Favorite Character contest!

[Harper]

Hi there faithful forum members!

I have 6 copies of the novella collection Mean Streets (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451462491?ie=UTF8&tag=katrichardson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0451462491"/>) to give away, so I'm proposing a little contest which I hope will bring in some new blood and also give you guys a chance to win books!

Here's the deal:

Post a response to this thread saying who your favorite secondary character (can't be Harper) is in the Greywalker series, which book they are in, and why you think they are cool/bad/fun/scary/whatever. You can only have one "favorite" but you can discuss other people's posts and edit yours if you want. I'll read the posts and the comments and (with a little help from the comments and so on) I'll pick the winners and mail them a signed copy of the book. Signed by me, that is, since I doubt I'll be able to get the other authors to sign it. But I'll send them anywhere in the world.

All favorites must be posted to this thread by midnight, forum time (-8GMT) on January 16 (that's on the midnight when the 16th ends and the 17th begins) and you can only have one "favorite" post to your name but you can comment on as many as you wish. Yes, there's nothing to stop you from cheating by making a new log in and posting more, but why would you do that...?

[Thing One]

I want to talk about my favorite supporting character, but as you know :) I already am lucky enough to have an autographed copy of Mean Streets (The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog ROCKS).

I love Quinton. I have since he first appeared, and OMG Underground.... *sigh*
He is so intelligent, myserious, funny and is willing to carry Chaos in his pocket *grin*
I am soooo glad he is in Harper's life. He reminds me of some brilliant and odd people I have had the priviledge to know.

I can hardly wait to see what he does in future books.

(I just listened to the Audiobook of Poltergeist, and was so fascinated by the information Quinton provided on the seance room)

[Harper]

Quinton is always fun to write--he gets to dabble in fun stuff. Book 4 includes his attempts to build a "ghost detector." I can hardly wait to be finished and send it to the publisher. (bwahahaha)

[NinaN]

i loved Will... (don't get me wrong i loved Quinton so much that when he and Harper finally got together i had to go shag my own partner for various hours to make the desire fade)

but i loved Will. his beautiful carefree attitude. his innocence. his disappointment in Harpers ability to be normal.

i adore his ability to live a normal life. how everything is so simple. his pleasure in antiques, his bond with Mickey. i'm jealous!

[Deyaniera]

My favorite character is Mara. I love her brightness, her quirkiness, her big heart, and her compassion.

I also love the fact that she lives with a ghost and doesn't mind it! That is just awesome. Oh, and her putting up with Ben rules, too! :D

--Kara

[macbeaner]

I have to admit. I love Quinton. I keep rooting that Harper will take an interest in him. Weird. Anyways, I always go for the techie geek and his shady past is intriguing. I look forward to learning more about him!

[javacatz]

Quinton. I really like his character and personality. Also, he's got such an intriguing past. And there is definitely a lot going on in that brain.

Runner-up for favorite would be Chaos. :-)

[IYamVixen]

Mara is my favorite character. I have only had a chance to read GREYWALKER and POLTERGEIST and she has been excellent in both. I can only hope she is in the rest of the series. Mara doesn't take any crap, is a good mom. And the fact that she's a witch...well, speaks for itself.

[Hagelrat]

tricky, I have a little crush on Quentin, Will just bugged me, but one of my favourite characters is actually the deeply creepy and unpleasant Carlos. It's such a huge relief to see vamps being seriously unpleasant, not remotely sexy and utterly self serving. I wouldn't want him to be a focus of the books but his role in Greywalker was perfect and his position on the peripheral of the other books and Harper's life with the Grey is just right. I hope we get to see him in a bigger role again at somepoint. :sasmokin:

[bigferret]

Chaos is my favorite character. But then I am a little bias. Ferrets for me are the embodiment of joy. There is nothing like a weasel war dance to make you smile.

Now if I need a human, I love Quinton. He is just so quirky and smart. Harper asks him for the strangest things and he just rolls with it. I would love to be that easy going.

[Mist]

I have to agree with several others here, Quinton is my favorite character besides Harper.

I look forward to finding out more about him and how he ended up where he is. And I think he and Harper are a good fit. I think Harper really needs to have someone who knows about the Grey and understands she might be doing strange stuff.

Will was nice, but didn't seem to understand that there's more to Harper than meets the eye.

