I’m now about a quarter of the way through drafting the final book in Callaghan McCarthy’s story-cycle. Soon it will be time for someone new to step forward and tell the story of Woodley, USA from their own perspective. To this end, I am issuing a casting call for potential lead characters to headline the next series.
Job description:
During the course of your employment as Lead Character, you will experience newness and wonder (whether you like it or not) and you will have your entire belief structure fundamentally challenged and overhauled. Your heart will probably break a few times, but you will be provided with allies who will nurture you through this. You will probably also face some physical dangers; unfortunately, you’ll be on your own regarding how to get out of these particular messes. Your job is to figure out how to save not just yourself but your friends, the farm, the town, and ultimately the world. (You will almost certainly never understand exactly how the fate of the world figures in all this, of course, but it’s still your job to do it.)
Requirements include but are not limited to:
- Adult human female with some life experience. You do not need to have grown children, but this is not a “coming of age” tale. Please have a few hard-learned lessons under your belt that have made you stronger and kinder.
- Some cynicism and a few PTSD symptoms are OK, but complete douchebaggery will be considered a deal-breaker.
- Preference will be given to those with 100% human blood, though if you suspect you have a long-forgotten faerie or deity somewhere in your ancestry, you may still be considered.
- Skinny twentysomething characters with large breasts and flawless skin need not apply.
Please answer the following questions on the reverse side of this sheet:
- What are you running from?
- What did you hope to find when you arrived in Woodley, USA?
- What did you really hope to find? I mean originally, back when you were a kid, before they convinced you it couldn’t actually be found in the real world?
- Do you believe in ghosts?
If you are a fictional character and wish to be considered for this position, please transmit your answers to my muse ASAP.
Note: While Woodley, USA is a diverse community, I do not feel that I, as a writer, am qualified to represent, through my Main Characters, challenges I have never personally experienced. While you will be acting alongside characters of many different ages, races, species, genders, physical abilities and neurological types, I feel that stories which feature these characters as the main Point Of View are best told by #OwnVoices.
This is complete fictional character for you if you want her.
Monica Burton Age 27 5’9″ Regular body type. Brown hair (long)
I started life in a middle-class neighborhood in Tarrytown New York, about 30 miles north of New York City. It was a gorgeous house with five bedrooms and a pool in the back yard.
I have a brother and sister who are two years younger than myself, they are twins. When I was 8 my mom and dad divorced, we stayed with my mom, but we lost the house and started to move around every six months (or when the lease came due at the apartment). When I was 13 my mom got the owner of the local fast-food joint to allow me to get a job there working in the dining room to help bring in money to pay for expenses at home. I dropped out of regular school and started homeschooling so that I could keep working to keep the money coming in.
When I was 14, my uncle taught my best friend and me how to drive in parking lots and then on the freeway. At 15 I was responsible for getting my sister and brother to and from school and doing the chores at home, while trying to do my homework, and still working.
At 17 I met a guy, Carl, through work and when I hit 18 we got married. It was a rocky relationship with lots of fighting, especially when we both drank. He was obsessive and jealous. At 20 I got pregnant but lost my child after 7 months when the umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck. I carried her to term, but Carl blamed me for the loss and the relationship got physical.
I would have named my baby girl, Vanessa, I think. Such a beautiful name. I drank more than before and lost my job. Carl became worse and I accidentally broke my arm while he was at work. I used that to get help to escape him and have been running ever since.
I’ve gone to rehab a few times, but Carl found me again. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen him and with the counseling with Dr Kyle Greeves to help me with my problems which in turn is helping rehab work, I’ve been clean for 9 months. I have moved to this new town for a fresh start.
I am still running from Carl and from my mother. I haven’t talked to anyone from my family in years and I don’t want to. My mom blames me for all of her problems including when my sister tried to commit suicide.
In Woodley I hope to find that new start. A place to forget my past and people that don’t know about my past. When I was a kid (before my parent’s divorce), I wanted to be a veterinarian and spend as much time outside catching fairies. I now have a job at a local veterinary clinic as a receptionist, answering calls and greeting new patients while I take some night classes to get a degree. I’m happier but sometimes I dream of the release a good drink can give me. It’s hard, and I’ve joined the local church group here for support.
Sometimes, late at night, when I have had a hard day or the depression is setting in, I think I can hear my baby girl crying. Though she never got to take a breath. So yeah, I think I believe in ghosts.
I think you would make a wonderful, relatable character! Now all I need to do is build a veterinary clinic in Woodley and we’ll be set to go! <3
Sorry! LOL 🙂 Glad to know she will fit though overall.
Happy writing!