Character Chat with Evan Llewellyn

Welcome once more to another edition of Character Chat, where I sit down with one of my many characters and have a little chat with them. This meme was actually started by my dear friend, Beth Ann Masarik, who chats frequently with the characters from her debut novel, The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness. 

Today I have with me, Evan Llewellyn, from my work in progress tentatively titled Llewellyn's Pride. In the story, Evan's father and brothers are all big cat shapeshifters who have a circus act called Llewellyn's Pride. For the summer, the show has been stationed at a Renaissance type faire, where Evan meets Lily Reynolds.

 A tingle tickled the back of my neck, alerting me to the fact that I was no longer alone in my office. I looked up from my laptop and grinned when I saw Evan Llewellyn casually leaning against the door frame of the open door, his arms crossed and a smile quirking the corners of his mouth as he watched me work. He entered the room without an invitation, sauntering over to perch on the corner of my desk.


"Working on more shamanism and spirit animal homework?" he asked, the deep timbre of his voice surprising me as much as it had surprised Lily when they first met. I continued to smile as I sat back in my chair.


"Are you interested in things like that?" I asked the shapeshifter. He shrugged one broad shoulder.


"It goes along with the myth my dad likes to tell about how we came to be what we are today."


"You mean, how you came to be shapeshifters?"


"Yeah." He settled more comfortably on the edge of my desk, turning his body towards me as he told the tale. "As my dad says it, thousands of years ago, the Horned God, Cernunnos, blessed some of his most devoted followers with the gift to change their skin and bodies into that of an animal of their choosing. My ancestor who was chosen first changed into a panther and since then, that line of men has been shapeshifting into felines ever since."


"Have there ever been female shapeshifters?"

"Not in my family, but there have been in others." 


"So, what most interested you in the research I've been doing?"


"The animal spirit stuff. The lion's strong family ties, strength and courage remind me so much of my dad and the tiger's power, energy and ability to act without analysis reminded me so much of my brother Broderick; he's always been a bit of a hot head when he thinks he's doing what's right to protect our family. And then of course, the black panther's guardian energy and ability to know the darkness... well, that's just me." He rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish grin on his handsome face. I had to admit I couldn't agree more with his analysis of his family and himself.


"That's pretty cool," I told him.


"So, do you think there's any chance of you working on our story some time soon?"


"I don't know," I admitted. "But it's on my list of things to accomplish this year. I hope you guys will be patient with me. I just want to get your story right."


"We can always be patient." He slipped off the edge of my desk, a big grin stretched across his face. "I'll see ya around, Erin."


"Bye, Evan."


I pulled out a notebook and wrote down the story of his family getting their abilities from the Celtic God, Cernunnos, as Evan left the room. Just as the door closed behind him, another question popped into my head. If they were blessed by a Celtic God, why do they have Japanese names for their animals during the show?


That's it for today. I hope everyone enjoyed getting a small glimpse into another character's life. :)