Construction Notes for the Character of Bryony Marseilles

In early June 2015, I stayed a couple of days at a charming Victorian bed and breakfast, where I spent a few hours in the parlor that first morning and built the character of Bryony Marseilles.

I found these buried notes this past week while working on entries for the BryonySeries guidebook and read them for the first time since I wrote them in 2015.

Up until 2015, Bryony was a shadow in her own series, even though "drop of blood" protagonist Melissa Marchellis was obsessed with her memory to the point of assuming Bryony's persona in her vampire-staged reality.

So what better setting to bring Bryony out of the shadows than in her home state (Michigan) in a home with Simons Mansion elements, where Bryony would live the most noteworthy years of her life.

But to construct Bryony, I also had to construct her parents, for every back story in Before The Blood started with the parents, where all back stories ultimately begin. 

I also needed to construct a very stark and primitive Munsonville, which was barely settled when Bryony's parents arrive.

I already knew that her father Galien was a minister and her mother Adele died when Bryony was three years old. I knew that Bertha Parks, the parsonage's housekeeper, stepped into a mothering type of role.

Before typing anything, I pondered on what I did know about Bryony (scant details already written and published) and how to expand the details into her character.

I turned to my long-buried, adolescent interest in astrology and decided to entwine Bryony with the fishing village. I chose a birthdate that made her a Pisces and used lake and fish imagery to fashion her personality and beliefs.

Re-reading these notes this week, I was struck at how remarkably true I stayed to them. I think the only digression was that Bryony never fell in love with either of the Scandinavian twins (she was more intimidated and fascinated by them), although her best friend had unrequited love for one of them.

I also never used the quote from John Simons. But he implemented it.

Temporarily.

Bryony and John's marriage was wonderful when her lake rolled to his shore, the place where two extremely disimiliar people could temporarily meet.

But lakes also roll away from the shore in smaller waves, with deeper mystery.

Here then are the initial, rough notes I made (in all their randomness and typos) on that beautiful summer morning.

Happy scrolling!

The long hours caused a setback, and Galien had forbidden Adele

Adele, her feminism and their premarital sex experiences and Galien, meeting, marriage after Adele is pregnant. She battles persistent bad health due to rhema feer after bought of scarlet fever. Ashamed and moves to Munsonville. 

When had Musnonville begun?

Munsonville is pretty new. Need a back story for it. and a reason for Galien to be sent there. Both of them are intellectuals and possibly older individuals that have Bryony a little later in life.

Very wilderness liek. Cottages for fishing and that's about it. A few homes begin to dot the hill, one store.

Need a back story about how Galien and Adele met, fell in love, conversed. They're vegetarians 

Owen Munson is there? He is mayor.

 Ann’s research highlighted an obscure fact about the village’s origins. Nearly two hundred years before Owen Munson visited the area, French fur trapper and fisherman Pierre Sicard established a small community that never thrived. During a trip to North America, Owen Munson purchased some land, assumed control, and named it after him.

Adele has poor health, they had sex anyway and feel guilty about the sin. Galien wants to be a minister, IS a minister at a church, and they are not married. Want a fresh start. He shares his dilemna with a friend who taught at the Need a back story for the historical Jenson, Shelby, and Thornton. The friend mentions the new settlement that wants to build a church and needs a minister to care for it. A hurried marriage in Thornton (Shelby is much younger) and Galien and Adele transplant themselves to Munsonvillle. (belongs in chapter 2). they live in a fishing cottage while waiting for the church adn parsonage to be compelted

Adele likes to sketch; they both like to read.

Scarlett fever

Adele, her feminism and their premarital sex experiences and Galien, meeting, marriage after Adele is pregnant. She battles persistent bad health due to rhema feer after bought of scarlet fever. Ashamed and moves to 

CHAPTER 2: THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH. Bryony’s earliest childhood years, Adele’s sickness and death, and Galien’s new role as mother/father. Views Adele’s death as punishment from God and is super strict with Bryony. 

SHOW that they shun meant.

   lived in a four-room cabin on the lake.

The ngihmare of symtpoms. GAlein did waht and ebruned her sheets at the end left ehr limp, we adn what.

   Bryony came home int hepsring and Galein set her aout side, ,up  the child dance dbatou ehr fett. 

Bryony’s earliest childhood years, Adele’s sickness and death Views Adele’s death as punishment from God and is super strict with Bryony. 

Shotgun marriage

Pregnancy and early years of marriage

Adele as mother and Galien as co-parent father

Building a church together

(reading with his head on her lap)

Bryony is ho june 5, 1892 brony is 17 Dec. 24, 1893 Bryony is 18.

Bryony is born 1875.

Bryony (Feb. 19) Water and fish are the biggest metaphors

Ethereal 

Dreamer

Makes connections others don't see

Sees below the surface

Intuitive

Swim through life: with the flow or against it?

Kind to friends and strangers

What you see isn't necessarily what you get, much swims below the surface

She is the shy (?) one in the corner listening, especially true at the Munsonville Socoety for the Humanities meetings.

Listens to people's problems

Is trustworthy

Escapes through daydreaming or reading

Swims away from her problems?

Emotions are complex, fluid, stormy, changeable. 