[Harper]

... one of my favourite characters is actually the deeply creepy and unpleasant Carlos. It's such a huge relief to see vamps being seriously unpleasant, not remotely sexy and utterly self serving. I wouldn't want him to be a focus of the books but his role in Greywalker was perfect and his position on the peripheral of the other books and Harper's life with the Grey is just right. I hope we get to see him in a bigger role again at somepoint. :sasmokin:

You're not actually the first person to say that Carlos is interesting or a favorite. Just to be a little spoilery, Carlos has a very important part to play in Book 5, so you will be seeing more of him there. I can't guarantee it'll be nice... but he'll be there.

[Hagelrat]

very cool. :roll:

[nerdgirl]

Carlos is my fav character. It is great to see vampires portrayed in this manner; mean, heartless and power hungry. I am stoked that he will be in the upcoming books as well.
(I also love Quinton and was really happy to see Will leave the scene!)

[Sakutian]

I'd have to go with Will, Quntion is great too of course, but Will just has something about him. He's fun and interesting to me, he plays the ordinary guy who is slowly being dragged into a world he can never really be part of or understand. Although he doesn't get the nice bonus of magical abilities or super powers, he's just expected to cope with it or be kept in the dark.

His always awkward and cutely bumbled by fate relationship with Harper always made me alugh and wince a bit. SSmehow it just worked.

There has only been one moment when I really and truly didn't like him in all of the books so far.

[Amers3]

Quinton is my favorite character I love the mysteriousness of him. Of not knowing what he is about, is he part of Harper's new world or is he a human?

He was totally cool around the vampires and helping Harper with the ley lines, it makes you wonder how he got all of this magically knowledge, unless he was something magically himself.

Trying to think of other creatures that might fit into this world and might fit Quinton doesn't result in much. All I can think is Incubus but that doesn't sound right either. Either way I cannot wait to see what lies in Quinton's mysterious past.

[Pogonip]

Carlos, of course. He's good looking, has that magnetic personality (common to vampires,) strong, confident, intelligent, amusing. He's not needy. A few pints of red from time to time is all he needs. No cooking required. He's rich. He handles rejection well, probably because he doesn't really believe it, he thinks he'll eventually get what he wants. He has time. Of course, he's a total sociopath. Or is the current term "psychopath"? He keeps us wondering what's next. Will he help? What's in it for him?

That's why he's my favorite character, second to Harper, of course.

[Brother Brian]

It's kind of a tossup between Quinton and Ben.

Quinton is easy to love. He's socially...inept seems harsh but let's just say he's better with "stuff" than with people. He's a nerd. He's amazingly loyal, and is from first contact, when he really owed Harper nothing.

Ben's easy to miss. He isn't "hawt" like Will, as obviously useful as Quinton, as dangerous as Carlos, as cute and fluffy as Chaos, doesn't have "power" like Mara. But he's the guy who does what needs doing, be it keeping Rhino-boy from harm or doing the thankless task of research.

I can respect that.

[BlueNinja]

Ben is definately my favorite from the series. He has, well, nothing, compared to everyone else Harper runs around with - no magic, no supernatural abilities, no useful shady past, just the ability to read books (and control a small boy, which I wish I had). He's kind of like Giles from Buffy, but without the ability to fight. Yet despite that, he's always there with useful information and a sort of wistful I-wish-I-could-do-that sense that reminds me of myself.

[Harper]

Boy you guys are making this hard. How'm I going to pick with you all being so reasonable and clever...? I may be forced to randomize this... ;)

[BlueNinja]

*slips Harper some dice*

[Harper]

You, sir, are wicked....

[Sakutian]

If it makes it any easier I'll forfeit my chance, I already have a copy of Mean Streets coming my way so there's no need to be greedy.

[Harper]

Oh, don't worry about it. I always figure these things out. And you can always give a spare copy away or as a gift. I do personalize them as requested, not just "dear eBay winner..." ;)

[Lora's Ghost]

I would love to say Quinton for all wonderful reasons that others have mentioned, but I would have to say Phoebe is my favorite from Poltergeist. I love her wit, her accent and her family (especially since they always want to "fatten" Harper up).
Phoebe is her own person, much like Harper, she has her own life and business and I admire her spirit above all things. She has heart and always wants to act in best interest of those she cares about. However, she is never one to triffle with and if you cross her you do so at your risk, just read the sign in her store.
"He Who Steals My Coat Gets Trashed"

[Biggie McLargehuge]

Chaos, most definitely. No one else can cause that level of destruction while looking so ridiculously adorable.

