Well, I’ve teased my novel Where the Orchids Grow Wild since the end of last year. I finished the first draft the last week of December and then took a month away from it before my editor and I really dug deep into the manuscript. Drum roll, please.

As we speak, the final copyediting draft before formatting is in the hands of my editor. When she gets it back to me, I will finalize all the changes and then begin formatting it for the ebook and paperback publication tentatively set for the middle to end of August. All this is very exciting. And a little daunting. But, as I’ve written many times about this on Whiskers, we must be fearless. So here I am, tackling a bevy of technical aspects to publishing a book, meeting with my book cover designer, formulating the interior formatting with all the design elements, taking book marketing courses, swallowing my dislike of social media, and all around jumping feet first into the deep end. It’s a lot; a lot more than I originally understood. But, I believe, in the end, all of this will be worth it. I want to publish this novel. I want you, dear readers, to be able to read it. I believe it is my best writing to date. And, I absolutely love my cast of characters.

Which brings me to today’s blog post: Meet the Cast. While any novel has a large assortment of characters you will meet, I will be focusing on three main characters today. The principles, if you will.

BRIGIDA SOMERSET

When Where the Orchids Grow Wild opens, Brigida Somerset has just docked in Singapore. In fact, she’s still aboard The Dutiful, the steamer that brought her and her invalid brother, Owen, from England. Owen Somerset, many years Brigida’s senior, was horrifically injured during World War I. Mustard gas destroyed his lungs and his eyes; a mortar shell paralyzed him from the waist down. When Brigida first saw him in the hospital, she was only fifteen years old. However, whether a callow youth or not, Brigida knew she had to make a decision that day: regardless of the hardships that would come, she would be there for Owen. After all, hadn’t he been there for her at the untimely death of her mother when she was just a girl? Now, a decade later, she’s devoted her life to him. But, as is the way with such catastrophic injuries, Owen’s condition is deteriorating. His doctors in England recommended going somewhere warmer, tropical, exotic in a last hope to ameliorate his condition and extend his life.

So, that’s where we find Brigida when the story opens. Standing alone, late at night, on the stern of The Dutiful, wistfully considering her life and how different it’s turned out to be. And, perhaps a little dangerously, she’s woolgathering, daydreaming about the things she longs for, the love she doesn’t even dare to consider as a possibility, even though, to date, there’s no Prince Charming to actually fill those shoes, but, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Captain Max Pimburton

If you would have told Maximillian Pimburton that he would become an established sea captain who owned his own tramp freighter, Mirabelle, when he was a youth growing up in the wilds of northern Scotland with his autocratic Aunt Augusta, he would have laughed. Going to sea never crossed his mind as a child. Nor when he was at  Eton or Oxford. He had made the law his profession, albeit, maritime law. Perhaps that’s where his love for the sea began. But it wasn’t until after the end of the Great War, when he could no longer acclimate to normal society, that the sea’s siren call drew him. Now, over ten years later, he’s made a life for himself. It’s a good one. He owns his beloved Mirabelle. He has seen the world, places he’d only dreamt of as a child. He’s followed in the footsteps of his heroes, adventuring and discovering new people and place. And he’s established himself within his industry of freight cargo as a man of integrity. And, in the South Pacific Seas, that’s a rare and worthy reputation to have. But, something’s missing. Of last, Max has been restless. A quiet yearning has birthed itself. Probably during one of those lazy cargo hauls where there is little do but think about dreams he’d long forgotten. Hopes he shelved after the disillusionment of war eviscerated him.

Now, having just returned to Singapore after a ten week cargo haul through the myriad islands of the South Pacific, Max wants a woman. Not a good time gal. A woman who he can love, who he can build his life with. But, his thoughts aren’t all carefree even in his daydreams. Doubts hang over him like the sword of Damocles; what woman would want to embrace the strange life of a sea captain? For, indeed, it is a strange life, filled with long, languid days floating out at sea, and even adventures that dip him straight into perilous waters.

And yet, in the dark of night, he sees a vision at the stern of The Dutiful. From his vantage on the bow of Mirabelle, cloaked in shadow, he watches as this mystery woman’s thoughts play out across her face. Less than 100 feet of water separate them. And though it may be dark, Max has a presentiment, a presage that this woman limned in shipboard light may be just the woman his heart desires.

Lord Finnegan O’Handley

There are times in a writer’s life when a character springs Athena-like fully formed from the author’s mind. Lord Finnegan O’Handley is one such character for me. I heard his voice clearly. I knew him entirely. And, dear reader, I absolutely love him.

Lord Finnegan O’Handley is Captain Max’s best friend. They have been chums since their boyhood at school together. They served in the war together; true brothers-in-arms. And, when Max signed up to go on a two year ocean voyage around South America to the Galapagos and over to the South Pacific, Finnegan shirked his title and his duties at home and signed up too. Since then he’s made Singapore his home, buying an abandoned rubber plantation, and making a lucrative go of it.

Where Max is content to live his life away from society holed up on his Mirabelle with his books, Finnegan gets a real kick out of the Settlement Colony culture. He’s a member at the Singapore Cricket Club, where he plays rugby to great acclaim. He zips all around Singapore in his fire engine red Alfa Romeo. He’s the creme de la creme of Singaporean society, attending Galas at Raffles and the like. And, he’s a veritable fount for information. All kinds, covert, clandestine, and, sometimes, downright salacious.

Finnegan is the sort that never seems to take anything seriously. Except that he does. He just doesn’t want people knowing that little tidbit. But, dear readers, this penchant for weightiness, while he may make fun of it in Max, he’s guilty of it himself.

And while Finnegan understands Max’s desire to find someone to build a life with, he also thinks Max’s timing is terrible. You see, ten months ago, Max got himself in a bit of a fix, sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, albeit for all the right reasons. But, now, one of the biggest crime families in Singapore has Max in the middle of their radar. Revenge is afoot, and Max has his head in the clouds. Thankfully, Finnegan ain’t so twitterpated. He has his ear to the ground, and he hears the rumblings of trouble on the horizon.

So, there you have it. My three principles. Now, while the book is written from two points of view, Brigida’s and Max’s, Finnegan finds his way into a great many scenes. He’s a scene stealer in some. So, it’s only right that I include him in a Meet the Cast post.

And, if you’re thinking that I haven’t provided nearly enough information for you to sink your teeth into, have no fear, there will be more posts coming, and soon enough, the book itself. So, keep your eyes peeled for any emails coming from Whiskers on Kittens for all the exciting updates about the book. And, if you haven’t signed up for the newsletter here at the blog, then do that. The months ahead will be chock full of news and giveaways that you won’t want to miss.