A Novel Idea: The Petrichor Cast — (Almost) Every Single One of Them

left to right: astrid, cobie, blade, ryker, decker, jess

Okay, everyone, buckle up because this is going to be a huge ride. I'm participating in A Novel Idea, a blog meme by Ashley @ Ashley Aspires. I've decided to feature almost every character from Petrichor, since I couldn't pick just one and these questions would be perfect for every single one of them.

Blade, Cobie, Astrid, and Decker have all been featured in past posts for A Novel Idea, but Ryker and Jess have not yet. Ryker is Cobie's boyfriend, and Jess is Decker's friend/love interest. You'll learn more about them here and in the coming installments of A Novel Idea. So without further ado... here we go!

Left to right, first row: Blade, Cobie, Ryker

Left to right, second row: Astrid, Decker, Jess

1. Does your character have any religious views? If so, what are they and why do they believe what they believe? 

Blade: Blade currently doesn't attend church. He had been burned by the church in the past, so now he mostly isolates himself and keeps on his own, a lone wolf. I think he'd probably be an agnostic, in that he doesn't know if there's a God or not. He's open, but for now he's doing his own thing.

Cobie: Cobie goes to church every Sunday with her family, but hates the hypocrisy she sees there. She's currently not a Christian and doesn't have much interest in it at all.

Ryker: Ryker is one of the most open of them all. He'll sit in church and silently absorbs some of what he hears. He's not a Christian in the full sense, but he does like hearing what the sermons preach. He's the kind of person that's open to any and all information and loves learning things, so he looks at faith mostly analytically.

Astrid: My dear Astrid is an atheist. She doesn't believe a God exists, period.

Decker: Decker... oh man, I don't know. He mostly doesn't really care or think about religious beliefs. He thinks there has to be some sort of faith or religion, but he doesn't know what.

Jess: Jess is the one I know the least. I think she'd probably be an atheist.

2. If they’re religious, was it something that was taught to them when they were growing up, or something they found on their own? 

For Blade and Cobie, Christianity was something taught to them as they were growing up. Things when they were older led them away from it, but they have a large history of faith in their families and in their childhood lives.

Oakridge is the kind of town where everyone goes to church, so I think they've all been on a semi-regular basis, except maybe Decker and Jess. This is not a very good indication on the state of their hearts, but they do have a lot of church experience ingrained in them from their childhood years.

This is Blade's vintage camera collection, probably.

3. What are their political views, if any? 
Blade: Blade is oddly similar to Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. While Blade sees the good government can play in the lives of a community, he hasn't much cared about it for most of his existence. He mostly cares about keeping people safe, whatever form that comes in.

Cobie: Cobie is very much a feminist, she knows that much. She, like almost every other character, isn't old enough to vote, plus politics aren't as big of a deal or as close to real-life politics in Oakridge. So she mostly just doesn't care. She just wants to be free to do her own thing.

Ryker: Ryker is a person with strong moral ethics and beliefs, and he sticks to them. While I don't know whether he'd be Republican or Democrat, I know he'd vote the way he felt was most true to what he believed was right.

Astrid: Astrid votes for whatever she feels will keep her safest.

Decker: Decker is probably even closer to being Ron Swanson than Blade is. He doesn't care what the government does as long as he's free to live his own life without their involvement.

Jess: Jess just votes because she feels it's a duty, but she doesn't give too much thought to it either way. She votes and then washes her hands of it.

Basically, everyone in this book represented here wants to do their own thing. (They also like the right to defend themselves due to the nature of crime in this town.)

Ryker likes newspapers.

4. Are they mostly pessimistic or optimistic?

Blade: He's mostly optimistic in that he can see the good in people. But, he is also a realist.

Cobie: Cobie is an optimist, but she also desires for people to be honest, no matter how much that honesty hurts. She doesn't like trying to pretend everything's okay, or denying that there are problems. In that case, she's probably a realist as well.

Ryker: Ryker is an optimistic analyst who sees the good in humanity and just likes to take in whatever information the world has to offer.

Astrid: Astrid has a pessimistic outlook.

Decker: Decker is a pessimist and so dang realistic.

Jess: She is logical, mostly, which definitely comes with an edge of pessimism.

5. What do they believe will make a person successful in life?

Blade: Hard work.

Cobie: Having fun.

Ryker: Trying your best.

Astrid: Avoiding hellish circumstances.

Decker: Being brave.

Jess: Caring about people.

if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do. - hey brother, avicii

current wordcount in Petrichor: 

62,464 / ~100,000

Do your own version, and get to know your characters, by participating in A Novel Idea! Simply click below. ;)

Disclaimer: As a writer, I like to make mood boards on Pinterest. As such, I often end up using images from other photographers on my blog and elsewhere in order to convey the feel and atmosphere of my writing. Due to the nature of the internet, it is often hard to find the originators of these images, though I would love to credit them if at all possible. If you own one of the images seen in this post and would prefer it not to be used, or would like me to credit you, please email me.