Her challenge is to discern between truth and mirage.  (John faithful, not unfaithful)

Vivid imagination

Fascinated with the green-blue lake

She is the lake, John is the land, very different to each other, the magic is where they meet, the conflict is where they don't

When the honeymoon period ends, Bryony is wary of leaving Munsonville.

Daydreams of love growing up, love is a daydream

Bryony’s actual marriage to John is gentle rain, thunderstorms, retreat, ebbing away

She gives everything when it comes to love…except leaving Munsonville and her father.

Bryony wants the fairytale romance in the woods with John. John wants her to roam the world with him. He sees Simons Mansion as their retreat sanctuary. Eventually, they both view it as prison.

Bryony is in love with one of the twins, then Henry, and then with John.

To John, there is an aura of mystery around Bryony, a pureness, and a subtle distance that intrigues him. 

Bryony shrugs off emotional jams or arguments with John, to the point of minimizing the depth of his need behind his requests, can be evasive and even avoidant. John counteracts this with his blunt, brief, candid directness (think morning room scene where he overturns the table when Bryony casually announces she is not going).

She is physically weak, but psychically strong. (John sees the capability, the Reverend Marseilles sees the limits).

Easily forgives

Is lonely if the important person in her life, John, leaves her alone to take care of her life when her life is a mess. She interprets this as lack of concern and love on his part. (Why she reaches out to Henry).

Swimming with the currents, her life in Munsonville as she has always known it, Bryony is most relaxed. She resists John pulling her against that current for a broader life.

Needs a lover, John, to safeguard her and give her security. It seems John wants to provide this. He wants Bryony to find it in him. She does, but the pull of Munsonville and her father’s wish she stay is strong.

John tries to be her optimal partner: a man that can inspire her to be larger and protect her while doing it, to ground her in her unrealistic fantasies, to help her achieve.

More comfortable and at home drifting with the Munsonville currents

Copes by floating away in her own world

Not a leader

A friend to all

Has trouble saying no

Supportive

The scent of the lake turns her on.

Sex and love are the same for her (at girst)

With a heavy heart, Galien shouldered the task of becoming father and mother to Bryony as well as chief housekeeper.

How managed daily life with a child beside him . What their daily life consists of

Galien's struggles to maintain his vegetarian principles. He reads a lot. Misses company of Adele won't find it in other women so begins the Musnovnilel Scoiety for the HJuamnites men only no owmenb.

He reads constantly, so Bryony asks him to teach her how to read, impatient with being read to so she can read on her own like he does too.

What he cooks for her

He also reads stories. Her favorite Bible stories have to do with fisherman.

Bryony lieks to sketch and is ecurged to sketh wwhat she sees. Precosious devlepmet.

She learns to read and reads aloud to her father while lying in his lap. Galien recreates Adele 's habits as much as possible in Bryony.

Housekeeping suffering. STruggled to keep up.

 "Reverend Marseilles," Bertha Parks said as she removed the mop form his hand. "I am here to help."

 Wityh a tremendous sigh of relilg, Galien relinquished his weapon to the woman soon to become general of his household.

Has chlorosis: Health: headaches, breathless, blue tinge (iron-deficient anemia)

Propfessor friend start visitnh Galien and eventually brings more friends. Bryony stays close by. Bertha Parks comes to help with the housework.

Bryony's preschool years at home with Galien: what were they like

Bryony is reading in preschool by Galien

Her favorite Bible stories have to do with fishermen

Has sketches that Adele did; Bryony likes to sketch, too.

Psudo-incestuous (reminscent of The Cenci, study)

Mother Goose

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Aesop's Fables

End with Bertha Parks bullying her way into the household.

Housekeeping suffering. STruggled to keep up.

Needs to use her creativity

Dedicates herself wholly to the tasks at hand (even Reverend Marseilles’ parsonage work).

Has a difficult time setting forth a course of action for themselves. Floats along with  child-like trust fate will guide her the right way. Needs guidance and grounding.

John handles all money affairs.

Bryony handles Bryga

Loves Anna to the moon and back but lacks the inner discipline to discipline her. Can be a child right beside Anna and share too much about her life with John. Anna eagerly soaks it up.

Needs to be near a body of water, needs to be near Lake Munson and Munsonville. Is grounded there.

Not one to exercise much because of poor health

Simple clothing as a child. John chooses bold fashionable clothing for her in marriage.

“Time for the mermaid to step onto shore,” John said.

Siwon and Character Development

I have a fun link to share with you today. But first, I'd like to give the link some context.

I've been watching Chinese and Korean dramas with Rebekah for the last few years, and I'm really glad she introduced me to this form of entertainment she's enjoyed for a decade and a half.

We watch one at a time, and it can take us a couple of nights to get through an episode. She's the curator of the selections, although I have suggested two dramas, and only one of my picks was good. So I'm happy to let her decide.

Now Rebekah's going through some challenges right now, so she's veered to the lighthearted. Still, if you've ever watched any of these rom-coms, K-drama-style, you'll know they're not all rom and com. 

The subplots also address trauma and other complex issues. I've not seen one yet that's two dimensional, although I'm certain they exist. 

Our current drama is called She Was Pretty and the internet said it's based on a true story. What true story, I don't know. I can't find any more information on it.

