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/
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