Frosted Roses Tour: Character Spotlight: Wickham from Runaway Lyrics

 Let's meet a facinating character from C. O. Bonham's brand new book baby, Runaway Lyrics.

Character Spotlight: 

Prince Wickham

By C.O. Bonham

Wickham is the younger half-brother of Prince Bayare. They share a father but not a mother. He is okay with not being king, preferring science and magic to politics and diplomacy. As a result, he is very knowledgeable and doesn’t care who knows it.

He is very close to his older brother, who insists on calling him Wicky. Wickham pretends to hate this, but is secretly glad. His brother is one of the few people who treats Wickham like he’s normal.

Wickham’s mother treats him like he’s breakable. She’s always asking if he’s okay, trying to get him to rest. Never wanting him to go anywhere or do anything. She would keep him beside her at all times, if he would let her.

When Wickham was younger, he suffered from a mysterious draining illness that sapped his energy for days at a time, leaving him bedridden off and on, until his late teens.

Fun fact: history actually inspired the idea of having an ill prince. The royal families of England and most of Europe suffer from hemophilia (google it, it’s fascinating). This was going to be my reason for the younger brother to not be in the story much, but that didn’t feel right, so I made him a shape-shifting character named Wicky. 

Despite his love of studying and his vast store of magical knowledge, Wickham does not appear to possess any magical abilities. Though he has a hazy memory of showing his mother a crackling purple spark that arced across his fingertips.

He started attending the university in the fall of his eighteenth year and was taking many of the same political and diplomacy classes that his brother had before him. Wickham made a deal with his mother that if he did well in these boring classes, then she would let him take alchemy during the summer months. Alchemy class does not go as he expects. Wickham’s search for answers directly leads into the events of Runaway Lyrics.

During Runaway Lyrics, Wickham finds himself drugged, kidnapped, lost in the woods, and transformed into a great forest owl.

Wickham never had much interest in girls, worried that they either just wanted to marry a prince or that they would smother him the way his mother did. But then he meets an outgoing girl named Rose that shares his love of magic. 

Has he finally found someone who can see past his outward weakness and help bring out his inner strength?

Character Spotlight: Bastian Dennell

Today we have a lovely spotlight on Bastian from The Midnight Show by Sarah Pennington!

https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Show-Sarah-Pennington-ebook/dp/B08B1RV653/

Bastian Dennell may not be the best-known or most experienced private investigator in Innsjøby, but that doesn’t stop him from doing his best to solve his clients’ cases. He has a knack for noticing the right thing at the right (and sometimes wrong) time and a genuine desire to help others by uncovering answers, solving problems, and, most importantly, finding and speaking the truth. Because of all this, while his track record might not be lengthy, he’s been fairly successful in his work.

 

As Bastian neared the Carousel Club, where he was to meet with his newest client, he paused to compose himself. Private investigators didn’t go about grinning and whistling like a common sap any more than they danced in the streets. Or, at least, they didn’t when they met with clients. Bastian studied himself in a reflective shop window. He combed his fingers through his dark curls, then adjusted his cap to a rakish angle and tugged on the lapels of his best jacket, straightening it. Someday, he’d save up for a few decent suits and a nice hat, but for now, this would do. He practiced a steely ice-stare, then a confident smirk, and settled on the former before strutting up to the door.

 

As a relatively young and unknown member of his profession, Bastian is very conscious of how he comes off to others. While he’s currently too broke to afford the nice suits and hats he feels a private investigator should wear, he puts serious effort into adopting what he thinks is the right attitude and expression. When working with clients, he often hides excited smiles behind a steely stare and exchanges cheerfulness for sharp-edged sarcasm. He doesn’t like it, and the act slips a little more often than he realizes, but he won’t get anywhere if people don’t take him seriously.

 

[Bastian] smiled wryly to himself. If helping out old birds always brought such luck, every man and woman over the age of fifty would probably have so many people bending to their whims that they wouldn’t even have to walk if they didn’t want to.