[jbeaneii]

I'm only 1/2 way through Poltergeist but I'd have to say Quinton hands down.
I work at MIT and the MacGyver type solutions he came up with for Harper in Greywalker reminded me of a lot of Grad students around here. As I've said I'm only 1/2 in 2nd book but I assume he'll be around for the 3rd and 4th too.
At least I hope so.

J

[Sakutian]

Wow it seems like everybody likes Quinton best, I figured Chaos would get more votes than him if nothing else.

[jbeaneii]

I thought about Chaos, but I've never owned a ferret. A good friend used to have an albino ferret that would ride his Roomba around the house.

J

[Harper]

I just wish my ferret would even use the vacuum... he's so lazy!

[Sakutian]

Oh a roomba is a vaccum?! I've been thinking it was some sort of danicng exercise machine or something all. Haha cute little lazy ferret, isn't it good for them to be that way though? Lazy ferrets would seem less like to cause...well Chaos.

[Ginger Lewis]

It's so very hard to choose because there are some truly wonderful characters in these books, and all of them, even the unlikeable ones, are vibrant and real. I nearly picked Quinton, and I nearly picked Mara, but my favourite though, is Phoebe from Poltergeist.

Her warmth really shines through and I can practically hear her voice, with her dem's and dat's in her dialogue. Beneath the warmth and the obvious compassion she has for her friends and family, Phoebe is clearly an incredibly strong and independent-minded woman. Sure, she gets mad sometimes, but not for long, she doesn't let it eat at her or spoil her friendships.

I would love to have someone like Phoebe as a friend but I'd hate to have her as an enemy, lest she slaps an obeah-curse on me. :)

[Harper]

Hehehe... Phoebe was originally in the first book, but she didn't do much and the editor asked me to cut her to keep the book more focused on Harper's immediate problems. (Solis was also in the original drafts of Greywalker and met the same fate.) But you know Phoebe... she just doesn't take "no" for an answer, so I had to put her in and then she dragged her whole family along!

A lot of my minor characters start out in other places and migrate to their own book in time. A character in Vanished originally turned up in the first draft of Underground, but once again, he was just hanging out and making the story muddy, so... he got thrown out, but insisted on coming back for his own appearance in the next book. And of course there's Zip who showed up in Poltergeist and then had a bigger part in Underground--pretty typical.

Ben also started out as a tiny part and Mara was originally "just" his wife, but various demands of the story and editor changed that drastically. Now I'm very glad I let his invisible wife and perfect child have some actual screen time and foibles.

My friends and family also turn up in the books. Usually under their own names, but a few are disguised. It's easy to pick out some of the people I've "Tuckerized" by reading the acknowledgments but a few are incognito. However, contrary to popular belief, my mother does not appear in any of the books. My mother-in-law does, but not my mom. Or at least not yet, 'cause "never" is a loooooooong time....

Someone mentioned Dr. Skelleher recently and there's another character who changed. He originally had the part Ben fills in books, but I couldn't figure out how a young ER doctor actually had time for anything but his job, so... he got cut down to just the one scene.

[eccentricred1]

I think I may be the odd one out here but I'm a big fan of Fish! Part of it is definitely the name but I really liked his part of the idealistic forensic pathologist/ handy Native American guy in Underground... I really, really hope he shows up again!

[Sakutian]

I think I may be the odd one out here but I'm a big fan of Fish! Part of it is definitely the name but I really liked his part in underground... I hope he shows up again!

Fish is an awesome character and I really liked him as well, he's in the Mean Streets story too so that alone makes it worth taking a look at.

[eccentricred1]

Fish is an awesome character and I really liked him as well, he's in the Mean Streets story too so that alone makes it worth taking a look at.

Oh heck yes! Even more reason to seek a copy of Mean Streets!

[Sakutian]

Oh heck yes! Even more reason to seek a copy of Mean Streets!

*Nods vigirously* Yep! Plus it's justa really good story, I liked the way that Mrs. Richardson developed his character between Underground and the Mean Streets though. He grows in interesting ways.

[eccentricred1]

*Nods vigirously* Yep! Plus it's justa really good story, I liked the way that Mrs. Richardson developed his character between Underground and the Mean Streets though. He grows in interesting ways.

I can't wait! :3

[Harper]

Well. Now I'm so glad I didn't kill him off.