The setting is a fashion magazine (Most) that might get canceled as staff are planning for its twentieth anniversary special edition and celebration. The staff doesn't know the publication is under the guillotine; only the top editors do, so the staff don't understand why the leaders are short-tempered and pushing them extra hard.

Here's quick synopsis of She Was Pretty so the clip makes sense.

Two lifelong female friends in their thirties live together. They are so close that they have each other in their phones as "the husband" and "wifey."

Both are hardworking. One is pretty, comes from a rich family, and dates a lot of shady men. The other "used to be pretty" and isn't anymore. She has a younger sister in high school who is pretty and is afraid she will not be pretty later in life.

"Used to be pretty" had a male best friend growing up. He was overweight and bullied and had panic attacks on the school bus when it rains because he was with his mother when she was killed in a car crash in the rain. 

He likes Renoir and gives "used to be pretty" the missing piece of his favorite puzzle, a reproduction of Dance in the Country and kisses her goodbye when his family moves to the U.S.

Well, now the kid is all grown up and can't forget his first love. He's visiting Korea and wants to reconnect. So when "used to be pretty" arrives at the meeting place, he's gorgeous, doesn't recognize her, and walks right past her.

So "used to be pretty" asks her friend to stand in for her, which she does. The friend makes an excuse while she can't see him again: she's moving abroad. He sad but accepts it.

Except he's staying in Korea as editor-in-chief of Most. Except the friend is a hotelier and he runs into her again. So "pretty" keeps seeing him while pretending be his former love and (I'm sure you know where this is going) winds up falling for him.

In the meantime, "not so pretty" gets a job in support services at Most. She gets transferred to the editing department and her new boss is her old friend. And he can't stand her. So "used to be pretty" spends her time trying to avoid him and being heartbroken at the new them. \

In the meantime, she carries around the puzzle piece and loses it.

Now what's making this drama super fun for me is the magazine's features editor. The actor's name is Choi Si-won, also known as Siwon. He's a model, singer-songwriter, and part of the Korean boy band Super Junior, which Rebekah has loved for years. 

In fact the first K-song she ever played for me more than ten years ago was from Super Junior. Siwon is an evangelisic Christian, a regional ambassador of Unicef, and would like to become a mssionary. 

Siwon is also recording himself reading the Bible on YouTube, a new iniative that Rebekah showed me last night.

Apparently Siwon typically plays very suave roles when he does act. And the clip I'm sharing today starts with one of those roles - and then does a rewind into his role in She Was Pretty. Siwon's character is off the charts bizarre and makes its mission to annoy "she was pretty" (as in dipping little girls pigtails in inkwells-style of annoy) as often at work as he can.

So why am I sharing this?

Because now that you have the background, the clip is super entertaining. Enjoy!

And for those of us who craft characters, whether visually (on stage or in file) or on the page, I'm in awe of the mastery here. To create somebody who is absolutely not you and make someone else believe that person exists somewhere because that person is SO real is the dream of many who take their crafting seriously.

Furthermore, in this character's case, I'm pretty sure the actor is playing a character who is also acting. That's my theory. But we still have a few more episodes to go.

Either way, I hope this clip makes you laugh. Or, at the every least, smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq50Vo0rJHI

"It's Complicated" (Character List for Just One Scene)

If my WriteOn comrades will let me take up a chunk of time at our WriteOn Joliet meeting this Thursday, I'd like to read a very long excerpt.

It's not because I like the sound of my voice or think my writing is better than anyone else.

But, rather, the topic of "voice" has come up at the last couple of meetings, and this scene has A LOT of different voices.

In the book where this scene falls, the characters are introduced gradually. But they won't be when/if I read it.

So I created a character sheet last weekend for the meeting. This character sheet has a brief overview of who these people are. The scene itseld shows how I develop their "voices."

For me, as a writer, creating character "voice" is the most challenging of the entire process.

And this particular scene posed a particular challenge when I wrote it back in 2015 because it was the first time I had written an event in a crowd where many of the characters gathered at once. The "voice" for each character had to be highly developed for the scene to have dimension and depth. Otherwise, I risked clogging up the scene with "he saids" and "she saids" just to keep the voices all straight.

So here is the cast of characters. And if this doesn't scare away my fellow writers, and if they let me, I will read the scene in which all these people appear.

You can see why I struggled with it...

FISHER FARM PUMPKIN PARTY

October 1884 Munsonville, Michigan, a fictitious “Utopian” remote village in Northern Michigan where “everyone is welcome.” Residents practice vegetarianism.

Industries: fishing, lumbering, maple-syruping

Leader: Owen Munson. Owns the land, overseas commerce and village development, is “shepherd” to the “sheep.” Caused a division by appointing a good friend as mayor (some people thought Owen should be mayor). Short, stocky, curly black hair, healthy teeth (an important sign of wealth), always wears his cowboy hat, struts through the village singing cowboy songs. Mostly on the go, bunks in a sparsely furnished fishing cabins.

This excerpt: The small, but growing community (about 75 – don’t worry; they don’t all talk in this scene) is gathering on Fisher Farm (just outside Munsonville proper) for a harvest fest. Excerpt is through a 9-year-old girl’s eyes. The people mentioned are the ones most familiar to her.

