Flay from the Vampire Empire trilogy. Even though Flay is a supporting character, I love writing her because she seems cool and flawless and perfect at her job (which is killing), but actually has intense, even crippling, emotions that only rarely show through her cold exterior.
We’ve been gratified that readers have also found Flay to be one of the most fascinating characters in the story.
What kind(s) of character do you consider this character primarily to be, or how would you describe this character?
Flay is a villain, but like all good villains, she has logical motivations for her actions. She is the war chief of the British vampire clan, and she has an agenda that’s only villainous if you happen to be on the human side of the war. Flay is not just a weapon; she’s smart. She understands that she has to create options for herself, hedge her loyalties until she sees where her best advantages lie. However, she is not always skilled at politics. So even though she is cunning, she has emotional blindspots that could lead her to fail in spite of her great instincts.
What is a character from a published fiction story by another author you would compare this character to and why are they similar?
I’m not sure. I think there’s a lot of Elektra, from Marvel Comics Daredevil series, in her. Although Elektra had a fundamentally good side, which Flay does not.
To what extent did you use any pre-existing character formula, template, paradigm, character design, archetype, or theory or principles of making or analysing character in planning, writing, and refining this character?
There are certainly archetypes for the cold, dark assassin-type who is technically flawless, but emotionally flawed, which leads them to play the hero’s game, to engage the hero in an arena where the villain isn’t as strong, and it often leads to their downfall. This formula takes a harsh character and endows them with a sense of pathos, sometimes even sympathy. Ultimately, though, Flay is too dark to engender sympathy, even if her flaws are understandable to the reader.
How would you describe the first chapter, scene or section of this story in one paragraph?
That’s hard because our story is an alternate history, and there’s a lot of backstory to the world when the book opens. But basically, the book begins in an alternate neo-Victorian world where the Earth is divided between human and vampire, and Princess Adele is the heir to the greatest human nation on the eve of a war to the death between the rival species. She is touring frontier states to show the imperial flag when her airship is attacked by vampire packs intent on capturing her. Just as she is about to fall into the hands of Flay, a vampire war chief renowned for her cruelty, Adele is rescue by the Greyfriar, a near mythical masked hero who protects humans trapped in vampire territory. However, their freedom is short lived, sending Greyfriar on a quest to protect Adele from the machinations of the vampire clans of the north.
Pick one of your published stories. How would you describe the introduction of the main character, or one of the main characters, in this story?
In The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Bk. 1, we introduce our main character, Princess Adele, on the first page with a bit of dialogue. It’s only a two line exchange, but it gets the reader into the story and the character in a quick way because we’re about to load them with characters and information before the real action kicks in halfway through the chapter.
What makes this an effective character introduction for this story?
The intro serves to let the reader know what the primary danger in the world is (vampires) and that there are those who are deeply concerned to protect Princess Adele from that danger, and that she is a bit hard headed and perhaps invites more risk than she should. It works pretty well for two lines.
What major changes does this character go through, or what major challenges does the character encounter and how does the character respond to them?
The main theme of the Vampire Empire trilogy is power – personal and political. How does one properly use power? How does one earn the right to use power? Princess Adele embodies this theme, and her story arc is from struggling against powerlessness to struggling to use power wisely. She has to balance how that progression impacts the characters around her, for good or bad, and whether personal desires should outweigh moral or geopolitical factors. She has a constant struggle between her heart and her duty. She discovers that there may never be a perfect answer, but she has to give an answer.
How would you describe the most important minor characters in this story and the changes in their character, or the challenges they encounter and how the respond them?
Minor characters have their story arcs too, and they develop as well. Their storyline rarely takes center stage so, in some ways, the author has to be more mindful of their needs because we’re not engaged with them all the time. Find time for them to shine, even if it’s brief. Give them moments that define them, and that the reader will enjoy.
One of the most important in Vampire Empire is Col. Anhalt. He is the commander of the Princess Adele’s (the main character) household guard. He is loyal to her, to a fault. In a world that doubts and questions her, he provides her with unwavering support. There is something charming and empowering in that. Her serves as a foundation from which she can operate without having to doubt herself at all times. Plus, once we establish his powerful emotional attachment to Adele, the reader can understand her danger and despair by seeing it reflected through him.
What does the story gain from the minor characters?
Obviously the most important supporting characters in Vampire Empire are those that either aid or hinder the main characters for their own reasons, the most important function they serve is to let the reader explore the main characters through other eyes, for good or bad.
To what extent would you describe the characters in this story as typical or atypical of characters in your fiction stories?
In one way, I would describe the main characters in Vampire Empire as atypical of my fiction. Most of my main characters in the past tended to be much more cynical and snide. The two main characters of Vampire Empire are quite sincere, although as time passes and they become more comfortable with each other, they develop a nice banter that lightens the atmosphere. Even so, neither of the mains are openly cynical, which is my usual style.
Author website: www.clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com
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