[Sakutian]

Well. Now I'm so glad I didn't kill him off.

What?! Fish was in danger of being killed off?! Noooooooooooo!

[eccentricred1]

I am quite glad you didn't kill him off! I hope he shows up in the series again despite his freakout at the end of Underground...

[Harper]

Oh... I have uses for Fish and Solis.... Muahahahahahaha....

[Sakutian]

*Dresses Fish up in a ferret costume* There now as long as he's waering that you won't be able to kill him off. Hmm the illusion is not yet complete, he needs some rubber chew toys and maybe he should roll around in some potato peelings.

[Harper]

I don't plan (at least not at the moment) in killing Fish off in the future. He's very useful and he's fun to work with. Seattle's got a lot of native Americans so he's also a nice reality-injection to the primarily white main cast.

I have to admit, there was a character in Poltergeist I particularly liked that no one's mentioned and that surprises me. But then... no one's mentioned the dog in Underground either and I liked that dog a lot.

[Sakutian]

Iko is a great dog there's no doubt about that, I liked him too, but enough for him to be my favorite sadly. He's probably third or fourth though which isn't bad since I'm including Harper in the overall list.

[eccentricred1]

I'm happy to hear that Fish is sticking around! A character from Poltergeist, eh? Hmmm, I'll have to ponder that one...

[ImzadiDragonfly]

The only reason I haven't mentione Bella yet is I'm still mumbling to my self trying to figure out who is my favorite. I find it sometimes changes with my moods. A kind of who speaks to me the most at any given moment.

[Harper]

Once you throw out the big characters it does become harder, but much more interesting, don't you think?

[Sakutian]

It'd be interesting to have a favorite character contest at some point that was open to everyone. I bet Harper would get some votes but a good number of people would probably still pick Quinton or Calos.

[Maryd_2_explosives]

Ok, settle in, this could take a moment. I have to explain a little about myself or some of what I write will make no sense at all. Incidently, please excuse any grammatical errors, I type with my feet.

I first started reading the Greywalker series in 2006, on a C17 on my way to Iraq. I immediatly became hooked. I fell in love with Quinton, and felt a sort-of kinship with Harper. Dont get mee wrong, I liked Will, but he never quite fit with Harper. (Not to mention Harper never trusted him to be there for her should he find out the truth about her.)

Quinton's excentricities reminded me alot of myself (yes, I am a girl) but he made it easier for me to dive head first into the story, and (for lack of a better phrase) live the story. See, I am a bomb technichian, I disarm bomb for the U.S. Army, ironically I was also stationed at Ft. Lewis. Because of my job I obviously had to learn the ins and outs of electronics, and needless to say there is alot of secrecy.

After sbout a year in Iraq, my team and I went out on a fearly routine call, well as routine as IED's can get. It was right inbetween an Iraqi children's school and a housing projects so it was too risky to destroy on site. After disarming the device and dismantling it as far as neccesary for tranport I carried the device (a very large and heavy pipe bomb) to my truck. As I was packing it the unthinkable happened. The bomb detonated in my arms. The soldiers behind me were saved by my body. The truck saved my legs and my vest and helmet saved my chest and head, my eyes were saved by the sunglasses I was wearing. Needless to say I lost my arms both above the elbow. I remained concious through the entire time i was on the ground and in flight. I didn't scream or cry, I was afraid that if I did I would scare the other soldiers around me, most of all my teammates, my brothers. So, instead I talked, I joked, and I promised I'd be ok, basically anything to keep from going into shock. My husband who was in the battalion I supported was flown back to the states with me. It wasn't until later that I found out I died but was immediatly brought back but was not expected to make it back home. Buut, I woke in Germany and was out of the hospital 15 days after the explosion.

This last Christmas I started reading books again, and I started with Poltergeist. I couldn't put it down, I read it in three days. (And for a girl with no arms that is saying something, hahaha) I gotta say I loved Phoebe and the full of himself crazy villain, but still I loved the chemistry between Harper and Quinton mostly how she is so prone to being herself when he's around. I immideatly went out and looked for a new one and was very happy to find Underground. I read this one in two days...;)

I must say though by far my favorite part was watching Quinton come into full Hero bloom for Harper. Not only was he there for every step ( and then some) of the adventure with her but he put it all on the line to make sure she was okay in the end, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for Will.

