2nd Place winner in "favorite character" contest

Today post is 2nd Place winner Susy Pinnington's entry in the "Who is your favorite character and why" contest. I chuckled all the way through her hysterical take on Phaelan. Loved it! Suzy wins an autographed cover flat as well as a fridge magnet for The Trouble with Demons.

Here's Susy's entry . . .

My favorite character is Phaelan. I can't understand why all the fan girls focus on Mychael and Tam. Fine, they are Raine's love interest, but Phaelan is just as appealing to the reader, if not more so: Raine is never going to be interested, so all the more for us!

So, Phaelan. Utterly adorable in a madcap, oh-god-I-can't-believe-he-did/said-that kind of way. No brakes; hell, forget stopping, this guy never slows down. Couple this with his impeccable dress sense, crazy humor and deeply dubious morals and you get the kind of guy I'd invite over to dinner in a shot, if only to find out what would happen next.

He's the first person you meet in Magic Lost, Trouble Found. Even before you find out what Raine looks like, you get to see Phaelan. Then you find out what he's wearing. First impressions are everything, and Phaelan got there first. None of the other guys you meet later quite made the grade for me. They're great people, amazing characters and I desperately want to find out what happens next, but foremost in my heart is the dark-eyed, grinning, sharp-dressing pirate I met down a filthy back alley in Mermeia.

A big part of this charming nutcase's appeal is his sheer outrageousness: how can you not love someone who offers to get rid of half the Seat of Twelve --"Just get me the names of the ones you don't want to keep. I know people." -- for the Paladin, no less? That Mychael actually considers -- if only for a split second -- taking him up on the offer is ample proof that you can get away with anything if you think big enough, and Phaelan doesn't think small. He's larger than life and twice as fun.

Another big part of why I love Phaelan is his strong family loyalty. Raine's new found abilities and talent for trouble may be getting her into new and messier situations by the minute, but he's stuck by her this far and isn't going to quit now. Whatever today's adversary thinks they're doing with Raine, our hero isn't just going to stand by and let it happen. Oh no. A feared pirate who obviously loves his "job," Phaelan is going to put it all on the line for his cousin. Cue the subterfuge, disorder, mayhem and general illegality that seems to accompany every member of the Benares family.

Raine may think she's a disaster magnet, but she shouldn't take all the credit: her gorgeous, wild and wickedly funny cousin causes more than his fare share of chaos as well. Let's just face it: it's a Benares thing.

Tomorrow I'll post Suzane Ritch's 3rd Place winning entry on her favorite "character": the world my books are set in.