Frank Lambert's Blog
April 4, 2014
Mandrake Ackx
Mandrake Ackx is the bad guy in Napoleon Xylophone. Actually, he is half wyte, half changeling and 100% psychotic. Sometimes he is over seven feet tall and sometimes as small as a child. No matter his size, he always looks old and undernourished, like he is closer to being a corpse rather than being alive. Despite his appearance Ackx is full of energy. The supernatural atoms that make up his body generate far more powerful electrical currents than any man ever could. Ackx can focus this power and if he touches something - if he touches a person, the discharge is strong enough to fry that person into a blackened husk.
Being lord of the underworld beneath Newcastle has its responsibilities, but all Ackx is concerned about is talking to Time. He understands Time well, he has listened to its lament for over five hundred years and knows it is ready to hand over its responsibilities to someone else. Ackx wants to become that someone else so he can mould the world into a place where his psychosis rules unchallenged. Although he can hear time speak when he slips into a dream trance, he cannot speak to Time himself. If he could speak to Time, he is sure he would be able to convince it to relinquish its hold on the rhythm of life and hand over that responsibility to Ackx. All he needs to do is find someone capable of creating a device to speak to Time, someone like Eli Xylophone. In order to get Eli to work for him, Ackx has to enter the realm of man. He hates their world; it is too dry, even when it rains it is too dry for Ackx’s eyes. The only time he likes to walk there is at night. Especially when there is a meteor storm. He first met Eli at night, when Eli was a child. Ackx saw something in Eli and took him back to the underworld. He treated him like his own child. The children of the underworld are taught to be loyal to their parents. Underworld parents are not taught to be loyal or even kind to their children. Some underworld parents are naturally benevolent to their children, others are naturally cruel. If one of Ackx’s children disappoints him, then they are his children no more. When Ackx’s changeling son disappoints him, he kills the changeling in the only way a changeling can be killed. He cuts off his head. It doesn’t concern Ackx that he has lost a son, he can always make another child.
Being lord of the underworld beneath Newcastle has its responsibilities, but all Ackx is concerned about is talking to Time. He understands Time well, he has listened to its lament for over five hundred years and knows it is ready to hand over its responsibilities to someone else. Ackx wants to become that someone else so he can mould the world into a place where his psychosis rules unchallenged. Although he can hear time speak when he slips into a dream trance, he cannot speak to Time himself. If he could speak to Time, he is sure he would be able to convince it to relinquish its hold on the rhythm of life and hand over that responsibility to Ackx. All he needs to do is find someone capable of creating a device to speak to Time, someone like Eli Xylophone. In order to get Eli to work for him, Ackx has to enter the realm of man. He hates their world; it is too dry, even when it rains it is too dry for Ackx’s eyes. The only time he likes to walk there is at night. Especially when there is a meteor storm. He first met Eli at night, when Eli was a child. Ackx saw something in Eli and took him back to the underworld. He treated him like his own child. The children of the underworld are taught to be loyal to their parents. Underworld parents are not taught to be loyal or even kind to their children. Some underworld parents are naturally benevolent to their children, others are naturally cruel. If one of Ackx’s children disappoints him, then they are his children no more. When Ackx’s changeling son disappoints him, he kills the changeling in the only way a changeling can be killed. He cuts off his head. It doesn’t concern Ackx that he has lost a son, he can always make another child.
March 28, 2014
Esmeralda Riley
Ezzy is another one of the main characters in Napoleon Xylophone.
Esmeralda Riley is the same age as Zam. She likes her name, but everyone calls her Ezzy anyway. Like most teenage girls she cares about her looks. Unlike most teenage girls who care because they want to attract a boy, Ezzy cares because she doesn’t want to end up looking like her mother - uninterested in life. She knows her mother is only that way because Ezzy’s father died fighting for his country and she feels guilty not being like her mother. Although she doesn’t show it on the outside, on the inside, where no one can see, she is just like her mother.
She used to feel sorry for Zam. No one at school wanted anything to do with him. On the surface, he didn’t seem to mind. Ezzy knew he cared, though, she saw him when he thought no one was looking, how his eyes revealed his sorrow. She could imagine what was going on inside his head at times like that, which was why she started to talk to him. Her friends mostly stopped talking to her when she started to hang around Zam. It didn’t bother Ezzy, Zam was more fun than her friends and after a while, she stopped feeling sorry for him when she learned that he was more than just a boy in a wheelchair.
