Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "Your favorite character to have written and why."
I hate these kinds of questions, I really do.
I DON'T KNOW, OKAY??
Truly, I totally get why readers are interested in my favorites - I'm often interested in hearing from my favorite authors which books or characters of theirs are their favorites. Even better, I *love* hearing from my readers which characters they love best, and why. Maybe because I write a variety of personalities, backgrounds, and life paths, who readers pick as their favorite tells me a lot about how they see the world.
For me, though, the big secret is that ALL of my POV characters represent some aspect of me. I don't think I could write them otherwise. So, while they carry flaws of my own, they also get to live the lives I don't - like wielding actual magic or shapeshifting, or being a man! Some of my characters definitely have more of me than others - but that doesn't necessarily make them my favorite.All of my characters are my favorites for their particular story and journey. I notice I also tend to favor whoever I've written about recently.
So, in mulling this, a few characters do pop up as the ones I have strong feelings for. Thus, if you're forcing me to pick...
I'm going to say Ursula. I don't know if I can say exactly why, except that I truly love her. I think part of why Harlan is a vivid hero for so many is because he loves Ursula so completely, and that reflects my feelings. I love her sense of responsibility and honor, that she's so determined to protect everyone, that she's intelligent, clever, and a skilled warrior. She has depths of emotion, of vulnerability and deep love that she hides behind a thick wall. And she's always trying to do better, to be a better person, queen, partner, and sister.
There we are. I believe I've convinced myself!
Now, reward me for my thrashing and tell me YOUR favorite :D