MARSEILLES FAMILY

Bryony Marseilles: Age 9. Slender with long, thick, wavy tan hair typically pulled back and held with a bow. Being raised by her bitter, widowed father; is anemic, sheltered, a tad mouthy at times, and slightly spoiled by the childless Mr. and Mrs. Parks, her adopted Uncle Orville and Uncle Bertha.

Reverend Galien Marseilles: The church’s pastor is tall and thin with gray, short-cropped hair and pointed beard. He wears only black, partakes in no village festivities, wants to make a “new woman” out of Bryony, and obsessively controls her environment.

PARKS FAMILY

Orville Parks: Short, fat, middle aged. Curly brown hair, furry brown mustache, loves to fish and tell fish stories. Very easy-going unless you piss him off.

Bertha Parks: Much taller than Orville with a gray beehive. Bossy, self-important, gossiper. Housekeeper to the Marseilles family and Bryony’s only mother figure.

BASS FAMILY

Theodore “Teddy” Bass: Master carpenter, average height, round and pock-marked “Man in the Moon” face. Loud-mouthed. Leads all the building and furniture making under the name Bass and Betts. Is married to the best cook and baker in the village. He and his wife often get into fist fights, which Owen has to break up. One of the many who’s resentful that Owen isn’t mayor. Often heckles Mayor Boswell Pike.

Sally Bass: See above. Blonde, large-boned, outspoken, and a flirt. Cares for Pearl Griffith (see way below), who is sick with an unspecified lung disease and bedridden. Might have slept with Pearl’s husband Gus Griffith.

DRAKE FAMILY

Stuart Drake: Middle age, slightly pedantic, shopkeeper. Gray hair, wears gray pin-striped suits. Wife is 20 years younger, got lucky in marrying her. Her dad hated him, but Dad was dying of consumption and that would have left his 15-year-old daughter in the village without male protection. Stuart isn’t creepy. He’s crazy about Belinda in a good way. Pouts if he doesn’t get his way. Closely mentors his oldest son. Often forgets he has a younger son.

Belinda Drake: Skinny, timorous, nearsighted (no glasses), fine auburn hair, poorly educated, pregnant.

Addison Drake: Age 11, mirrors his father. Except for the gray hair.

Norton Drake: Little and lively. About 4.

HASSET FAMILY

The newest family to Munsonville and introduced in this scene.

Richard “Dick” Hasset: Journalist who started The Munsonville Times, the village’s first and only newspaper. He’s calm with merry eyes, handlebar mustache, loud bowties. Quickly becomes good friends with Mayor Boswell Pike.

Lula Hasset: Brown hair, quiet, glasses, serious. Quickly becomes friends with Janet Pike, Mayor Pike’s wife.

Lillian Hasset: Age 12, a miniature of her mother. Minus the glasses.

Leo Hasset: Tall, slim, brown hair, 11. Happy.

Luther Hasset: Less tall, slim, brown hair, 10. Somber.

PIKE FAMILY

Mayor Boswell Pike: Looks like Mephistopheles, lives in a gated colonial at the top of the hill, has expensive horses, an expensive carriage. Has six children – two with his first wife who died giving birth to an unnamed third (also dead) – and three with his new wife Janet, for whom he advertised. Dresses elegantly in expensive clothes. Philosophy teacher at a liberal arts college the next town over. His dissenters complain he spends more time with his books than “mayoring.” Not a hands-on person, although he’s chopped his share of trees (nearly cutting off his hand) and buried his share of the dead (got frostbite in the process).

Janet Pike: Tall, brunette, broad-shouldered, confident, a former teacher from Boston.

Only two of their kids are mentioned in this scene. Blanche, a toddler, who crawls underfoot, and Boswell Junior, subtly vicious and cold-hearted, age 11.

BETTS FAMILY

Sebastian Betts: Known as the village sot behind his back. He’s nevertheless a master carpenter and half of the Bass and Betts team. Short, chunky, with a square head, tight auburn curls, florid complexion. Wears glasses. College-educated. Inflated sense of self worth.

Phoebe Betts: Skinny with fine yellow hair and freckles. Illiterate. Foul-mouthed and loudly insulting of the girl her son Paulie likes (farther in the book, at their wedding, she yells “Slut!” during the service). Drinks just as much. If not more.

The Betts have five boys, ages 12 through 21, and one daughter. The kids all look like Phoebe. All the kids are illiterate.

Denny: Fell off the roof while building their saltbox, is paralyzed and confined to bed

Paulie: Quiet, a carpenter with Bass and Betts, in love with Ida Griffith

Robbie: Mama's boy, easily influenced by others

Milty: Eager to please, personal assistant to Mayor Pike, being educated, not in this scene

Freddie: Fat, stupid, dull, disinterested.

Susan: Skinny, wispy blonde hair that’s usually dirty. Freckles. Dull cornflower eyes. Bryony’s best friend, thanks to Mrs. Parks who insisted to Reverend that Bryony have a playmate. Age 9.

FISHER FAMILY

“Old Man” Clyde Fisher: Oldest man resident. Typically wears overall and boots unless he goes to town. Limp white hair that touches his shoulders. Calm, mellow, soft-spoken, tanned, slender, muscular, good friends with Owen Munson (they have a past).

