BOTS 2: Sandy Williams

THE UNRELIABLE SIDEKICK 
by Sandy Williams

When Tori asked me to stop by to talk about my favorite secondary characters, several contenders leapt to mind. Surprisingly, almost every one of them is from epic fantasies, not from urban fantasies. There’s Durzo Blint from Brent Week’s Night Angel Trilogy. I never knew if he was going to kill my favorite characters or if he was going to help them.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the sword from Brandon Sanderson’s novel, WARBREAKER. A sword might not be your typical sidekick, but this one had a great, bloodthirsty personality that made me laugh out loud more than once.

And my most recent favorite: Tyrion Lannister. I loved him when I read the first two books of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, but the HBO series reminded me of just how awesome the character is. And, again, Tyrion is someone whose allegiance you aren’t quite sure about. He might aid you, or he might stab you in the back. Or rather, have someone else stab you in the back because doing it himself would be way too much work.

I didn’t realize just how much epic fantasy influences my writing until these characters shoved their way to the top of my favorite list. Of course, my writing is also influenced by urban fantasy and paranormal romance, so when I create my sidekicks, sexy is definitely an added attribute. There’s one particular character in my debut, The Shadow Reader, whom I absolutely love. His name is Lorn, and he shoved his way into my story about halfway into it.

Literally, shoved. I had no clue he existed until he popped up on the page.

The Shadow Reader doesn’t hit shelves until October 25^th, but I think you guys will love Lorn as much as I do. To convince you that he could be the sexiest sidekick of them all, I present:

Five Reasons Why You’re Going to Love Lorn  

1. Lorn is a charmer. Think Trent Kalamack from Kim Harrison’s Hollows Series. Sure, Rachel might despise him most of the series, but the rest of society kind of loves him, and I’ve always had more than a small crush on him.

2. Lorn is powerful. At one point, my heroine, McKenzie, questions: “Who is he? The Godfather of the Realm?" It's a good comparison.

3. Lorn is hot. He reminds me of Balthier from Final Fantasy XII, and his personality only makes him more attractive. (I’m a total sucker for a good personality.)

4. Lorn is his own man. He has his own objectives in life which may or may not coincide with the heroine’s, so you never quite know what side he’s on. If you love that kind of suspense, you’ll love him.

5. Lorn would totally resent being called a sidekick. In his oh-so-humble opinion, he’s always the most important person in the room.


Lorn is an awesome character to hang out with. I hope you guys adore him as much as I do. What kind of sidekicks do you usually fall in love with? Do you like a character who plays with your expectations? Or do you like knowing exactly where his or her loyalties lie?

---

Giveaway

Win a galley of...

A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn't her only secret. She's in love with Kyol, the King's sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Giveaway Guidelines:
* Open US only
* Leave a comment with your email address
* This giveaway ends September 7th
* IMPORTANT: I will not be contacting winners! Be sure to check back after September 7th to see if you've won this or any of the other giveaways! 

Extra Entries:
* Link back to this giveaway on some social networking site or on your blog. Be sure to include the link to your post in your giveaway entry--and make sure that I can view it! (For every site you do this on, you'll receive one extra entry)