T. K. Arispe

 The other protagonist of the novel I've been working on. Brainy Carrie has spent her entire life overachieving to try to please her parents and teachers, but in the middle of her biotechnology master's thesis, she suffers a health breakdown, throwing her family's perfect-looking life into disarray. Between endless bouts of medical testing, failing college classes she was once acing because she can't get out of bed, a boyfriend who's never satisfied with her efforts, and the stress the situation is causing her family, Carrie feels like she's letting everyone down--and then Saturos spirits her away to Castle Ravenscrag.

While at first understandably upset that she has to be the damsel in distress while her younger sister Tam gets to go on the epic adventure, Carrie finds that Saturos isn't nearly as villainous as he wanted to seem, and the other residents of Ravenscrag, despite their monstrous appearances, are every bit as kind and friendly as their dark lord. Carrie also discovers that she has reality-bending powers that only manifest in this world, and Saturos brought her here because he needed her help saving his planet from an ancient threat poised to reawaken.

As Carrie eases into life at Ravenscrag, where everyone actually seems invested in her happiness, her health returns and Saturos helps her come to some important realizations about her situation back on Earth. With her fondness for Ravenscrag growing, and her friendship with Saturos deepening, Carrie must ultimately decide whether she wants to continue to try to chase after the expectations of people who take too much from her, or to be happy in someplace she truly loves with the best friends she's ever had--and then there's also the looming problem of Tam on the loose getting into all sorts of trouble with archaic elementals in an attempt to rescue her sister.

Carrie and Tam are the dual heroines of the novel, which follows their separate and very different adventures in the fantasy world of Arthabasca. Carrie is the polar opposite of her sister in many ways, and she comes from me wanting to see more speculative fiction about kind, polite people who get to go on adventures. I was that nerdy kid who spent summer breaks reading all the fantasy and sci-fi I could get my hands on in the children's section of the library, but one thing that used to drive me crazy was how many of those books involved a mouthy, self-centered protagonist who just complained the whole time they were journeying through a really fascinating setting and interacting with lovable creatures. I get that what those authors were probably trying to do is give the reader the satisfaction of watching the protagonist build character through their trials, but for me, it also just kinda sent the (unrealistic) message that only those with egregious personality flaws get to enjoy fantastic escapades. (Nearly as bad is Exhibit B, the protagonist who is eternally clueless about how the fantasy world works and shows no desire to actually explore and learn about their surroundings, just to go defeat the bad guy ASAP so they can hurry and get back to mundane reality, which strangely appeals to them more.) 

It always seemed like the adventures happened to the characters who didn't appreciate them, and it was really fulfilling to finally write about a heroine who actually enjoys getting clothes made for her by giant spiders, befriending the resident demonic sorcerer, and living her best life in the obligatory foreboding (but very comfortable) fortress where the weather is always stormy for some reason.

I also wanted Carrie's character arc to speak to people who may be struggling with putting too much pressure on themselves and/or letting other people put too much pressure on them. Life isn't supposed to be about joining the rat race and seeing how impressive of a career you can achieve--you contribute the most to the world when you're doing what truly makes you happy, and your real value to others lies in how you lift their lives, not how much money you make or how many accomplishments your resumé lists.