   

Most old birds, of course, weren’t Granny Starseeker or her kind. Bastian took off the glasses and folded them up pensively. What would he have seen, looking at her through them? He could guess — a woman, beautiful and ageless, wearing her wrinkles like a mask, with the threads of fate ready at her fingertips. His father had spoken of them by the name the Cormont academics used — Premiére Foire, First Fair — and claimed they were agents of the Divine who helped weave the destinies of kings and princesses and heroes. His mother had called them Fateweavers and said they tested the hearts of those chosen for great tasks, no matter their nobility. Bastian saw no reason why both couldn’t be true. At this particular moment, he was more concerned with the fact that one of them — or multiple of them — apparently deemed his case significant enough to interfere. Not that he was ungrateful for the help, but now he had a nasty feeling about whatever lay ahead.

 

The son of a Gallish immigrant and a Solorele native, Bastian grew up with stories of fey and fair folk from one side of the ocean and spirits, monsters, and shifters from the other. And while he’s not specifically a magical investigator, he’s used those stories to help him solve more than one case. But his knowledge is hardly exhaustive, and there’s a great deal in the world that his parents’ stories never even dreamed of . . .

Character Interview: Prince Nacil

Todday's guest is Prince Nacil, royalty from another world! I'm so excited he is here! To meet him yourself, at the bottom of the post I'll include an amazon link to his book!

Welcome, Your Highness.

(Victor/Nácil) *Bows* Hail and well-met, Lady Erica. It is an honor to meet you. I shall endeavor to answer your questions to the best of my ability. You shall find my answers in green.

What is your favorite memory?

 

Ah, me! I have so many happy memories of my childhood and youth, it's difficult to choose just one. What comes immediately to mind, however, is the day my mother announced that she was expecting my youngest sister, Solána. We we had recently lost my two youngest siblings to the Red Dragon and were still grieving their deaths at the time. It was as if Elyon had sent us another to ease our loss. I shall never forget the smile on my father's face, nor the joy I felt from him, despite his pain.

 

What is one thing you wish you could go back and change?

 

*Grimmace* I'd have bitten my tongue when Lady Müriel spoke with me ere I left Ýdära. I said some rather nasty things and hurled serious accusations at her--based on erronious assumptions and fueled by my own pain and hatred. Had I been willing to hear her side of the story ... it would have spared us both, and our people, a great deal of suffering.

 

Are there things you prefer about the World of Men?

 

I must confess to a kind of casual fascination with automobiles and other modes of transportation there. I wouldn't say I prefer them to Winged Horses, however, for one can't form a bond of trust with a heap of metal powered by a loud, smoke-billowing motor. *Smirk* I've also become quite fond of Mrs. Whitaker's biscuits and sausage gravy, for there's nothing like them in Ýdära, to my knowledge.

 

Who is your best friend, and what do you love most about them?

 

Oddly enough, I never felt the need to seek out companionship beyond my own family circle growing up--although I was well-loved among our people and had several familiar acquaintances. Prior to the Revolution, I'd say I felt closest to my parents (especially my father), my brothers Phælon and Nathániel, and my sister Solána. It wasn't until I met Mrs. Whitaker and her family that I understood what friendship was. Of those dear folk, I'm most fond of little Jane Foster, Mrs. Whitaker's granddaughter. She reminds me so of Solána, although Jane isn't so merry. There's something about her that warms and cheers the hearts of all who know her. And then I met Müriel ... but that's an entire topic in itself.

 

What is your favorite time of day?

 

Do you know, it never occurred to me to have a favorite time of day? I enjoy the early morning hours, when the world is hushed and still but for a few bird-songs (and in my homeland, the tinkling chatter of the wee Forrest Faeries), and all Creation feels fresh and new. I enjoy midday, when I can pause in my labors and enjoy a good meal (which wasn't always the case during my exile). Afternoon and eventide are exciting times for me, filled with the activity of finishing the day's work and the promise of the evening meal to reward one's labor. I love the twilight hours, when the last ray of sunset is faded, and the sky shimmers with half-veiled stars, until one by one they appear. And I love the night, when the heavens inspire a sense of awe that the God Who calls all those stars by name ... is pleased to allow His creations to call Him Father.