Ezzy knew Zam wanted to be more than a friend. She wasn’t interested in Zam in a romantic way. When you care for people too much, they either leave you or are taken away from you. Ezzy didn’t want to be hurt that way ever again. Being no more than friends meant that she could still make Zam see things differently. When he got angry at people for staring at him, or when they let shop doors close on him because they didn’t see him Ezzy always seemed to be able to calm him down. He only really got angry with her when she was distracted. When she was staring at herself in a shop window or any other reflective surface. She knew he didn’t like her staring at herself, but she couldn’t stop. She saw something in her reflection other people didn’t see. She saw how she would look when she was old and what she saw was her mother staring back at her.
Esmeralda Riley is the same age as Zam. She likes her name, but everyone calls her Ezzy anyway. Like most teenage girls she cares about her looks. Unlike most teenage girls who care because they want to attract a boy, Ezzy cares because she doesn’t want to end up looking like her mother - uninterested in life. She knows her mother is only that way because Ezzy’s father died fighting for his country and she feels guilty not being like her mother. Although she doesn’t show it on the outside, on the inside, where no one can see, she is just like her mother.
She used to feel sorry for Zam. No one at school wanted anything to do with him. On the surface, he didn’t seem to mind. Ezzy knew he cared, though, she saw him when he thought no one was looking, how his eyes revealed his sorrow. She could imagine what was going on inside his head at times like that, which was why she started to talk to him. Her friends mostly stopped talking to her when she started to hang around Zam. It didn’t bother Ezzy, Zam was more fun than her friends and after a while, she stopped feeling sorry for him when she learned that he was more than just a boy in a wheelchair.
Ezzy knew Zam wanted to be more than a friend. She wasn’t interested in Zam in a romantic way. When you care for people too much, they either leave you or are taken away from you. Ezzy didn’t want to be hurt that way ever again. Being no more than friends meant that she could still make Zam see things differently. When he got angry at people for staring at him, or when they let shop doors close on him because they didn’t see him Ezzy always seemed to be able to calm him down. He only really got angry with her when she was distracted. When she was staring at herself in a shop window or any other reflective surface. She knew he didn’t like her staring at herself, but she couldn’t stop. She saw something in her reflection other people didn’t see. She saw how she would look when she was old and what she saw was her mother staring back at her.
March 23, 2014
Zam
For those who have asked to know more about Napoleon Xylophone I’ve written some character profiles that hopefully won’t give away too much about the story.
Protagonist – Napoleon Xylophone
Napoleon Xylophone is a 15 year old boy who hates his name. That’s why everyone calls him Zam. He has a walking disability that means he is mostly confined to a wheelchair. Half of Zam’s hair is black - his natural colour, while the other half is dyed red because no one else in school has it that way and people sometimes stare at him because of his hair and not his wheelchair. Zam hasn’t got many friends, just his polecat who he calls Rat because that’s what he thought it was when he was first introduced to it and Ezzy, a girl he met at school. Zam doesn’t think Ezzy is interested in him being her boyfriend, not when he is in a wheelchair. He likes the way Ezzy looks and the way she talks, he likes just about everything about her.
Zam is bullied at school. He is bullied outside of school too when Murgo and his cronies bump into him. Zam doesn’t know how to deal with bullies. All he can do is try to avoid them. He lives with his grandfather in Newcastle. His parents are always out of the country, they like to travel and Zam isn’t built for travel. He gets the occasional email from them and a present at Christmas, that’s about his only interaction with his parents. When he is upset or needs to feel strong, Zam has a mantra he repeats over and again inside his head – Xyz. He doesn’t know why it makes him feel better, all he knows is the first thing he said when he started to talk was Xyz. Whenever he is being bullied, Xyz bounces around inside his head and things never seem so bad.
It isn’t until Zam enters the supernatural underworld beneath Newcastle that he discovers he has a natural instinct when it comes to understanding ghosts and how to get them to do things for him. His grandfather tells him it’s because of his clairvoyant blood that he can talk to ghosts, blood that has been awakened beneath the shifting red skies of the underworld. Fighting things that should never be alive; things that he cannot avoid, helps him to understand how to deal with bullies. Having a new friend called Q that’s a wheelchair is not as strange as it sounds, not when that wheelchair is more like a transformer that can speak and morph into ultra-cool vehicles like hovercrafts and flying machines. Zam likes Q not only because he makes him feel like he isn’t disabled but also because he has a crazy sense of humour. Zam knows a sense of humour is important; it helps him get through the day when everything seems against him and Ezzy is not by his side.
