Thanks so much to the delightful Julie Eberhart Painter for tagging me in this Meet My Characters Blog Hop! Find Julie’s character blog (and lots of other great posts) here. You’ll meet the amazing Skillet Hamilton from Julie’s poignant book, Morning After Midnight. At the end of this post, you’ll find info on four other authors I’m pleased to tag next – their character posts will be live one week from today.

I decided to introduce y’all to Samuel Clement Carver, one of the characters whose lives are inextricably linked in You, Jane. Read on:

• Is your character fictional or a historic person?

Samuel Clement Carver is entirely fictional. Every character in this book is entirely fictional. No, really. Even if they do seem to remind you of people I know, that’s just an illusion. They are all made up. Yup. Fictional.

• When and where is the story set?

In the here and now, mostly Seattle, but with real-world scenes in Kyoto, Taos, and Spokane, and fable-world scenes in unnamed towns, swamps, back roads, and woods. The world of You, Jane is our world, with a peppering of magic and mystery.

• What should we know about him/her?

Sam is lanky, handsome, lonely, funny, always late, loves dogs, plays the ukulele his father gave him before he died, and carries his hell inside him. That’s why he wanders around, never settling anywhere – as soon as he slows down, that hell reaches up to grab him. He’s been a friend of Jane’s since they met at a cult-like ashram community in Taos, and he made sure she got real coffee, not the “fake chicory something or other” the “family” provided. He’s one of the few people Jane trusts enough to tell about the fables she writes that come true and create havoc in her life.

• What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

Not long after Sam’s seventh birthday, his father died in a car accident. Sam was raised by his stepfather, a military man of cold fairness, who helped Sam join the Air Force when he turned 18. Sam became one of the youngest pilots around, and then his plane crashed trying to rescue hostages. He survived, his crew (and friends) did not. Sam’s been wandering around, trying to find someone to keep him company on his road out of hell ever since.

• What is the personal goal of the character?

At the beginning of the story, Sam seeks to avoid feeling the guilt he carries about walking away from the plane crash that killed his mates. He left the military and began a wandering life, carrying only his old knapsack and the ukulele his father gave him. By the end, Sam also seeks a companion in the truest sense of the word: someone to share his life, his wandering, and his bed; someone he can love, support, cherish, and enjoy a good roll in the hay with. He thinks that companion might be Jane.

• Is this novel published, and where can we read more about it?

You, Jane was published in June. You can find it on Amazon for Kindle, at the publisher’s store for any e-book format, and at other fine e-book retailers.

And…coming up next, on September 9:

• Audra Middleton – http://www.audramiddleton.com/monthly-blog

• Matthew Curry – oldkingcurry.wordpress.com

Matt says “I like to write and draw and listen to very old records. So far, I’ve written Citizens of Purgatory and Under the Electric Sun. I’m working on a third novel right now, but I haven’t decided on a title yet.” Don’t let his modesty fool you. He’s an amazing artist of colored pencil drawings, and Citizens of Purgatory is a darkly funny comedy of small town life.

• Celia Breslin – http://www.celiabreslin.com/blog/