I cant wait to see what happens next and as an amateaur paranormal investigator I'm anxious to see what he's brewing up with the ghost machine. :th_dblthumb2:


It's ok I'd have fallen asleep to

[Luna6517]

I have just recently finished the first book, and am anxiously awaiting the next two to come to my mailbox!

So far, as far as secondary characters go, I actually adore Carlos. He's bad, and he knows and he flaunts it, but there are also all those subtle character twists that can't help but make you think, "Maybe he's really super sweet on the inside!"

How can you help but love those badass characters that give you just a taste of possible good side?

On a side note, I was so ecstatic to find an urban fantasy series that took place in Seattle. I've been living up here for about a year now and I absolutely adore it!

[Harper]

Have you read Urban Shaman (the Walker Papers) by C. E. Murphy, or Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid) by Richelle Mead? Both are Urban Fantasies set in Seattle. There's a new book coming up from Night Shade Books, LIGHTBREAKER by Mark Teppo, that's very dark and creepy but terrific and also set in the Seattle area. I know there are some more, but I'll have to think on it for a while...

[Mr Orange Monkey]

My favourite secondary character is, I'm afraid, Albert.

And that's because, well... I think because he's a ghost but he's not one of the gormless spirits that hang around waiting to be shown the way out, and he's been a sort of connection to the history of Seattle for Harper (and I do feel I'm learning something about Seattle history from the series)... and in Underground he's revealed he's got a plan of some kind of his very own that's currently unguessable. There's something inherently interesting about a character who lacks basic characteristics like a physical description, and who can only achieve his ends through influencing others (especially when compared with powerful going-bump-in-the-night merchants like the vampires).

Did any of that strike you as rational?

[Maryd_2_explosives]

totally, I really liked Albert too, especially after he helped Harper out in the first Greywalker. But, I gotta say Underground ruined him for me.. shoulda trusted Harper's instincts. I just really hope it doesn't sulley the water's between Harper and Mara, I think she needs all the Danzignger's more than she likes to admit, even if onll to herself.

[ImzadiDragonfly]

I think I'm going to have to go with Carlos as my favorite secondary character. I enjoy the dynamics between Carlos and Harper. He's not a good guy. I don't think he necessarily likes Harper but he is intrigued with her and the mysteries she brings with her. In a way he has two protegees with Cam and Harper. I just don't think Harper would see it that way. I've enjoyed getting to know a little more about him in each book. I'm hoping we see him in Vanished too.

I have to admit after a visit with him I'd like to take a long hot cleansing shower and then cuddle up with a Chaos or a Bella.

[Pogonip]

Hi, Rik! Have to agree with you that Albert is most intriguing, though after Underground, he lost points with me - I thought he was a benevolent sort, now I'm beginning to doubt that.


Of course, you're rational! Orange Monkeys are always rational, they get it from their handlers.

[ImzadiDragonfly]

Interesting. I never liked Albert. He's definitely an interesting character and I enjoyed getting more background on him in Underground, but I never trusted him.

[Harper]

OK, since it's now past midnight on the 17th, the contest is officially in the decision-making phase. I'll look these over and probably have to just draw names out of hats, since there are so many answers and of course they are all good!

However, do continue any discussion you have about the characters. Please!

I have to help a friend move, so I'll announce winners Sunday night.

[Sakutian]

Albert was always a neat character to me because there always seemed to be more going on with him but we never really got the whole picture. Just little tastes and glimpses to let us know there was more. Then of course Underground came out and he was finalyl revealed, I loved it! I like when people's perceptions of certain characters seem to lead them down the wrong path but t hen it turns out they were right all along. On top of that his whole plan and way of acting was so sneaky and long viewed it's scary. He'd have made a great villain.

[Thing One]

From the very beginning I knew that Albert was a bad guy.
I could never understand why Mara was so blase about letting Albert have
so much influence on her son.

I was thrilled in Underground when he was revealed as totally nefarious!

[Hagelrat]

I loved the Walker Papers and the Succubus Books too. All awesome series.

[Sakutian]

From the very beginning I knew that Albert was a bad guy.
I could never understand why Mara was so blase about letting Albert have
so much influence on her son.

I was thrilled in Underground when he was revealed as totally nefarious!


I think Mara really wanted to believe that he was a good guy for some reason and that made her see something that wasn't really there. Plus the way he died probably bought him a great deal of sympathy from her.

