Beyond Magical

Read on for some insight into the characters in Those Vikings

I believe my stories are magical. Do they contain magic? They do, but there’s a difference between magical and magic. Something magical takes you places. It might be a song, a poem or the touch of a friendly hand.

Magical evokes emotions.

Towards the end of Those Vikings, the co-main character, Finch, shares some interesting information with the other main character, Karl. Although he’s sceptical about the outcome, Karl decides it is magical because of how it makes him feel.

When Karl first meets Finch, he doesn’t want to share anything about himself. Finch wants to share–he’s the new school kid and wants friends. Karl is friendless because other kids have an unfavourable opinion of him.

Finch has to work hard to gain Karl’s trust. When Karl finally decides Finch is genuine, the third main character, Erika, arrives on the scene. Finch then does what he does best: he makes friends with Erika. Karl feels left out.

Karl is ready to give up when Vikings storm in and capture everyone but him. He’s left alone to plan a rescue but has no idea where to start. He didn’t understand what it meant to have people rely on him.

When I dropped the rescue responsibility on Karl, I knew he would struggle. I had to guide him through the process and let him figure it out for himself. For Karl, that process was magical.