Daily Archives: September 12, 2013

You and The Characters of Kingdom of the Sun

securedownloadHi Everyone,

In Tuesday’s blog post I discussed the similarities that many of us share in terms of situations, difficulties, and even personalities. I briefly touched on how an author’s ability to create personable and relatable characters is key to making readers emotionally and mentally connected with a book. This is something that I enjoyed doing very much with Kingdom of the Sun, and I was asked a great question by Sarah at childrencount.wordpress.com about what the characters of my book are like. So, I have decided to provide a list of the main characters of Kingdom of the Sun for you.

Because I tried to create each character to reflect experiences you’ve had or heard and/or personalities you know or have, I decided to do this list in a unique way. Instead of listing each character’s traits like prideful, witty, etc., I will describe them in accordance to the type of person they are and represent. Their specific traits and qualities are things that I want you (the readers) to decide for yourselves.

Helena: The protagonist of the story who views the situation of the kingdom and her societal position as unfavorable. She represents someone who sees themselves as having more value than how they are treated.  Helena also represents the person who harbors the desire and thirst for change.

Sadine: She is the close friend of Helena who represents a good-natured, hard-worker who wants nothing more than to please her superiors and remain in good standing with them. This desire leads to her inability to see Helena’s frustrations and the kingdom’s real issues.

Aria: The nine-year-old son of Sadine. Aria’s level of understanding and maturity makes him a very close friend and ally of Helena whom he adores.

Queen Delilah Nightfall: Successor of Queen Daisy who desires power and respect but cannot seem to gain or earn it. Queen Delilah represents the person who sees themselves above others and yet lives off of praise and acceptance. She also stands for the person who received their societal position by means other than hard work.

Queen Daisy Dimday: The predecessor of Queen Delilah who achieved her societal status by outward appearances and masks. She is someone who thrives off of attention and will do anything to maintain her masks. As Helena states in the book, “Daisy and Delilah were quite different. However they were very much the same queen.”

The Scholars of Sooryan represent who educators are and should be.

 Scholar Abel Godfrey: Scholar Godfrey represents the person who is always our greatest ally and friend when it comes to truly understanding how we think and feel. He stands for the educator and person that brings out the best that each of us has to offer.

Scholar Aiden Jenson: The assistant of the kingdom’s Royals who represents the person who does their job simply because they have to, love it or hate it—no questions asked.

Scholar Johnny Doane: The witty, flirty Scholar who brings smiles and still knows how to be serious when the time is right.

Scholar Mandela Lani: Scholar Lani represents the very strict educator who loves order and does not like to be challenged.

Scholar Cynthia Baxtor: The motherly figure of the story who is beautiful inside as she is outside.

Scholar Molli Martin: This Scholar represents the person who is fearful of speaking and showing their true opinion and feelings, the one who lets others do the talking for them.

Scholar Gerald Ramsey: Scholar Ramsey represents the person that always has your back. He is also a reminder of how one’s outer shell doesn’t necessarily represent who they are on the inside.

Other Scholars:

Scholar Hinatea Shaw

Scholar Leana Crossli

Scholar Jameson Radcliffe

Scholar Howie Griffin

Scholar Ken Himora

Scholar Nora Livingstone 

So, that’s about all of Kingdom of the Sun’s characters. I hope that you’ll find some of whom you can relate to or “know.” I absolutely cannot wait to have this book published! You can actually read the synopsis here. When you read the book itself, I’d love to hear your own ideas and analysis of these characters.

Thank you, Sarah, for your awesome question, and I of course welcome them to any of you who have any.

Peace and love,

Ariffa