[Harper]

Yes, Mara's a very sympathetic soul--she took to Ben, after all ;) .

[Sakutian]

That's cause Ben's got the moves plus he may even speak french.

[Harper]

Lemme see... I know Ben reads Latin--both Classical and Medieval/Church--Russian, Czech/Slovak, Polish, Ukranian, German, Greek (Classical and Modern), French... yup... and a couple of other Slavic languages. Some he doesn't speak particularly well, but he can read a hell of a lot. He can puzzle out a bit of Italian and Spanish from his Latin background, but Portuguese is a mystery and he's never picked up any of the Asian languages except as a smattering of terms. Certainly no Celtic languages--that's how he met Mara, asking her to translate some very old Irish and Viking rune stuff. I'm not sure about the Finno-Ugric group, though. I don't know if there's a lot of comparative religion or paranormal research in Estonian. ;)

[Sakutian]

Wow Ben's even smarter than I thought that's crazy that he knows all of those langauges even if he isn't fluent in them all. His head must nearly be filled with just words by now. Sos he mete Mara trying to get translations? Neat! Were they in college together? Hooray for latin the only language I can speak besides english.

[Harper]

Nope. He was in Ireland doing some Comparative Religions research and had the opportunity to look at an archeological site where some ancient ceremonial relics had been found. Mara was working on the site too, since she's a geologist, and she was also interested in the magical properties of the site (religion and magic being frequent companions, though of course she wasn't saying that was her interest). She could read the old Irish and Viking runes on the site and so Ben asked her for some help... and that's where the magic started.

[Sakutian]

That's really romantic...gosh I'm such a nerd. So did they fall madly in love at first sight and then when it was time for Ben to go back to America he begged her to return with him?

Dare I ask a second question? I dare! I've been wondering how old is Chaos and how Harper crossed paths with the furry, intrepid, little adventurer? Did she get him at a pet store?

[Hagelrat]

Can I add to that? Has Chaos been particularly bothered by the new developments or are Ferretts like Cats, already half in our world, half in the other?

[ImzadiDragonfly]

If I recall correctly Chaos is either almost 6 or is 6 during Underground. At the very least she doesn't care for the stink of monsters. She didn't seem to take issue with Harper's ever-present grey before so I'm guessing she really did take offense to the stink of the underground and the monster.

*waiting patiently to see if I'm on the right track*

Oh! What's the time span between Underground and Vanished?

[Harper]

First: I got a little behind on the contest, so I'll get that up soon. Thanks for being patient.

Next: There are some big reveals about Chaos and the Grey in Vanished, so I'm not going to go into detail but, yeah, ferrets do seem to be like cats in that they are aware of the weird in ways people aren't. I suspect Harper will always have a ferret now that she knows The Truth About Ferrets.

Chaos was 5 in the first book, which makes her an old ferret by most standards. Our first ferret lived to be 10 but that's becoming rare due to inbreeding, overbreeding, and early neutering by the big US breeders. (Not so much for Canadian breeders and certainly not true of European ferrets for whom 10 is not unusual for pet ferrets--a bit different for working ferrets, but they still tend to be bigger and live longer than US pet ferrets.) So in Vanished she's 7. I was going to let her quietly go across the Rainbow Bridge, since that's the reality of small pets, but the editors and my agent at the time cried and screamed and told me I couldn't because they loved the ferret and my fans would kill me. So, Chaos is about to be the oldest living ferret on record. ;)

You can kill off a person with less fuss than an animal in fiction. People really hate it when you kill off the pets, even if it's just a natural death and nothing horrible.

[Harper]

If I recall correctly Chaos is either almost 6 or is 6 during Underground....

*waiting patiently to see if I'm on the right track*

Oh! What's the time span between Underground and Vanished?

Yup, she'd just turned 6.

Vanished takes place in May of 2009, so two years from Greywalker and 14 months after Underground.

Greywalker is actually set in April/May of 2000 (if you've read the timeline post at my site, you know it took 5 years to get a publisher interested and another year to get it onto shelves), but I had to compress time and play God to catch the story up to the current time so readers wouldn't be too annoyed by the pager ;) . So in the mutated timeline of the Harperverse Greywalker took place in April/May of 2007 (even though it was published in 2006), Poltergeist in October 2007, Underground in January 2008, Vanished in May 2009 and the fifth book will be set a few weeks after Vanished, so time will, once again, go off track for a while and be reset to the correct year in book 6.