James Fisher: Clyde Fisher’s great nephew. Came to Munsonville in his late teens with his pregnant girlfriend (now wife). Short, round, brown hair, baby face. Hardly speaks. Shuns alcohol. About 27.

Maybelle Fisher: Pregnant with sixth child. Heavy (gets heavier with each child), a run-on sentence type of chatterbox, thick dark hair past her shoulders, easy-going. Shuns alcohol. About 25.

Their five girls range in age from 4 to 9, not in sight, hanging out with unnamed others at this event. They all have dark curly hair and give their parents no trouble.

GRIFFITH FAMILY

Gus Griffith: Lumberjack, came to Munsonville because his wife Pearl has a lung issue (better air) and is confined to bed. Sally Bass cares for wife, home, and hearth while he’s busy in the woods. And maybe Gus, when he’s home from the woods.

Pearl Griffith: Never seen, only her struggle to breathe is heard.

Harv Griffith: Late teens. Lumberjack like his father. Interested in politics and current events.

Ida Griffith: About sixteen. Gawky, homely, and under the wing of Janet Pike. Ida gets Janet’s hand-me-downs and helps out with the Pike children, especially little Blanche. Paulie Betts is in love with her. She’s oblivious.

New Review for "Visage"

 I'm glad to know that, even though Visage was published nine years ago this November, readers are still finding this first book of the BryonySeries and enjoying it.

This review was recently left on Amazon.

 The mystery deepens…and delightfully not in the ways you’d expect

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021

"Picking up right where the first book in the series, Bryony, left off, the plot becomes even thicker – and more satisfying. 

"Melissa, now in college, finds herself mired in one strange situation after another as she tries to balance the rigors of her scholastic pursuits with her personal relationships, all while being pulled in many frightening directions. 

"Once again, the character development, for both new and returning characters, is exemplary and provides a stout backbone to complement the increasingly interesting story. 

Even more than its predecessor, Visage gives the reader an ongoing sense that something is coming, or is about to happen, or will be revealed, you just don’t know when or where the turn will be. Even with the expectancy of that impending…something, you still won’t be fully ready for it when it happens. 

"It’s all part of an engaging, delightful read that will have you turning page after page and anxiously expecting the next installment."

New Review for "Bryony"

A new recipe in Sue's Diner is coming tomorrow - I promise!

Rebekah and I both had a busy Monday at work, and we simply forgot to swap it out (she has the recipe and photo).

So I'll share this really nice review of Bryony instead.

Because I', glad to know that, even though Bryony was published ten years ago this November, readers are still finding this first book of the BryonySeries and enjoying it.

This review was left on Amazon recently.

Strong characters and a compelling story make this a page turner!

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021

"Vampire stories have existed for centuries. Therefore, it’s not too often you come across one that is refreshingly unique in its overall presentation, yet that’s exactly what Bryony is." 

"Within its pages resides an engaging tale that fascinatingly blends reality and historical dreamscapes – the real life normalcies and obsessive past life fantasies – of the main character, Melissa. Therein lies the strength of this book: The characters."

"Each one, good or evil, along with the settings, and eras within the story truly feel real. You know them, you’ve seen them, you relate to them, you’ve been there. The incredible character development and world building throughout this story are what bring the compelling plot to life, making the reader excited to discover what happens next."

"From everyday small town activities to chilling scenes of horror throughout a century-spanning web of mysteries, this first book in a three-part series leaves one tasty vampiric crumb after another for the reader to bite into."

Twenty Questions with Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara (Steward Setback Saturday)

Why would a person allow himself to be legally fictionalized for a book series?

Read on and see. 

But before you do, I'd like to mention the good that's resulted out of this collaboration, and I'm not talking mney. (Nobody's making any serious money here).

One: Ed, who discusses his struggle to write through the years, was given space on this blog to write as the character he created. Yes, that's right. He created his own character for himself, and then I fictionalized it even further for the series. 

Two: Ed realized his dream of seeing some of his works in print when I published a collection of his blogs a couple years ago for Calkins Day that dealt with my Irish genealogy. (I'm not Irish. Ed made it all up).

Three: Ed is now writing is own book for the BryonySeries based on his (and some of mine) characters. And he gets free editing services for this and all of his writings.

Four: He's slowly realizing his dream of just "being known." We've held some small scale celebrations of Calkins Day (with even smaller parades).

Except for using the character in the books, none of these above benefits were stated in print; they've evolved over the years as we've gotten to know each other.

And yes, I did turn down the marriage proposal.

Twenty Questions with Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara

When I first started the BryonySeries blog in 2011, I posted this Q A with the real Ed Calkins in several installments. We did this interview months before the release of the first book, and it has never again been published.

Now for the first time, in living black and purple, is the entire interview with the man that ficionalized himself and allowed me to fictionalize him further for the series.

Just to clarify: Ed Calkins is a real person. He really lives somewhere Chicago-ish and was a supervisor for one of the agents when The Herald-News circulation passed from The Sun Times to the Chicago Tribune. I reported to Ed for my Marycrest route.

Having missed his Ed Calkins parade several years in a row, I offered, as consolation, a one-page monthly newsletter for his imaginary world or a spot in my series as a vampire. His response was, "Immortality, of course."

