I love a twisty plot, and it’s even better with deep & endearing characters. It’s my hope that is what you’ll find at the enchanted circus in the Unfixed duology.
Max and Julia are the main characters discovering this enchanted circus along with you, the reader. And I think you’ll come to love the complicated circus folk as well. Here, let me introduce you…
1. The Shadow, Nick
He didn’t acknowledge her at all, instead staring wide-eyed out the tent opening in a way that made Julia wonder if he was looking at something that was no longer there—something he had seen moments before in the dark of the tent, that gripped him more fiercely than this dusky reality could.
Dear, sweet Nick. Who faces fear every day, afraid of the dark and for good reason. Strong enough to hold his own against the likes of Analiese, while kind enough to welcome the newcomer others aren’t too certain about. His steadiness amidst all the other characters’ whims is refreshing.
2. Not-so-psychic Phoebe
Julia leaned towards the tent entrance, but her feet froze in uncertainty at Phoebe’s piercing gaze. Anyone caught in that gaze knew beyond a shadow that Phoebe saw things she had no business seeing. For what reason—destiny or calamity or happenstance—that was yet to be determined.
Most people in this story either have a reckless, bold confidence or little at all. Phoebe is a different matter. She exudes an unassuming, quiet assuredness. She understands who she is and who others are, or at least unlike the others, she’s decided what she understands is enough. She doesn’t see much. But what she does see matters to her much more than what she doesn’t. Some characters are bothered by that, some don’t believe it, and some come to admire it, with time.
3. The Sculptor Analiese
The point is, we’re all con artists in our own way. Me, Geppetto, the Trenchers, you… everyone. Going through life saying and doing what needs to be done for ourselves, even at the expense of others. You should know that. I’ve seen it, and you’ve seen it. I’ve done it. And you have, too. And most people are just good enough con artists or just gullible enough marks that they con themselves into thinking they’re the ones—the only ones—who are genuine.
Granted, characters in Unfixed don’t necessarily have a healthy outlook on life or relationships. It’s one of those stories where “Aww, their relationship is so endearing,” and also “No, that’d be so unhealthy in real life, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Just about everyone is hiding something in Unfixed, especially Analiese. You get a good sense of the lies from just the first line of the first chapter.
So when Analiese sees the world as being made of con artists, it’s a bit extreme. And in another sense, it has a ring of truth in there. Of the self-preservation motivation that entangles us into pretending with others. That we all have it , and yet can convince ourselves otherwise. It’s a pretty bleak outlook, yes. But in some sense it levels the playing field again; that sometimes I’m a pretender just like you, and maybe one day we can catch glimpses of each other beneath if we pay attention.
4. Unassuming Sullivan
She was too busy studying the woman selling popcorn, the man pointing the way to a small tent to some group asking questions, the bumbling fellow with a large name tag that said Sullivan who was picking up a bit of trash that had fallen to the side, and the general hum of meager circus activity from seemingly ordinary folks who found their way here. Were they like her, too?
I love how to me even side characters in Unfixed are endearing and memorable. Maybe both ironic and fitting that Sullivan almost didn’t make it into the story. I really wanted his story to be told, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it justice given his circumstances. He was in the first draft, but it wasn’t working. At all. I cut out his characters and rewrote. Someone else stole his moments for a few drafts. And it worked better. But his story kept haunting me. And Unfixed still wasn’t quite what it was meant to be without his part. So I tried again. I am honored he gave me the chance to get it right. I am grateful I really took the time to listen. His story is so important, and I’m glad it made it in.
5. Acrobatic RaeChaeline
RaeChaeline stands there, remembering whatever atrocities had happened that day. The crowds, many of them kids, running for their lives, escaping. No casualties, a miracle if ever there was one. No found casualties I should say, and that’s the mystery of it. No bodies, only a number of vanishing persons. Not missing persons. Vanishing persons. There is so mystical of an air around the whole event that even the public statement says “vanishing” as if it were of their own accord to disappear. And who knows, maybe it was. No one knows, or the ones who do won’t talk, like for instance…
RaeChaeline had been there. What had she seen?
RaeChaeline snuck up on me. So many great characters do. She was the snooty aloof acrobat, and for debatably good reason you’ll later come to find out. And I left it at that. A side character. But what a side character she turned out to be! She’s got secrets to share, if you dare to stick around for them. There’s a special place in my heart for her twisted outlook on life. You’ll see.
If you’re ready to run away to the enchanted circus and get to know these characters and their stories, grab the Unfixed duology.