[Harper]

OK, I just finished counting up and there are 23 qualified entries (wow!) and a lot of discussion which is great! Thanks you guys: it's nice to know there is enough interest in the series to bring people into a forum and have a pleasant virtual party.

Nine different characters got votes and here's how the popularity broke down:

Quinton: 7
Carlos: 5
Will: 2
Mara: 2
Chaos: 2
Ben: 2
Phoebe: 2
Fish: 1
Albert:1

(Yeah, it doesn't add up right, because Brother Brian couldn't decide which he liked more: Ben or Quinton, so I counted them both.)

ImzadiDragonfly almost voted for Bella the dog, but decided to go with someone else, so Bella didn't get an official vote, but I love dogs, too, so she gets one anyhow.

Now I just have to award the prizes.

Since I'm horrible at picking from such great answers, I copped out and assigned every entry a number, then used the random number generator to pick the winners and here they are:

Deyaniera (who liked Mara)
Hagelrat (who liked Carlos)
Amers3 (who liked Quinton)
Loras Ghost (who liked Phoebe)
Luna 6517 (who liked Carlos)
Mr. Orange Monkey (who liked Albert)

(funny... I expected more Quinton winners... and this really was totally random.)

And the answer to the question "who is Kat's mysterious favorite minor character" would be: Frankie [Denise Francisco] the Psych Department assistant from Poltergeis. I love most of the minor characters, though so it's always hard for me to pick one over the others.

So: send me email with your snail mail address and name and to whom you would like the book inscribed and I'll get those out this week. Yes it's OK if you don't live in the US, though it may be a little slower to arrive. if for some reason you don't want your book after all, let me know and I'll pick a replacement winner.

my email address is: kat[dot]rchrdsn[at]gmail[dot]com

now, back to your foruming!

[ImzadiDragonfly]

Frankie really is a hoot. I got a kick out of the joy she got from tearing down the lab.

That's cool about Chaos. Though now it's just that much harder to wait for the release date of Vanished.

[Sakutian]

Congratulations to the contest winners ^_^.

I'm glad that your editor/agent at the time stopped you from killing Chaso that would have been really sad. Yeah I'm on eof those people who doesn't like it when pets in books die.

Oh man I thought your secret favorite might be Frankie! She was probably my favorite new character from Poltergeist. Any cahnce of her ever coming back in one of the future books?

This is a really random Fish related question just so you have fair warning. I was wondering what scholo he went to for his degree, I figure it must be in Seattle but who knows?

[Pogonip]

Congratulations, you lucky winners!

[Harper]

I'm not really sure which school Fish went to. I'd assume UW, since they are the big college with a medical school in Western Washington, but... I never thought to ask. We do have several other great universities in the Western Washington area, but I'm not sure which ones offer a degree in forensic medicine and technology (or offered one when he would have been going). As a native, he'd have a lot of scholarship and privilege options since until recently our Affirmative Action laws held spaces open specifically for native Americans and higher consideration for local tribes.

[Hagelrat]

Yay, thank you!
This thread has me thinking it's time I re read the books too.

[Sakutian]

Now that the conest is over whose favorite changes to Harper since she can now be included? *Raises hand*

[AnotherSKip]

Ben is definately my favorite from the series. He has, well, nothing, compared to everyone else Harper runs around with - no magic, no supernatural abilities, no useful shady past, just the ability to read books (and control a small boy, which I wish I had). He's kind of like Giles from Buffy, but without the ability to fight. Yet despite that, he's always there with useful information and a sort of wistful I-wish-I-could-do-that sense that reminds me of myself.


Wouldn't thath make him more like Zander than Giles?

[Hagelrat]

yup, Xander was the only one with no past or superpowers of some sort. Giles definately had a dark past, who else loved the Ripper episodes?

[Sakutian]

yup, Xander was the only one with no past or superpowers of some sort. Giles definately had a dark past, who else loved the Ripper episodes?


Ripper was neat but old Giles had some very dark moments himself.

[BlueNinja]

Well, Ben is more of the librarian-who-knows-everything type, and he's not in there mixing it up. So that's why he reminds me more of Giles.

[Hagelrat]

Blue - I can see that
Sakutian - true and they were yum.

[Sakutian]

Siince I don't think anyone else has mentioned her before here I'm going to bring up Gwen my favorite Greywalker vampire. I'm interested in how her recovery after Underground is going to change her but she's still very interesting. I'm hoping she gets to spend more time with Harper in the future too.

