Do you know who this character is?  

And, can you guess who inspired it?

Both physical description and mannerisms from characters in The Way of the River came from a variety of sources—some real, including family, some from random observation, and others from actors, musicians, and other public figures you may know, and many purely from my own imagination—and most were sculpted from a blend of sources (not to mention a whole lot of easter eggs, both pop culture and music related, as well as personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout the story!).

I keep that information close to my heart, but a few of them I reveal with delight, including this one that carries a lot of significance to me.

I posted a visual riddle on social media yesterday to see if anyone could catch the physical similarities of one character from character sketches (and perhaps from reading the story) to a well-known member of a very well known band, one that in a not so roundabout way helped me discover one of my passions in life—writing!

Can you guess who it might be? Here’s another peek:

 

Perhaps the astute music heads among you already know.

If you haven’t guessed yet, here’s another clue:

It is the lead singer and lyricist for the band in question.

This was my first favorite band and has always remained one of them, even today. They helped shape my tastes in not just music, but opened my world up to British synth music, segueing into the 80’s alternative music, and beyond…

Do you know yet?

 

If you still haven’t guessed, I’ve left many clues how I began my journey into publishing in my bio here on the blog and bios elsewhere where copies of The Way of the River are stocked.

Before career and college, I was a zine maker starting at age 14. This band inspired the creation of my first of many, which started with a wild and rustic, pen and ink on paper with cut and paste methods, printed on an old copy machine at my grandfather’s company (which I called Grandpa Publishing). I have never stopped creating publications since the day I took out an ad in Bop! Magazine in late 1983 (yes that Bop!), which attracted 200+ domestic and international paying members all my age ($1.00 each for 5 issues to cover the cost of stamps!) to receive my clunky but heart-felt newsletters about this band.

Over the years it evolved into an alternative music zine, and in college a music and creative writing zine called Cheese Sandwich Revival (so 90’s-college-era!). I traded zines with people all over the world, and a part of the zine scene in the late ‘80’s and early 90’s during high school and college.

That later moved to blogs in adult life, including Mental Beans collaborative art and music blog (which sparked a still running global photograph project), and Sisters Dissonance, a travel/music publication run by my sister and I in the 2010’s as we covered live shows we attended through the years and the cities we explored while covering them, her behind the lens and me behind the ink pen/keyboard.

But I digress. Any ideas yet? If not, carry on! If you stick through to the end, there’s a bit of insider information about Kellandale Wood Book Two!

One last glimpse before I reveal, as well as one last anecdote about how this person came to influence my character.

 

As I began writing The Way of the River I fully immersed myself into creating character sketches. I had great fun describing the antagonist, the greedy yet handsome and charming villain who was also a spectacular showman with a golden voice. I even went so far to describe the outfit he would wear in his opening scene.

Around the same time, and by sheer coincidence I decided to watch a concert of my aforementioned oldest favorite band as I did some writing, and the lead singer stepped out for “Before the Rain” in an outfit so eerily similar to the one my character was wearing, my jaw dropped (mind you, I had never seen this concert before). Not to mention, his physical description, handsome charm, and dramatic movements were so much what I had been envisioning and writing into the scene.

 

“We welcome you on this special opening night of the season. I know who you came to see; you know who you came to see! So, without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce the man that you adore, here, in the flesh, before your very own eyes, the dazzling, the extraordinary and most amazing, the one and only Théodore Coddlefin!”

The crowd screamed madly as he swaggered into the ring accompanied by the feverish music of the circus band. He cut a striking form in his eccentric outfit—the sleeves and chest of his black suit were emblazoned with crimson-red sequins that matched the velvet big top and the ring master’s own sparkling, sequined pants. Beneath his jacket was a button-down black shirt, and on his feet he wore shiny leather boots.

He was handsome—much more handsome, and certainly more beguiling than Tillie, Elinora, or any of the others had expected. He was an older man, and though time had roughened his face a bit, he moved about with flair and energy, smiling broadly. The spotlight hit his gold-plated front tooth and it glinted brightly, giving him a wild, toothy grin. He bowed deeply then threw his arms dramatically in the air.

“Good evening folks!” he shouted, then took the megaphone from the ringmaster. “Children, my dear children. Thank you all for coming! It means so much that you would travel far and wide to pay me a visit. It will be worth it, I promise you. What you are about to see, what you are about to experience, is unsurpassed, and more amazing than your wildest dreams.”

— The Way of the River, Chapter 25: Coddlefin’s Amazing Feats & Extraordinary Traveling Menagerie Embed Block Add an embed URL or code. Learn more

So there’s the answer!

I decided on the spot to unabashedly model Theodore Coddlefin after the one and only Simon LeBon of Duran Duran. Truly, I had a diamond in mind.

Photo of Simon LeBon by Eva Rinaldi (Creative Commons licensing)

So. This is my own little overly dramatic love letter to Duran Duran, who, in their own way, influenced me in so many ways, and most importantly are a singular traceable point to setting a match to spark in me a lifelong passion and desire to write/create/design, a long, long ago.

! It is imperative to note ! Only the physicality of Coddlefin is modeled after Simon LeBon, and nothing to do with his character, personality or actions is modeled after Simon LeBon in any way.

That said, in a little spoiler for Book Two, Coddlefin has a long way to go in terms of his story and character arc, and you certainly haven’t seen the last of him yet…

As always, a big thank you to my son, Tom for collaborating with me to create the brilliant illustrations and prototypes that have brought so many of the characters from The Way of the River, as I envision them, to life!