A Tale of Two Olivias

The Olivia of Forging Day was born in my head many years ago (before I had my nearly 16 year old daughter) at a tabletop post-apocalyptic Dungeons & Dragons game. Sure, there are some similarities. She has the same name. They both became Dark Elves. She had a sister named Cordelia and a brother named Leo (who was in the military), but that's about it. And I almost forgot about her flying motorcycle. That thing rocked!

I remember the original Olivia used to keep a kill count. And her favorite weapon was a Glock.

My Olivia now doesn't use guns, though her dad, a cop, did make sure she knew how to safely use a firearm. My Olivia is far more skilled at magic than old Olivia. And I didn't set out to make it that way, but my Olivia doesn't have a particularly high body count. Sure, there is a fair amount of violence in her stories, but on the way home from work today I thought about how she's been doing.

She killed one person in Forging Day, and it was self defense.
She kills dangerous slimes and critters in Family Values. Not that she doesn't intend to kill certain parties, but ...you'll see.
She doesn't actually kill anyone in California Dreaming (book 3). The old Olivia would have had a body count in this one - trust me.
Um, things get a little bloodier in book 4, Dungeon Raiders. I think people will agree with her choices, but I guess we will see when the time comes.

Old Olivia, now this was more her style.

I know we're leading up to the release day for Furious Misfortune, the companion book to Forging Day, and Family Values, the sequel to Forging Day, but I really can't wait until California Dreaming comes out too. You see Aerin, Olivia's mentor ( and she also makes an appearance in Bryan's book, Dragon's Luck) was my original Dungeons and Dragon's character from over twenty years ago.

My husband and I met playing AD&D (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons). He ran the game and I hosted the locale. Aerin, Angus, Lilah, Geneva, the kids, Cartamandua, the Llewellyns - they're all from those long ago days. Ah, if only you could see the boxes of Aerin's story. I wrote out everything longhand on tablets. I have books full of her facts and stats. I have a freaking family tree for her. I kept absolutely everything.

Yes, this is Olivia's story, but I still hold Aerin and her family dear in my heart. This was my model for Lilah. You'll meet Lilah soon enough. Don't worry.

This picture always reminded me of younger Aerin.

And so...after not blogging much, have I babbled on long enough? Believe me, I don't get tired of talking about my characters.

Until next time....