How one character sketch changed everything

Well, inspiration strikes according to no civilized schedule—sometimes with the subtlety of a iron skillet falling to the tiled floor from the top shelf in the kitchen, sometimes creeping cat-footed via a character portrait that catches the mind unawares.

For me, it was a character rendering of Sheliak (above) that changed everything.

Ok, a quick flashback: I've been writing Astara, the short blonde uninhibited star of several (unpublished) stories, for years. I've even played her in D&D campaigns (long story for another time). I'd never quite gotten the romantic pairing for her quite right - the partners I'd created just didn't provide the spark I was looking for, the romantic unspoken (and sometimes very spoken) heat, steam, friction of slippery wit and loving banter - and complete trust a couple would need to successfully adventure in a magical, dangerous world.

In other words: it sucked great big ogre balls.

So, I played around with creating fantasy portraits of characters (don't we all?) and one day plugged in an interesting idea: a "fish out of water" -- someone unusual but beautiful, like David Bowie or Tilda Swinton or (several other celebrities that defy conventional description here). I was thinking directly about the "The Man Who Fell to Earth" film and other media where we the audience are met with someone magnetic - but so far off of the beaten path that there's not only "no there, there" but "if there was a there then it's clearly not there any more and there is definitely somewhere else there that doesn't have a 'there' that we could credibly call a 'there', yet it's there." There. Make sense?

A few renders later, I was looking at this sketch of an otherworldly figure—impossibly graceful, maybe not from anywhere remotely resembling our world, with this ethereal quality that screamed "I have no idea how anything works here, but I'm going to try anyway. How hard could it be?" And suddenly I thought: What if I paired them with someone who knows exactly how everything works?

Pause button: I LOVE "Fish out of water" tropes. I play them in RP MMO servers. in D&D games.. and over the years have created a pile of draft stories of characters who meet this trope. And always, I find the humor in and empathy with these characters to be attractive to me every time.

That's when Astara took the stage in my mind (as she does - you'll see!). Street-smart where Sheliak is otherworldly. Experienced where they're inexperienced. Ribald and grounded where they're... well, let's just say they treat physics more like friendly suggestions than actual laws and knowledge to be more entertaining than shopping for lettuce. Head in the clouds? Sheliak has their head in the multiverse!

"Holy crap. What if I put these two together?" The contrast felt irresistible. I kept imagining the conversations, the misunderstandings, the moments where Sheliak's otherworldly perspective would completely blindside Astara's practical worldview. And vice versa—Astara's street wisdom cutting through whatever elaborate, engineering approach Sheliak might take to a simple problem.

I laughed. I chuckled! I may have giggled. (FINE. I giggled a lot.. thinking about some of their dialogue and situations put me into a giggle-fit. I'm not proud.)

I knew immediately that these two together were going to be a blast to write, and to read about.

I didn't just want to write about two people falling in love. I wanted to write about two people who see the world in completely different ways discovering that their differences don't just complement each other—they make each other better at everything they try to do.

And, I adore couples who adventure together. Romantic partners who really do love and understand each other (mostly!), and make an incredible team. Conflict? It's them against the world! The best RP campaigns have been old-school AD&D 1E or Traveler "Us vs dem monstahs" adventures. The adventures are rich, delightful, thrilling, and funny. Real characters are terrific smart-asses and I find smart-asses to be terrific.

Especially when everything goes spectacularly sideways. As it does.

That character portrait became the foundation for The Frost Emerald Affair—a story where otherworldly meets street-wise, where elegant theory crashes into messy reality, and where the best partnerships are forged in the beautiful chaos of trying to figure each other out.

Next up, I'll properly introduce you to Astara—the bard-turned-spy who's about to discover her missing piece comes from a far away world of a blue star by the same name.

And if you've read this far, thanks! Join my newsletter to get the The Frost Emerald Affair for free once it's released—and to get the first news about the books coming in 2026.

Keep planning impossible things,

J.R.

P.S. What sparked your favorite fictional partnership? I love hearing about the character dynamics that stick with readers long after the last page.