[Sakutian]

Anyone who didn't read The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog missed out ona great addition to the world of Greywalker as far as I'm concerned. That addition is named Nanette Grover. Every detetcive story needs a lawyer character and I'm hoping that's what she will be from now on and not just a one time appearnce. That'd be sad because a no nonsense sort like her is a blast to read about.

Totally unrelated to Grover now I've been wondering something about Harper for a while and it won't stop picking at me. WHat kind of music does she like? Yeah it's one of those little details with charactersyou know? I'm thinking country or jazz for certain reasons but it'll probably be something else.

[Sakutian]

We all know Harper is fit and can handle herself pretty well in a fight, Quinton demonstrated some degree of staying alive in his actions in Underground and he must have learned his way around a fist living on the streets and on the run as long as he has. I'm wondering how well he really knows how to fight now though. I guess we'll have to wait and see how he holds up against the next monster that makes the scene when he's around.

[Harper]

Quinton's the ultimate geek. He'd rather run from it than fight it hand-to-hand. Obviously he's not flabby and out of shape or he wouldn't have been able to run away from *spoiler!* and keep up in the swamp, but running around's not his favorite activity. He's the brains. Harper's the brawn--such as it is.

[BlueNinja]

*pictures Quinton and Harper as a McCaffrey brain/brawn duo*

[Sakutian]

I wonder who people like more Quinton or Harper since at the moment they're probably the two biggest characters in the story? Obviously more so in Harper's case but I bet Qquinton fans could still giver her a run for her money.

[Sakutian]

I'm just wondering why Fish is called Fish? I always thought it was related to his native american heritage and proximity to a few large bodies of water. Or maybe he just really likes to fish.

[ImzadiDragonfly]

His full name is Reubin Arthur Fishkiller.

It's on page 98 of Underground.

[Sakutian]

Oh yeah I totally forgot about that, poor guy he got a two hit name combo there.

[Harper]

And Arthur is a common name in my husband's family, so I had to sneak it in somewhere.

[Harper]

Hey Imzadi Dragonfly, that was good--and fast.

OK, here's a tough one for you guys, but I know you're clever enough to figure it out. This may take a little thinking, the information is in Underground, but it's not quite as straightforward as looking it up, you'll have to do a little logical thinking (or know Russian).

What is Ben's mother's name?

[Sakutian]

Is it Irina?

[ImzadiDragonfly]

Is it Irina?

I believe you are spot on my dear.

[Harper]

Wow, yes you are right! Irina it is! I thought that was going to be harder.

Hmmm... I'll have to think really hard about the next one...

[Sakutian]

Hooray I actually got something right!

[Sakutian]

Oh I've got a question about a character! When did Gwen become a vampire?

[Harper]

I had to go and look it up myself....

[Sakutian]

It's in the book? I was just asking out of curiosity haha. Man now I've gotta go look through the books again.

[ImzadiDragonfly]

I should have remembered this one since we were "born" the same year. I guees in my own way I was "a carefree little chippy" too.

[Harper]

I couldn't remember if I'd given an actual year or just a reference era. But, yup, there it is in print. And I just read the book, but I still had to look it up in the electronic file.

But you, my dear dragonfly, are no "chippy."

[ImzadiDragonfly]

Oops, no I'm not a "chippy". Especially when I wasn't even a year old. I thought it meant something else. Well, at least I learned something today.:D

[Harper]

Heheh... I live to serve....

[Sakutian]

Oh I've got a question about Chaos! What is her favorite treat?

[Harper]

Raisins. Which she should not have since ferrets don't tolerate fiber well, nor do they manage sugar very well. But they do love the taste!

She also likes grapes (equally bad) and chicken (good).

[Sakutian]

I knew raisins were bad for you! Nothing that gross looking could actually be healthy! I wonder what'd happen is she got some sugar coated raisins...

[AnotherSKip]

Is chocolate as bad for ferrets as other animals?

[Harper]

Yes, alas. Not quite the same reaction that dogs have, but still very not good.

[Sakutian]

In the interest of stimulating conversation I have thought of a new question! This one hasn't been in any of the books to date...at least I don't think it has. How old was harper when she had her first boyfriend? The same question for Fish as well, only I think with a girlfriend. I guess Fish could be gay though for all I know.