My attorney drew up the necessary paperwork for Ed to sign off himself. Seriously.

No Ed, is not insane, but wonderfully creative. If you want to know Ed, read the novels, for I dutifully scrawled on brown paper wrapping snatches of conversation overheard in passing at the distribution center while Ed handed out papers or in longer conversations by phone to weave in real dialogue with the imaginary dialogue and overall character arc.

I also spent much time with him, getting to know his "ruthless dictator" persona, as to accurately portray it. In a wonderful and truly humbling act of trust, Ed did not want to read any drafts; rather, he wanted the experience of his fictional self however I chose to write it, a very literary and legally-bound, "Do with me as you will."

It was marvelously empowering.

PS: I did such a good writerly job with Ed that one day, after Timothy had been out of the distribution center for a year attending Joliet Junior College and working at the Renaissance Center, he offered to help us roll papers one night and ran into Ed.

Ed said something to the effect of, "Wow, I haven't see you in a long time." Timothy blinked, yes, literally blinked, in surprise, for he had been reading drafts of Staked! as I had chaptered it off and felt as if he'd seen Ed every day.

Any blog post on this series attributed to Ed was really written by Ed. Just so you know.

And now, the interview:

        1)      Who is the ruthless dictator?

“My son was doing a lot of role playing games, and he was trying to come up with a bard and give him magical powers. I told him there was no need coming up with magical items, because bards are already too powerful, providing they’re not trying to seek notoriety for themselves. Ruthless dictators are not afraid to die. They’re just afraid of how they’ll be remembered. It’s not effective to compose a song or a limerick or an epic poem glorifying yourself. You’ve got to have other people saying it about you. Why not cut the military in half and invent some really good limericks? You can really insult someone into submission.”

2)      Why did you invent him?

“I was bullied as a boy, so it came from the way I would get back at bullies. I would think something negative about them, because verbalizing it wouldn’t go well. In my mind, I called it even. The ruthless dictator really started when I got a ticket running a stop sign when I was delivering newspapers on a really snowy day. If I had stopped, I would never have gotten going again. I really thought the ticket was unfair. As revenge, I picked ten people out f the phone book and thought bad things about them. My wife thought that was pretty corny. Later, I took over the entire town. I didn’t have to conquer a nation. It just had to be a place, at least metaphorically. It had to have its own identity.”

3)      What was your reaction when asked to become part of a vampire novel?

“I was nervous at revealing my ignorance about vampires. I didn’t know a lot about it. I worked quickly to remedy it.”

4)      Why did you accept?

“Immortality, of course. I can’t think about myself in everything. I have to think about 1,000 years from now, and if there’s going to be a three-day holiday in my name or not. There’s a side of me that thinks this could be goofy enough to think this could actually happen.”

5)      Weren’t you afraid of how you might be portrayed?

“No, and a lot of that comes from my survival mechanism as a kid. I learned to play along with the bullies rather than fight them. Part of my comedic outreach is self-deprecating, so it didn’t really seem that anything negative could hurt me. The ruthless dictator would say, ‘Look, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.’ King Midas is much better off than King Midas the Second, even though he was portrayed in a bad light, because nobody remembers King Midas the Second.”

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6)      What if fans expect the real Ed Calkins to be similar to the fictional Ed Calkins?

“He is like him. There’s just that side of him. He’s significant in an offbeat way, enough to where he can claim the stewardship of Tara without blushing.”

7)      The Irish have no solid vampire legends. How do you feel about being the first, real Irish vampire?

“I think other people will make more of that than I will. Being known as the Steward of Tara is more of a crowing achievement in my mind.”

8)      Where did your love of Irish lore and history begin?

“It started with my love of history. Then I looked into mythology, and I used to tell my son a lot of tales and legends. When he reached high school and heard the same thing, my credibility rose in his eyes. One thing I had told him that wasn’t really true is that Ireland was always a backwash of European history, unless your interest is war. Then, it is probably true. There were many Irish warriors. It’s just they tended to be fodder; they were never fighting for Ireland. Ireland is probably the only place where you get a sense of what pre-Christianity was about, so if you want to know Ireland, just study its myth. Even before I was really into being Irish, I had a disdain for the Roman Empire, which, I think, gave me a bias toward the Irish. In all honesty, I’m American, but my heritage is Irish. It only takes going to Ireland to know that.”

9)      How did you research your Irish heritage?

“I’ve read a lot of books. Also, as a college freshman, I got put into an Irish literature course, which I wasn’t very interested in it at the time. I’m not one of those people who have forgotten much of what they learned in college. So it stayed with all these years in a recessive way. The problem is that I’m very bad with names. The proper study of Irish mythology involves heroes, kings, and saints, in that order. They are alive today through the last names. I just don’t know who these people are.”

      10)   When did you begin writing?

“I started with poetry. In the eighth grade I wrote poem that resonated a little bit.        So, throughout high school, I wrote poetry. I was an editor of the literary magazine and the editor in chief the last year. Something bizarre about me is that I can’t finish anything. I have these really organized fantasies, but I’m not a wordsmith. I just lost my hard drive, which means I lost everything I’ve written for the last twenty years. I should be beside myself, but I’m not, because none of the pieces were really finished

       11)   What have you written?

