Jamila, here's a bonus photo for your Spotlight. It's the photo I nearly went with (but my El Capitan obsession won out).
You mentioned liking the 1000% reference from "Redwoodian"; here's the window that jump-started that particular idea for me. It is at the Ahwahnee, a hotel not too far from El Capitan.
There are a few moments and phrases that reoccur in the books.
A biggie, at least for me? The characters have to laugh together at some point in every book. Having the friends trade zingers is one thing but seeing people lose it together is a thing I personally love, in real life and in fiction.
Call it The Laughing Rule.
Monty, Gomery, and Fair laugh, if not together, then at the same time in "Wilfair" when Fair stands at her bedroom window and sees Gomery looking up at her. She then does something dorky that sends him into a small fit.
The group-laugh in "Redwoodian" comes when Sutton talks about Prior Yates and his devotion to products that bear his name and/or likeness. She's trying to keep quiet because she'll wake people but she ends up crying with giggles into Fair's shoulder.
Fair has not yet heard Gomery's big laugh.
I've enjoyed hosting some guests over the weekend. It got me thinking about the kind of hosts the people of Wilfair might be. Without further ado (and because I hear my guests waking up)...
Fair Finley: She'd probably give her visiting friend or relative the hotel room next to hers, the better to keep an eye on them. I don't think she's a smotherer but I do sense she'd "Are you having a good time?" and "Can I get you anything?"-them half-silly. There is an exception to this and it comes halfway through "Redwoodian," when she daydreams that a particular neighbor of hers could rest in her room for a few days while she stays in another hotel room. Oh, and when Sutton spends the night at the hotel, she of course stays with Fair. When they were younger they probably tried out different rooms around The Wilfair Hotel but now they stick to Fair's bedroom. It's closer to the kitchen inside the Finleys' suite. And Fair has to keep an eye on her brothers.
Sutton Von Hunt: Sutton would drag out-of-towners to her workplace, Farmers Market, since it is a real tourist destination, and tell them that she has to work and they have to entertain themselves. If she and Grandma were particularly strapped for help she'd probably make her guests don aprons and chop bananas. Would she grumble about their banana-chopping-style the whole time? Yes.
Monty and Gomery Overbove: They don't have a big family, but they do have a motel, so if an old school friend needs a room, or some of Monty's movie pals want to crash for the night, it isn't a problem. Gomery is the guest's morning host and Monty is around to hang later at night.
Prior Yates: The movie star loans out his various mansions to relatives and chums for a week at a time. But it always hurts his feelings if he doesn't get a thank you card. It's real Rude City, in his book.
Thurs Mathers: He can put up anybody at any of his 100 hotels. But he always invites people to stay with him and his aunts inside the Mathers Family manor, which is a former crystal factory. No one ever says yes, since they'd rather stay in a swanky hotel. Thurs shakes this off and doesn't take it to heart. Much.
Hotels and motels, like hospitals, airports, and police stations, are 24-hour places.
Meaning the people who live and work there are probably up early, whether they want to be or not. So how do the characters of "Wilfair" fuel up for the day?
Fair Finley: Fair eats frosting for breakfast as mentioned in "Wilfair." She often samples the wedding cakes in her hotel's kitchen, just to make sure they are perfect for her bride clients. She's not against toast, either; she and Gomery Overbove of the Motel Fairwil eat toast together in the motel's diner (cherry jam for Fair, which Gomery opts for, too). She wants to be healthier, though, since sometimes her vintage gowns feel a bit snug around the backside. There may be more oatmeal and hot grains in Fair's immediate future.
Sutton Von Hunt: Sutton doesn't only work in fruit crafts; she loves her work, literally. She's the biggest fruit eater in the books, but she doesn't eat fruit like the rest of us; she'd probably guffaw at seeing someone consuming an apple in the traditional way. She'll stack weird fruits on top of each other or bake blueberries or stuff banana slices inside strawberries or make a meal solely out of fruit grown on trees. Her mind is easily bored and craves challenges. Sutton also works at a famous public market -- Farmers Market -- so the occasional waffle or crepe tempts her.
Monty Overbove: Monty has a lot of movie meetings with his friends. They want to make films so they meet at places like the Mmm Mmm Café late at night to discuss logistics and how to raise the money. He'll eat half of a chef's salad or turkey sandwich at midnight, take the other half home, and finish it when he wakes up. Monty is more of a night person than morning, so his cousin sometimes has to bang on the door to Room 126 to wake him. Monty usually opens the door wearing an apologetic smile and not much else; I picture him already holding the other half to his turkey sandwich, too. He also, as mentioned, likes the crepes of Farmers Market, but not for breakfast. Those are an afternoon snack. Monty is built like a popcorn box and has the best metabolism in the books. Sandwiches at midnight? Crepes in the day? No problem.
