I know that I have my strengths. I’m one of those dependable, hard-working, conscientious, intellectual types. I’ve been called a walking encyclopedia. People like me have a place and a role.

I often think, though, how terrible the world would be if everyone was like my perfectionistic, introverted, risk-averse self. NOTHING would get done or get made.

I’m not a go-getter, at all, and that’s okay. Not everyone needs to be. I’m sensitive and quiet until you get to know me. I don’t often speak out. Well, we DO need some C-suite, Type A types out there!

Meet the Crimson League

I love how the story of the Crimson League–the resistance movement in my upcoming YA sword and sorcery action/ adventure–shows the blessings that our different temperaments, talents, and inclinations bring.

I wasn’t thinking of that when writing. But the fact remains that, while the different members of the League, with their different backgrounds and gifts, have some tension, each one of them is needed. Each one of their unique persons and personalities is needed in the fight. Each contributes something vital that NO ONE ELSE in the group could contribute.

MENIKAS is a nobleman, a strategist, and the League’s head. He’s telekinetic, which comes in handy. He thinks and acts quickly.

LANOKAS, his brother, is more light-hearted. He’s a swordsman, also telekinetic, and he helps make tough and dangerous living conditions more bearable.

NESLAN is the League’s scholar. He’s smart, sensitive, and braver than he looks. He has one of the best-formed consciences in the League. He thinks outside the box and really helps with strategy and tactics.

LASKENAY is a former duchess and the last member of the League from the noble class. She heads the League with Menikas, working hand in hand with him. Her feminine insights and instincts are irreplaceable. (Tomorrow 5/29 is her character spotlight. Make sure to check it out.)

RANLER is from the city. He’s street-smart and a former cat burglar. He’s not afraid to do necessary dirty work or to speak his mind. He’s great at assessing risks on the ground level, so to speak, and helps to get the League weapons and supplies.

BENNIE is a farm girl. Ranler trained her as his apprentice, so she’s handy with a lock pick, but more than that, she has a will of steel, holds onto hope, and is the beating heart of the soul of the League.

KANSTEN grew up near Bennie. She is bold and brash, and never afraid to speak her mind or challenge the leaders of the League when she feels they need to be challenged for the good of everyone. She’s difficult, but loyal and unflappable.

WILHEM is a spy in sorcerer Zalski Forzythe’s elite guard. Irreplaceable, indeed.

BIDD is young, brash, and has a lot to learn regarding wisdom and war. But he acts when it’s necessary. He’s a great archer, and that’s needed.

HAYDEN is also an archer, and Bidd’s cousin. He’s quiet and sensitive. Like many in the real world, his contributions are subtle but no less critical for that. He has a hidden talent that proves critical indeed.

SEDDER is brave and chivalric. He’s a swordsman and more insightful than he looks. He also grew up with protagonist Kora. This means he keeps her focused and persevering after events throw her lot in with the League’s.

KORA is the protagonist. She ends up being the cog around which everything turns, despite her uncertainty, her fear, and her doubts–and not in the way you’d expect. Not in the way anyone expects, or even dares to hope.

Some members of the League have talents more obviously useful in a magical civil war. Some contribute in quieter ways. Some might be tempted to wonder what their role is, or why they’re there, or how they could possibly be needed.

But each one of them IS needed. Each one is beautifully necessary as the story of the League unfolds–the quiet ones and the brash ones, the thinkers and those who rush to act, the sensitive ones and the hardened ones.

So it is in real life. Each one of us is unique and irreplaceable. We fight different flaws and foster different gifts, but we all share a common human dignity. That’s just so beautiful to me!

If you liked this post, please share, and mark your calendars for the June 15 release of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope. You can like my Facebook page here, or read an excerpt as well!