“I actually wrote a historical fiction novel when I was in high school. I had a         fascination for Hannibal, so I put myself on the other side facing Hannibal’s army. I didn’t really know how to handle it, but I did write it.”

        12)   How had you shared your writings in the past?

“I posted them. When I was working on my trilogy, someone would send me an e-mail that said, “Send me your story,” and I’d send them a few chapters. Then I’d get another email saying, ‘That was great. Send me some more.’ So, a lot of it was praise-driven. The problem is that twenty years have passed. The protagonist has become darker and the eroticism is no longer interesting, I hate to admit. In my mind, I’ve reduced the second book to a single, short story. Also, every novel I’ve written was also an idea for a game. I had done a really good job of writing the games, again not finished. The smallest details completely derail a project for me.”

13)    How do you overcome writer’s block?

“The truth is I don’t. My writing block is fear. By the time I do write, it’s only because the ideas have been spilling out over and over and over again through my mind, to where it’s enough already. The details have become an irritant, so I just sit down and write.”

14) What motivates you to compose a limerick?

   “I get ticked off, and my mind starts putting lines together. It’s different with limericks because I don’t have to actually write them. A limerick is not fine art. Because of its structure, a kindergartener is just as good as composing limericks as an adult.”

          15)  Why is legacy important to you?

“I think it’s fascinating to me in the same way history is. Think of Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which lived approximately 25 million years ago and compare that to the 6,000 years of civilization. In the eyes of God, dinosaurs must be a statement of survivability. Humanity is still an experiment in its infancy. When all is said and done, the history of humans is going to be a lot more significant than the bones of a creature, but we’re not there yet. We’re gong to have to start with many things, including being a lot older than 6,000 years. Maybe there won’t be an Ed Calkins parade that 6,000 years old, but maybe there will a 1,000 years old Ed Calkins Day parade, which will create the much larger tradition of there still being parades.”

16) How did the idea for Ed Calkins day parade originate?

“I discovered that my birthday and Valentines Day had a little conflict when I started dating my wife. The first year I was dating her, we went out and celebrated my February 13^th birthday. Guess what happened on the fourteenth?  I didn’t have Valentine for her. That offended her at the time. My defense was, ‘Come on, it was my birthday.’ I guess where started. Then I started joking with other people that my birthday should be a national holiday. When you couple that with Lincoln’s birthday and the stars aligned in the sky, you can see it was meant to be.”

17)  You’re famous for cookouts, Queen of Christmas contests, candy canes and Santa hat distribution and palette jack races. Why host these things?

“Have fun, of course. Distribution centers can be so dreary. If everyday is like the last, no one wants to get up.

18)   Do you own a kilt?

“I used to, but I gave it away to my brother. It no longer fit, at the waistline. So, currently, I do not have a kilt. They’re not cheap. They can cost a couple hundred dollars.”

19)  For what occasions did you wear it?

“Initially I wore it St. Paddy’s day. I wore it the whole day. I was I in newspapers and, yeah, I went to work with it. My wife wouldn’t let me do it after I married her. It happened this way. I have a way of not taking care of garments. When I was starting to date her, most of my jeans had holes in them. She takes care of her possessions. That how I knew we were serious when she started washing my clothes. But when a woman starts washing your clothes, she gets to say what get discarded and what gets kept. You know my striped shirts? Those were her idea. My wife now dresses me. I used to dress differently.

20)  What are your plans for this blog?

“I’d like make some myths of my own, but that won’t start until the book comes out. I’m thinking it might be fun to add different side stories of the character into the blog, but maybe, too, I might be able to introduce some of the traditional Irish myths. I’ve been wanting write something about the interplay of state fairs in Ireland. There were laws concerning them, such as you couldn’t arrest anyone during a fair and you could not engage in war. All combat had to be resolved before a fair was scheduled to start. I’d also like to write about the Knights of the Red Branch and maybe some adventure that happens to some of the knights. That’s the neat thing about a blog. Speaking from the character, if something doesn’t fit, or if there is something else I want to say, I can always come back with, ‘I was just joking. Here’s what really happened.’ I’m very excited about this. I feel I’m getting closer to that three-day holiday.”

Steward Setback Saturday: How the Real Ed Calkins Became a Fictional Vampire

Saturday, October 16, 2010

How the Real Ed Calkins Became a Fictional Vampire

It was timing, actually.

Two years ago, Ed Calkins and I worked in the same distribution center. He was a supervisor, and I was a newspaper carrier. Ed was always planning something to make working a seven-day job in the middle of the night more lighthearted. One of those “things” was his annual Ed Calkins day parade in honor of his birthday.

The parade was a simple one. Ed would ride a palette jack and toss candy to the carriers. Each year Ed had the parade, I missed it by coming too late to see it (It’s a VERY short parade).

One year, Ed kept pestering me about starting a newsletter for his imaginary kingdom. He had assumed the persona of a “ruthless dictator” dubbed as the “Steward of Tara” and demanded some “media” coverage. So, after missing yet another parade, I presented him with a big red bow and a choice of birthday presents: a monthly one-page newsletter or a bit role as a vampire in Bryony. Ed laughed and said, “Immortality, of course.” Thus, I began rewriting parts of the novel to make room for his character.