Gomery Overbove: After turning the lights on in the diner, making the motel's complimentary lobby coffee, scooping a few bugs out of the pool, and turning off the Motel Fairwil's neon sign, Gomery pours a bowl of generic brand shredded wheat. He'll eat it at the front desk, leaning on his elbows, tie folded on itself on the flat surface. If a guest walks into the lobby he puts the bowl to one side; when he returns to it the wheat is soggy, but he finishes it. His bowl of cereal is probably one of the only non-busy parts of his day; let's call it Montgomery #1's daydreaming time. He's thinking about fanciful scientific concepts while watching pajama-wearing guests open their curtains and stretch over at The Wilfair. He's seen Fair open her curtains a thousand times.
Prior Yates: Craft Services, the people who make all the meals on a film set, cook all of the movie star's breakfasts. There are egg whites on his plate and there is wheat germ and there is skim milk in his espresso and there are all the ingredients needed to keep one of the most famous men in the world looking fit and buff. But Prior misses a big traditional English breakfast. He loves butter and all the extras. His mum always makes him one when he goes home. Don't tell his trainer or his nutritionist.
Thurs Mathers: The mega hotel heir tries out a different breakfast restaurant most mornings of the week, since he owns a bunch of hotels. He always wants to see what's new on the menus and make suggestions if something isn't quite working. Sometimes the World's Sexiest Aunts are in his company, but he eats alone a lot. He'd say this is good, the better to spread out all of this papers and work across the table, but I think he might be fibbing.
Erika -- hi Erika! -- recently asked about characters and their cars. It's a fun question, so...
Fair Finley: The hotel heiress doesn't own a car. She probably uses her parents' car when they're away checking on their other hotels. That car is a late-model luxury sedan, probably not the nicest thing on the market but posh. The Wilfair Hotel also owns a few fancy limos and town cars for ferrying guests to and from the airport. If she needs a lift she could ask a bellman to drive her, although she'd probably be embarrassed to do so, unless it was an emergency. She does state in "Wilfair" she rarely leaves the hotel. When she does she can go on foot, since The Wilfair is in a very walkable area. Fair likes to stroll over to visit Sutton at Farmers Market. She also doesn't hate swinging by the Motel Fairwil to complain about something the motel is doing, especially if she gets to complain to Monty or Gomery.
Monty and Gomery Overbove: They share the Motel Fairwil van, a vehicle that's also used for ferrying guests to and from the airport. Sometimes this creates conflict if they need it at the same time, but they work it out; the cousins rarely argue. They save their disagreements for important matters, not trivial. The van is pretty old and banged-up but Monty is attached to it.
Sutton Von Hunt: Sutton drives a boxy, old-school Volvo, no
A/C. She doesn't have to drive far; the duplex apartment she shares with
Grandma, and her mom (when her mom is in town), is walking distance to The Wilfair, Sutton's high school, and Farmers Market, where she works. Sutton sparkles cupcakes puppies loves
her car.
Prior Yates: Whatever kind of car Prior wants, Prior buys. Probably in multiple colors.
Thurs Mathers: Thurs,
that kid with 100 hotels, makes his "Wilfair" debut in his family's
two-toned stretch car. I see all the Mathers riding around in swank, two-toned
cars from like an old-fashioned Agatha Christie-type movie. He and the World's Sexiest Aunts are driven
everywhere.
Wil and Bo Finley: They use bellcarts to get around, much to their older sister's consternation.
If someone called the WILFAIR series a princess-castle story, I wouldn't object. Putting a modern, urban spin on the traditional princess-castle story has very much intrigued me.
I adore those old stories, or most of them. But I wanted to write about a princess who is in charge of her castle. She isn't just a figurehead. And even though she doesn't own her power yet, I wanted her to find a way to embrace her strength and talents.
And hotels, especially the very large and historic ones, are definitely city castles. Like a castle, a hotel is a busy little world unto itself, self-contained and complete with all needs. And hotels are castles anyone can stay at, too, which I love. It's that come-one-come-all spirit that infuses a hotel with immediate dramatic potential.
So:
Princess=Fair Finley
Castle=Wilfair Hotel
Kingdom=Finley family's nine California hotels
In the end, the princess of the WILFAIR books knows she has to get her key-wrap together. Thank goodness she is getting closer to the blacksmith and candlemaker next door. They won't be responsible for her owning her power -- that's totally her journey -- but their friendships will lend support and maybe a little sparkle to her day-to-day castle-managing duties.
