Character Profile: William Arthur Tenys

 I'm hoping that every Sunday will be Character Profile Day, though I don't want to do too many characters since I don't want to jump ahead of the books being pushed out! So it might be Character Profile Day for December and then shift to something else, lol.

Anyway.

William Tenys is the protagonist of the Fairy Tale Case Files. 

Tag line: When princesses go missing and curses start flying, give William a call!

Appearance:

Tallish with shaggy brown hair and grey eyes. He’s been teased in the past for his ‘changeling’ appearance as he has high cheekbones and a pointed chin. He usually wears practical, sturdy clothing and a good hat to help prevent anyone he doesn’t want to talk to from trying to catch his eye! At the time of the books, he’s in his mid-twenties and has been working as a detective for a couple of years, mostly doing small odd-jobs.

Personality:

William is fairly clever and intuitive; he has a knack for putting strange puzzle pieces together to get a whole picture. He’s a fairly terrible fighter though and he prefers to use his brains and wits rather than his muscles (he’s also got nothing against running!). He can generally be roped into trouble with the promise of money, a good puzzle and helping out others. He’s particularly good with theft and murders (whether he wants to admit it or not). 

Age: 26 (at time of first book)

Favorite food: A good roast, steamed asparagus, potatoes

Least favorite food: onions and cauliflower

Favorite color: blue

Hobbies: playing chess, reading, walking around the city, chatting with people

What drives him crazy: arrogance, poor behavior towards others, not knowing what’s going on

Weapon of choice: Brain. Running away

Coffee or tea? Coffee

Tattoos: None

Glasses: none

Phobias? Deep water

Nicknames: Billy-boy (only Arabelle can call him that)

Biggest downfall: Extremely curious, ego driven when it comes to wanting to solve problems, stubborn, slow to trust others

Family: none, that he knows of

Background:

Much of William’s background is still shrouded in mystery. At this point, we know that he lived with his abusive father and his very beaten down mother as a child where he was subjected to his father’s drunken fits of rage (though when he was very young, his father and mother were apparently much more stable). He ran away when he was eleven and that night, his mother killed his father and then committed suicide. William lived with his only friend, an older boy, who took care of him and tried to indoctrinate him in the ways of the assassin, but William fled that as well and then lived in a bar, working as a kitchen cleaner, and then got shuffled over to a brothel where he got an education and a new direction in life. We don’t know much about the friend who took him in after he fled home yet, but they were quite close for a time and the falling out badly hurt William.

William has lived in the city of Altria all his life up to this point. He is single and he has no pets or family anymore (that he knows of).

Backstage!

The concept of William Tenys actually comes from my oldest son who is the original William. Waaayyy back in 2012, I was about to embark on my second National Novel Writing Month journey when I realized that in the wash of caring for a three year old with special needs, I had put no thought to what I was going to write! I was watching my son play with his toys-a Bowser and Princess Peach plush, and Princess Peach was seeming to be friends with Bowser (though it was hard to tell since the three year old couldn’t talk much). This sparked off The Curious Case of Prince Charming, and the rest is history.

William Tenys shares a few other things with my son. They both dislike the same foods and they both have the same color hair (and usually the same shagginess). They’re both stubborn and caring.

William (The real Willam) loves the books, probably because the main character is named after him. I mean, he’s now 11. Ego is definitely an issue there!

***

I find it highly entertaining that my first cover artist refused to draw William with his face towards the ‘camera’; it became an inside joke for the two of us now. Then the second cover artist took up that ‘continuity’.

At least this means that readers can picture him anyway they like! By the time someone does draw him, I imagine that it won’t look anything like how others imagine and that’s fine too.

 Enjoy!

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My short story Something Borrowed can be downloaded on Kindle devices. Please consider reading, supporting, and leaving a review if you enjoyed it.