The Carousel: What is The Carousel? (an answer to that question)

I probably should have posted this one first. The Carousel is kind of a loose 'catch all' for any stories involving the characters Caris and Zelphina (Zel).

They've actually debuted in print in the anthology Summer Gothic in my short story 'Beachfront' which you can check out from libraries in the Birmingham area (or maybe...you know...buy, so editor and founder Jared Millet will consider doing another one). The term Carousel was suggested by one of the other writers Larry Hensley, who also has a wonderful short story in the collection.

A little character preview since you're here: Caris started out as my wife Ginny's character in a very short lived role-playing campaign. When that ended I think we both felt like there was a little more to develop with her, and she granted me her blessing to utilize Caris in my second year of nanowrimo, helping me develop her backstory for a modern setting.

Zel was left over from a previous campaign that had essentially engulfed my twenties and I still felt like I wasn't done with her. I always thought it would be fun to try out the paranormal fiction genre, given all the more potential for my style of humor by the fact that Zel is a demon with serious depression issues. Hence the partnership was born.

'Beachfront' was published before we'd decided the two women were in a relationship, but curiously I noticed that there were subtle elements in the story that just happened to work into the way they acted towards each other. I kind of interpreted that as the characters telling me as a writer that they wanted to go in a direction I hadn't intended. And it's probably good form not to argue with them.

So that's The Carousel. I have it in my head that wherever fictional characters go when writers don't need them on the page is a type of amusement park, and the metaphorical carousel is Caris and Zel's hub, with Caris saying "Ooh, we haven't tried the ostrich yet! Let's see where that takes us," and Zel still not quite figuring out how they wind up in places all over the country when the ride just goes around in a circle.


Check out the main page for more actual Carousel content.