The "I Want" Song is commonly found in animated movies and non-animated musicals. The heroine is standing on a hill or a bale of hay or inside a Kansas barnyard and she proceeds to describe her wishes and hopes via her soaring voice.
Yep, Dorothy had a major "I Want" moment during "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I'm also sweet on Tiana's "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" and Ariel's "Part of Your World" in "The Little Mermaid." There are many more in popular culture, and, yep, the hero will often sing one, too. I'm thinking of Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors," who only wants to get off Skid Row. (If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments.)
So when I started WILFAIR I thought a lot about Fair Finley's "I Want" Song.
"I just want everyone to win and no one to be sad" is definitely the main theme of her song. She doesn't actually sing it, of course, but that's the core theme.
She has other wants, of course, and, like all of us, probably a few she hasn't figured out yet. I wanted her desires to run the gamut, with the majority of them landing on the important side of the scale. Our heroine may dress in ruffles and flutter at times, but Fair Finley is not frivolous, especially about others' feelings. Or, I hope, her own.
Here are some Fair wants that have been mentioned. (I suppose a few of these might be spoilers but I feel comfortable with sharing them if you haven't read the books; there's nothing too revealing here.)
-- She wants to be a better big sister.
-- She wants to make her parents proud.
-- She wants to figure out if her family's business, the hotel business, is truly for her.
-- She wants to apologize less.
-- She wants to not be an old child forever.
-- She wants/doesn't want to take her neighbors' motel swimming pool.
-- She wants her best friend to not forget her when she leaves for college.
-- She wants to know what a close, deep, and even-ground friendship with someone she's attracted to feels like. And what is beyond that friendship. And if her head will explode into a million sparkles merely from thinking about it.
-- She wants to wear fewer snoods.
What's your "I Want" song? Mine, at least this morning, involves a toaster waffle with almond butter. :)
So. Yesterday I was scrolling through my phone contacts and I came across the name below and I had to laugh at myself.
When I first started writing WILFAIR, and I was thinking about character names, I put a few of them in my contacts to test them out and see how they looked against the real names of people I know. Did the character names seem too wacky? Too dull? Or just right?
I keep forgetting that I left "Fair Finley" in my contacts. And whenever I see the name I'm slightly embarrassed and think about deleting it. But then I always leave it. (Coincidentally, Fair's name is right above Farmers Market, which is a real place and is in the books.)
I wonder what Fair's phone number is? She probably lists the main line for The Wilfair and saves her private info for Sutton. Oh, though did she write her digits on the Motel Fairwil call list, too, and someone over at the motel entered her number into his phone.
I realize this won't do much to dispel my somewhat quirky rep. :) Really, I'm very ho-hum, despite the fact that I include fictional characters on my real contact list.
Please. These are so Fair Finley, even down to the name.
Her tights'll make more of a show in STAY AWHILE.
Oh, the pains and gifts of turning 20.
I think it trumps most other ages in the significant ages department (including turning 21). I'll write more on why I believe that in the days to come.
But, for now, here are the main characters' ages:
Fair Finley: 19 (She'll be 20 in a week.)
Sutton Von Hunt: 18 1/2 (She has a springtime birthday.)
Monty Overbove: 20 (He'll be 21 in about two months' time.)
Gomery Overbove: 20 (He'll be 21 in about two months' time.)
Prior Yates: 24 (I think he has a fall birthday, so he's very recently 24.)
Not revealing quuuite yet whether Monty or Gomery is the older cousin, but their birthdays are close together. I wouldn't be surprised if they shared birthday parties as kids. Their wintertime birthdays meant pool parties were likely out, although I believe Monty usually made it into the pool at some point between cake-eating and present-opening.
You can just taste this frock, right?
Very Fair Finley.
Find it at ModCloth
That's Fair Finley.
She's got a deep nice streak. And she has to kick her great neighbors out of their home.
Conflicts.
Meet Fair Finley, Wilfair's lead.
Fair is fair. She always wants to make the perfect, and perfectly fair, decision. Which means she sometimes postpones the decision entirely.
She's also named after Fairfax Avenue, which is next to The Wilfair. Fairfax is a real Los Angeles thoroughfare.
The name's third inspiration? Check LA weather, pretty much any time of the year, and you'll probably see a particular word.
Yep. It's usually fair in Los Angeles. Making it, for me, the perfect name for a local heroine.
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