Years ago (and still applies today), the experts were telling fiction writers that in order to really know their main character, they must come up with a character profile sheet for them and definitely applies to all your characters as well. This is a good practice because once you know all the ins and outs of all your characters, the book flows better and allows the author to get inside the head of each of their characters.
We decided to ask authors if they would like to come up with a character sketch of their main character, throwing in a few unique questions to make it really fun!
Today we have Kenneth A. Baldwin stopping by on his blog tour with a character sketch of his main character, Lady Turner. Enjoy!
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Learn more about Jane Turner!
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Name of Character: Jane Turner
Age:23
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Birthplace: Gloucester
Marital Status: Single
Children: Perhaps one day
Place of Residence: At present, whatever aerodrome my commanding officers see fit to assign me. Recently, it’s changed around quite a bit.
Description of Home: I came from a loving home with two doting parents. They father runs a restaurant made famous for my father’s fish and chips (though my mother will go on about her secret sauce is what put them on the map). We lived in a comfortable separate house on the outskirts of town, but most of my childhood was spent cleaning tables, learning card tricks from my father’s customers, and soaking in as much about real magic as possible from my mother’s best eccentric best friend.
Dominant Character Trait: I’ve been told that I’m somewhat a protector. Once I latch onto you, you become my biggest priority. It makes it hard for me to connect with people.
Best Friend: Marcus Dewar. He’s my assigned pilot, I made sure of that. I met him while I was helping Flight Commander Raoul Lufbery with mechanical repairs during training of the United States’ first official aero squadron.
Enemies and Why: I try not to have enemies. Of course, I could say the Germans, since they’re on the other side of the war, but I also have fond attachments to many Germans. My greatest enemy now is likely the Blue Flyer, which I’m not supposed to talk about at all, according to Lieutenant Atkins, but suffice to say he is a rogue, factionless pilot who has made it his personal mission to steal the same magical devices I’ve been assigned to collect.
Temperament: I’m passionate and independent. You have to be in order to survive in enlisted service.
Ambition: More than anything, I would like a quiet life in a comfortable home far from the sound of artillery fire. I want to grow old concerning myself with books, clocks, motorbikes, and card games with family, and maybe Marcus.
Educational Background: My formal education derives from my mother. My arcane education came from her best friend. Her best friend is an eccentric lady of a beautiful estate nearby, so we had access to every resource we could wish for.
Philosophy of Life: There is good in people, and it’s worth protecting.
Bad Habits: I have a temper, and I take control when I don’t like how others are leading.
Talents: I’m exceptionally good at mechanical magic. I’m modestly good at dancing, though I seldom dance with anyone lately. And, surprisingly, I’m not a bad shot with a machine gun.
Hobby or Hobbies: Cards
Why is Jane Likeable? My mother told me it was because I had a nice smile. But I always hated that. What good are smiles? I would hope that people prioritize my loyalty over my looks.
Favorite Pig Out Food: Easily my dad’s fish and chips. I once ate eight pieces in one sitting. His friends wouldn’t stop talking about it for months.
Character Mini-Interview:
Every New Year’s I resolve to:
Try something I’ve never attempted before.
Nobody knows I am:
Afraid of confined spaces.
I wish:
The guns would quiet. I would give nearly anything to know that my loved ones were safe again.
The worse part of my life is:
Understanding that I have such little control over my own fate and the ones I loved. There are forces, both mortal and otherwise, that I have no power to overcome. Pilots die. Towns are shelled. Friends don’t come back from assignments.
I want to teach my children that:
The world is full of good magic, and it is our job to protect the good from the forces that would ruin it. I’d probably teach them that, and that braver isn’t always easy to see.
A good time for me is:
I’m simple. Good friends. Good conversation. Good food.
The worse advice my father gave me is:
My father has always wanted to protect me. Due to that, I think he’s always tried to shield me from the world. When he found out I’d enlisted, he couldn’t look at me for days. But while I appreciate his devotion to me, I could never accept his advice to sit and wait when there were things to be done.
When I feel sorry for myself:
I get to work. Nothing about sitting around and moping fixes anything. I’m a mechanic. I want to get to it.
My friends like me because:
Well, I know Marcus likes me because I have a bit of a mouth on me. I don’t stand to be treated as an inferior. I think he also appreciates that I don’t just go with a crowd.
My major accomplishment is:
I take great pride in being one of the only female mechanics in the RAF. It makes tough, insecure men squirm to see that, which is an absolute delight.
My most humbling experience was:
My first time going up in an airplane made me rethink all I knew about life. It was a magic I’d never been prepared to experience, and looking out over the fuselage in the back of our plane, seeing the world I’d always known shrinking into doll-house sized miniature, made me realize just how small I really am.
Meet the Author
Before he started writing novels, Kenny paid his way through law school by writing, performing, and teaching humor. You can still catch him on stage or in corners of the Internet that feature sketch and improv comedy. Now, he lives nestled under the Wasatch Mountains with his wonderful wife, sons, and Golden Retriever.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ www.kennethabaldwin.com
X ➜ http://www.x.com/kennethabaldwin
Facebook ➜ www.facebook.com/kennethabaldwin
Goodreads ➜ www.goodreads.com/kennethabaldwin
Inside the Book
1918. France. Reports of unexplained rogue attacks have come in from both sides of the Western Front.
When Marcus Dewar is tasked with investigating the aerial bombardments, it’s not because of his aviation record. To make a name for himself, he will have to escort his best friend, a woman named Jane Turner known for her witchlike repairs on damaged aircraft, through some of the war’s most dangerous battle zones.
But when they learn the rogue pilots seek out arcane devices filled with magic powerful enough to alter the war, it will take more than some hedgewitch tactics and smart flying to return with their lives.
And in a conflict that values human life so little, that’s the least they have to lose.
The Shards of Lafayette: Drops of Glass Book 1 is available at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Drops-Glass-Magic-Shards-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B0C42B144X .
