_"You go enjoy your meal, and don't let my husband bore you," said Elena._
Elena is a Kaerin who lives in Waterlink and co-owns The Frog’s Pickle restaurant. Her husband, Mr. Williams, is a Stranger.
Elena serves authentic Kaerin cuisine, which makes her restaurant quite popular in the trade city of Waterlink. In Book 1, she appears and helps Toshie and the crew when things go awry.
Since the Strangers in Vara Elma are (so far!) humans from Earth, I wanted to show that despite being referred to as Strangers, they are not necessarily outsiders. And Vara Elma is not opposed to relationships between different people. I wanted to avoid the “Sure, there are a variety of races in the world, and they might be friends, but relationships?!? Never!” Elena and Mr. Williams came from vastly different cultures but found each other.
I realized it a bit after writing it, but I took inspiration from their relationship from my grandparents'. My maternal grandmother is from Germany and left the country with my grandfather. They ran several businesses throughout their life, including a bar and restaurant. They always worked together, and while they had their arguments–what couple doesn’t–it was hard to imagine them apart. My grandfather passed last year, which was devastating. Around that time, I realized how much I had taken from them when I wrote Elena and Mr. Williams.
Toshie the Hero and the Orbs of Destiny is available now!
Books 2 and 3 will be released in 2025.
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