happen—and that bad things will happen.”

Mara rolled her eyes and shook her head. “That’s what you have for me, Velia? That’s the wisdom you have to share with me? The truth that I came to you for? Seriously? Is that the best you can do?”

“Yes, it is.” Velia took Mara’s hand. “Look, the Good One just blessed you with your dream, and now I’m going to tell you how.”

Mara pulled her hand away and glared once more.

“My dear friend,” Velia began, “your dream was a blessing.” She tore off another piece of roll. A warm, citrusy scent rose in the air. Then she placed another roll on a plate and set it down before Mara. “Look, you will not always be there for Jesse. That would be, to put it simply, impossible. There will be times you will be called away. There will be times you will allow him to try out his wings in a manner that will take him out from under your protection. You will need to do that, Mara, if he’s to grow up. And after all, that’s what you will want him to do. Ultimately, you want him to become a man.”

Mara scowled and rolled her eyes once more.

“Not too soon, for sure,” Velia continued. “But over time, your job will be to help him to grow up so that he will be prepared to leave you. For that to happen, he’ll need to experience some of the dangers out there without your protecting him all the time.”

A heavy teardrop rolled down Mara’s cheek. “But he’s just a baby, Velia. My baby. One I never thought I’d have! And he’s already been through so much.”

Velia smiled. “And he will go through so much more on this journey we call ‘life.’ You may as well admit it now—and you might as well prepare for it now. There will be times Jesse will need help when you will not be there. There will be times when perhaps you cannot be there. It is a fact of life—and it is one that you are well to take note of right here and right now before you try to manage every little tiny aspect of his life, to shield him from every possible or conceivable danger, however remote. You would smother him.” Pausing, she grinned and leaned in as though to share a secret. “Not to mention that you’d make the rest of us a bit crazy in the process. And of course, you’d be doing exactly what you warn others against. That is, you would be protecting him so intensely, you would keep him a baby for too long.” 

Mara looked down, sighed, then glanced back up. “You think that’s all there is to this? That my dream was some acknowledgement of the way things are now?”

“I’m certain of it.”

Nodding, Mara bit her lip. Then, “I’m so embarrassed,” she whispered. She grinned ever so slightly.

“Whyever would you be?” Velia chuckled. “Mara, life is far too difficult to figure out every little thing on our own. We all need some help from time to time. Now, it’s true that some need a bit less aid than others. That’s probably why you and Basha and I are such great pals. We are all strong and capable women who rarely need much from others. But even strong and capable women can’t go it alone.”

Mara sat quietly for a long moment, taking in Velia’s words. “Did you ever have a dream like that?”

Velia chuckled. “Oh, yes!”

Mara leaned in. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. It was one of the things I was most surprised about when my firstborn came. I’d been responsible for the life and safety of a member of the Select in years prior. As you know, I’d even sworn to help you to protect the twins before I had any children of my own. But I’d never had dreams like the ones I had when Aden came. I still have one of them from time to time. I have fewer these days for sure, but every once in awhile . . .” She paused, then continued. “I just accept it as Ehyeh’s way of reassuring me that I’m doing everything I can, and that some things are out of my control. Then my dreams keep me from beating myself up.”

“What do you mean?”

“They help me to keep things in perspective, to stay constantly aware that I’m not perfect. I acknowledge that I’m sure to make parental mistakes along the way. You see, my job as a parent—as much as it is to protect and to teach my children—is to learn to let go of them. It’s one of those fine lines a parent walks: protect but don’t smother; provide but don’t spoil; release but don’t abandon. So, life goes on and things happen—and sometimes those things are not pleasant.” 

​Mara nodded, then sighed audibly. “Honestly, sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without you—especially now that Dixon is away.”

We could all use a friend like Velia from time to time. One who knows us well enough to know when we need a dose of truth along with a bit of compassion. Do you think? Have you a friend like that?