“There were three simple rules in the Underground: be invisible, look out for yourself, and no going back. Ever. They all added up to the same thing: Keep up or get left behind.” – Orphan’s Song
Ky Huntyr—thief, runner, member of the Underground—began as one of those surprise characters that pop out of nowhere and force their way onto the page. I had no more clue beforehand that he was planning on entering the story, than Bilbo had about the party he was hosting for thirteen dwarves and a wizard before the unexpected knock at the door. But once Ky arrived, I soon realized that he had come to stay and was going to provide an integral part of the story that became Orphan’s Song. With his aptitude for the sling and his penchant for jumping into trouble to save others, Ky occasionally reminded me of David the shepherd boy from the Bible. Not entirely sure why, but who among us can really explain the random paths our brains take? Care to know a secret? (In a very early draft, I even included a David and Goliath-esque scene in which Ky’s slingstones felled a much larger and highly dangerous opponent. It made me happy. Sadly, said scene no longer exists…) Ky is one of my favorite characters—right up there with Birdie and Amos—and I enjoy writing in his point of view because he tends to look at things a tad different from other folks. He’s humble. He’s not always convinced that he’s in the right—because let’s face it, that can get downright annoying—and even when he is, he struggles just like the rest of us with going against the flow of popular opinion. But when push comes to shove, he’s not afraid to stand up for what he believes or for those who are in danger. Despite the hardness of the world he lives in, Ky still cares. There are a lot of numb characters in fiction today. Characters who are so broken and beaten and bloodstained that they can’t feel anymore, let alone truly care for anyone else. And that’s realistic. When you go through something so challenging, you can begin to feel like every ounce of energy has been consumed and you don’t have anything to give anyone else. But what I love about Ky is that he’s not afraid to keep caring, fighting, and doing what he thinks is right against all odds. And that—I think—is what made Ky real and heroic to me.
Sarah says
Ky sounds awesome. <3 I predict that he'll end up my favorite character when I read Orphan's Song.
Gillian Bronte Adams says
I like Ky a lot and his scenes were quite fun to write!
Maddie Jay says
I love reading in Ky's point of view (I also love his name). He's my second favorite character, and I totally get the David parallel.
Gillian Bronte Adams says
I'm so glad you enjoyed Ky's character, Maddie! Sometimes I have to dig for the perfect character name, but Ky came complete with a name when he first bolted onto the page.
Blue says
I look forward to meeting him, he sounds like a great character.
Unknown says
Ky sounds great! I love the photo editing too :) I really hope I can get the book soon…I have this starving feeling inside :)
Elizabeth
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Aw! Is it terrible of me for that to make me happy? :) Have you ordered it yet? If you've already ordered it, then it should be shipping out in the next couple of days and will hopefully arrive soon. Thank y'all for being patient with the delays!
Kate Flournoy says
Hello Gillian, I just finished reading Songkeeper, and I just wanted to tell you that Ky is my top favorite and has been ever since I met him. And I’m an authoress myself who practically lives the life of story for no other reason than characters, so I’m picky. :)
I really admire how you use ‘grey’ characters to bring life and humanity to your work— Ky is a ‘grey’ character to some extent, which makes him incredibly interesting, but as you pointed out, he’s not totally numb to the world around him.
Which bounces very well off Cade, who does seem that way sometimes… :P
Cade is another fascinating character. It’s really funny, because one of the things about him is no one can really tell what it is he’s thinking, but I totally ‘get’ him— I completely understand what makes him tick, and that’s awesome.
Sorry. I got a little carried away. :P
I love your work, and cannot WAIT for the third book in the series. Keep it up!
Gillian Bronte Adams says
Hi Kate! Whew, I’ve been out of the loop for a while. Thanks for commenting! Seriously, this was just the encouragement I needed to keep plugging away at book three. So glad you like Ky and Cade! I think they’re an interesting pair because you could easily tell the same story from Cade’s perspective where he’s the hero and Ky’s the antagonist. And I do have a soft spot in my heart for Cade. Poor guy. You just want to give him a hug. Though of course, you could never get away with doing that because he’s not really the huggable type. :)