Ed’s character grows in plot importance in the three books that currently comprise the Bryony Series, but the fictional Ed Calkins resembles the real Ed Calkins in many ways except one: as a vampire, he is free to fully live the stories he weaves.

Denise M. Baran-Unland

Human Motivation (and a Thoughtful Review)

I'm not even certain where to begin this post.

In fact, it's probably two posts.

As a writer writing to other writers, I could dedicate an entire post to the "whys" and "hows" of, when creating characters for a story, delving into their psyches and probing the motivation of all they do. That, to me, is part of the process to creating lifelike characters.

But when a reader writes to me and says students working on their doctorate in psychology could write a thesis based on the BryonySeries, because the characters are so well-crafted and complex, that means more to me than millions of copies sold.

Although millions of copies sold would be nice, too.

That same reader (at least on the summer side of things) is planning, once the cooler weather arrives, to re-read the Bryony trilogy and Before the Blood (eight books in all), making notes, and perhaps writing a thesis on it.

My response? I'll buy a copy!

The reason is less about being hungry for feedback on my work and more about learning the type of impact years of solitary work has made, on one person, at least.

That said, this same reader left a review on Amazon last night. I've posted it below.

I generally don't need motivation to write. But if I did, this review would do it.

Have a blessed Tuesday, readers, writers, and BryonySeries fans! :)


5.0 out of 5 stars

This prequel to the Bryony series solves some mysteries and creates even more

July 5, 2019

Format: Paperback

Verified Purchase

If you’ve read Denise Baran-Unland’s "Bryony" trilogy (Bryony, Visage and Staked!), you already know it’s a “vampire tale.”

If you’ve read it more than once, you realize it’s much more.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Unland’s series – in part - is a study of what motivates humans (and vampires) to do the things they do. Sounds pretty simple, right?

You may well ask, “Why did the author write eight books attempting to determine why people make bad decisions?"

Consider this: Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung spent decades of research attempting to understand why otherwise intelligent human beings make decisions that impact their lives so negatively. Unlike the aforementioned fellows, Unland has come scarily close to revealing exactly what drives human beings.

Before the Blood: Bryony Simons (BTB) is Unland’s fifth and final prequel. In the trilogy, Bryony Simons, nee Marseilles, has been dead for decades. Her spirit drives the characters, but we never get to know the real Bryony.

The prequels, BTB, Bryony Simons and BTB, Bryony Marseilles, give the reader the opportunity to know (and love) Bryony as a human being in the village of Munsonville.

(This last installment of ) BTB begins more like a fairy tale than Gothic horror. The girl on the brink of womanhood has no memory of her own long-dead mother. Her unrequited love for Owen Munson, her “cowboy,” ends tragically.

Her father preaches love, but is cold and absent. Bryony turns to beautiful Lake Munsonville for solace. She loves and identifies with the lake as she resigns herself to a life without true love.

Then, out of the blue, rich and renowned composer and concert pianist, John Simons, falls immediately and madly in love. At seventeen, Bryony knows little of love and is swept along in the current of his ardor. John Simons, a sophisticated man of the world, agrees to settle in the backwater village of Munsonville to make Bryony happy.

He builds her a mansion replete with servants and ladies in waiting. He dedicates a composition to her and has a hybrid flower named for her. He feeds her delicacies. He coddles and spoils her. John Simons’ entire universe revolves around the fragile young woman.

All is bliss and then it is not. The transition from joy to sorrow is gradual and insidious.

Those who haven’t read the trilogy may not immediately catch the underlying malignancy, but it’s there all the same. The choices all have made come back to haunt them.

There’s John Simons, who has made a deal with the devil.

And there’s the devil himself, Kellen Wechsler, who is ostensibly John Simons’ manager. In this tale, Wechsler is relatively low key and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Henry Matthews - whose deal with the devil is pending - also appears. He lusts quietly for Bryony, sacrificing everything for the opportunity to possess her, even temporarily. His intentions are not evil, but that hardly matters in the scheme of things.

Of special note is Dr. Gothart, a nebulous character. The good doctor is always vaguely behind the scenes pulling strings and offering advice. The human condition seems to be a source of endless amusement to the good doctor. Whether he's a god, a demon or a fey creature, Dr. Gothart is terrifying.

Dr. Gothart’s “daughter,” Millicent, is far less subtle. Her jealousy of Bryony leads her to destroy the girl’s illusions of her beloved lake. As she sees her nurturing lake transformed, she's forced to reassess her own identity.

Unland’s Bryony trilogy and the prequels are cautionary tales. In each book, there are signs galore that read, “DANGER – DO NOT ENTER.” John Simons, Kellen Wechsler and Henry Matthews make conscious decisions to fly into the flames.

Bryony’s decision is more or less made for her. It may be argued that she never had a choice in the decision to marry John Simons. She was a hapless fly caught in a web of illusion.

The Bryony series is a masterpiece. These are not books to be read in an afternoon at the beach. Without a doubt, each book is entertaining - difficult to put down. However, the series is far more than the sum of its books.

I've read the trilogy four times. I've read each of the prequels at least twice. Still, I'm learning something new about the plot, the characters and the author.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."