If you'd like to learn more about Whizz-Kidz and how they help disabled children, check out this link:
http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/
If you'd like to find out more about Xylophone and future stories check out this link:
http://www.franklambert.co.uk/
Protagonist – Napoleon Xylophone
Napoleon Xylophone is a 15 year old boy who hates his name. That’s why everyone calls him Zam. He has a walking disability that means he is mostly confined to a wheelchair. Half of Zam’s hair is black - his natural colour, while the other half is dyed red because no one else in school has it that way and people sometimes stare at him because of his hair and not his wheelchair. Zam hasn’t got many friends, just his polecat who he calls Rat because that’s what he thought it was when he was first introduced to it and Ezzy, a girl he met at school. Zam doesn’t think Ezzy is interested in him being her boyfriend, not when he is in a wheelchair. He likes the way Ezzy looks and the way she talks, he likes just about everything about her.
Zam is bullied at school. He is bullied outside of school too when Murgo and his cronies bump into him. Zam doesn’t know how to deal with bullies. All he can do is try to avoid them. He lives with his grandfather in Newcastle. His parents are always out of the country, they like to travel and Zam isn’t built for travel. He gets the occasional email from them and a present at Christmas, that’s about his only interaction with his parents. When he is upset or needs to feel strong, Zam has a mantra he repeats over and again inside his head – Xyz. He doesn’t know why it makes him feel better, all he knows is the first thing he said when he started to talk was Xyz. Whenever he is being bullied, Xyz bounces around inside his head and things never seem so bad.
It isn’t until Zam enters the supernatural underworld beneath Newcastle that he discovers he has a natural instinct when it comes to understanding ghosts and how to get them to do things for him. His grandfather tells him it’s because of his clairvoyant blood that he can talk to ghosts, blood that has been awakened beneath the shifting red skies of the underworld. Fighting things that should never be alive; things that he cannot avoid, helps him to understand how to deal with bullies. Having a new friend called Q that’s a wheelchair is not as strange as it sounds, not when that wheelchair is more like a transformer that can speak and morph into ultra-cool vehicles like hovercrafts and flying machines. Zam likes Q not only because he makes him feel like he isn’t disabled but also because he has a crazy sense of humour. Zam knows a sense of humour is important; it helps him get through the day when everything seems against him and Ezzy is not by his side.
If you'd like to learn more about Whizz-Kidz and how they help disabled children, check out this link:
http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/
If you'd like to find out more about Xylophone and future stories check out this link:
http://www.franklambert.co.uk/
March 16, 2014
Napoleon Xylophone
Napoleon Xylophone introduced himself to me while I was completing a Masters in Creative Writing at Teesside University. It was commissioned by Whizz-Kidz, a UK based charity which helps to support disabled children. The main aim of the book is to give disabled children a voice to help them express how they fit into society.
As the main protagonist in the book (Zam) travels through the pages of his story, he touches on some of the difficulties disabled children encounter in their every day life. Everyone involved with the story was keen that it would not become an issues story and although Zam is disabled, that's not the overriding theme of the story. The story is about growing up, facing overwhelming challenges and overcoming those challenges with the help of friends and drawing upon courage. Zam is more than a teenager in a wheelchair with an amazing story to tell; he is a hero anyone can look up to.
If you'd like to learn more about Whizz-Kidz and how they help disabled children, check out this link:
http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/
If you'd like to find out more about Xylophone and future stories check out this link:
http://www.franklambert.co.uk/
As the main protagonist in the book (Zam) travels through the pages of his story, he touches on some of the difficulties disabled children encounter in their every day life. Everyone involved with the story was keen that it would not become an issues story and although Zam is disabled, that's not the overriding theme of the story. The story is about growing up, facing overwhelming challenges and overcoming those challenges with the help of friends and drawing upon courage. Zam is more than a teenager in a wheelchair with an amazing story to tell; he is a hero anyone can look up to.
If you'd like to learn more about Whizz-Kidz and how they help disabled children, check out this link:
http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/
If you'd like to find out more about Xylophone and future stories check out this link:
http://www.franklambert.co.uk/