*Sheepish half-smile* I wax poetic, but I daresay you know what I'm driving at 

Thank you, Prince Nacil, for gracing us with your presence here today! I'm so very glad you were able to share these special tidbits with us! Here's to biscuits and gravy! Until we meet again.

https://www.amazon.com/Prince-N%C3%A1cil-Children-Light-Book-ebook/dp/B0896R3JK2

Character Interview: Echo and Jana from An Echo of the Fae

Today, we have two very honored guests, Echo and Jana, the main characters and beautiful wonders of An Echo of the Fae! I hope you're following along on this blog tour, because there are all sorts of guest posts, interviews, and reviews floating around like balloons at a fair! You don't want to miss any of it. I so enjoyed getting to know these characters better, and I'm sure you will, too! Don't forget to grab your copy from Amazon today! Now let's get going!

                                                                          {Echo}

                                                                            {Jana}

What is one skill you wish you had, why? 

Echo: I wish I could talk to people more easily. I always end up just sort of silently screaming at myself to say something, but by the time I think of something to say, the person I was talking to has already walked away.

Jana: Seriously? Talking to people is super easy. What I wish I could do is wield magic like my mother, Queen Titania. She and my father rule all of Faerthain and can do some wicked powerful stuff. When I got sick, they built me this magical tower to keep me safe while they search for a cure... I mean, they’re powerful, but my illness has even them baffled. I guess... well... I guess right now I wish I were a healer so I could cure myself and get back to normal life.

Who has shaped your life the most? 

Echo: My parents! Mamai and Dadai have always provided me with everything I need, but they’ve also taught me how to work hard. I’ve learned so much about baking and healing from Mamai, and Dadai has taught me about sacrificing my own wants for the good of others.

Jana: Oh... probably Drayeth. I mean, my parents are great, but they’re usually busy running the Summer Court. They’ve taught me a lot, but they also don’t always have time for me. Drayeth here *indicates the tiny, orange-scaled dragon on her shoulder* is my best friend. He’s been with me my whole life. He’s my best friend. And he doesn’t even care that I don’t seem to have any powers like my parents... I know some of the Court is a little worried about that, but I don’t know why. It’s not like Titania or Oberon could die or anything.

What is your most prized possession? 

Echo: Well... they’re not really mine, per se, but Dadai’s books. We don’t have many, just a dozen or so, but it’s more books than anyone else on Ennis Rosliath owns, more than most people have ever seen. Dadai has read them to me ever since I was little and they are so precious to me.

Jana: The fae don’t really care about possessions like mortals do. I mean, the forest and our magic provides us with all we need.

What is something you’ve always wanted to do? 

Echo: I’ve always wanted to explore deeper into the Faorn, the great old forest that covers the heart of Ennis Rosliath, the island where I live. But everyone says it’s haunted, and even Mamai and Dadai seem to be a little afraid of it. They don’t mind me playing and exploring around the edges, but they’ve both told me never to go deep into the forest. I want to, though.

Jana: I’ve always wanted to have a real adventure! I’d like to leave Faerthain and explore some of the other realms. And I’d like to figure out what my dreams mean. In my dreams, the face of my mother is unfamiliar to me, and there’s this rhythmic pounding that calls to me but I don’t know what it is. I’d like to find out, though.

What is your happiest memory?

Echo: Oh, any time Dadai reads stories to Mamai and me. Especially if he uses his little stick puppets to act out the story! Those are always my favorite times.

Jana: Drayeth and I played a prank on the Summer Court once. Drayeth used his magic to turn me into a toad. He flew me up to the table where my parents and their court were feasting and I started jumping all over the table and into the food. They were all shrieking and trying to catch me! It was so funny! Drayeth eventually got me out of there and nobody ever knew it had been us!

Thank you so much, Echo and Jana, for gracing us with your presence today. I hope you have fun at your other tour stops as well!