Characters Overview
The cast of UNBOUND is akin to several pebbles thrown into a pond; each one with a ripple of family, friends, associates, and enemies that expand, encounter and interact with others nearby, colliding and causing unexpected conflicts and unpredictable resolutions. For now, we'll deal with the characters of Book One: Earth, which comprises Parts One and Two of the novel.
Part One is entirely devoted to Lily, Will, and the elderly hitchhiker they've encountered and nicknamed "Brother Al." Lily and Will have been together for seven years and have developed a very close relationship despite their age difference of a decade or so. She has devoted herself to bringing the boy up, sacrificing any semblance of a normal life, and has been equal parts mother, father, friend, and in some cases, foe to him.
Will, at seventeen, is listening and marching only to his own different drummer, and has been for awhile. Either late or disinterested in girls until now, he seems to have come to his own conclusions and desires about his guardian, and especially in light of his impending reunion with his parents feels obliged to get his feelings out to her, somehow.
The mysterious man they've named "Brother Al" is apparently a travelling monk. He is old, quiet, cryptic, strange, and... foreign. The less said about him at this point, the better.
Supporting Characters
It's hard to refer to the remaining cast members as "supporting" as each of them has a story of their own to grow. In Part Two we'll meet Stephen, Lily's roommate and Will's tutor (and Kate Bush fan). Coming onto the stage will also be Will's parents, the bike messenger Thomas, and maddened Fingal who all will round out this second circle. They've known each other since school, but The Bust that sent Will's folks to prison broke up their household of dope-fiend friends. There are quite a few unresolved issues that get dealt with between them as well.
Elsewhere, Lily's hostile workplace is made a bit more tolerable by her friend Eden, whose sexiness takes the heat and the eye of their lecherous (and cruel) boss away from her, for the most part. Eden is continually perplexed by Lily's refusal to take her up on offers to double-date; she doesn't even express any interest in men at all. For Lil's part, from her point of view, what she says, what she thinks, is that between work and tending to Will she just hasn't the time nor the inclination, and that she hasn't yet met the one just for her anyway.
Eden isn't convinced though. Lily herself isn't so sure anymore, these days. These days she is growing curious, and she's curious about that as well...
Unsupporting Characters
The last ripple of cast members of Book One are those I'd best not go into yet as they introduce another angle (of many), and complicates matters in the telling. Once the book has a deal (or better yet, a release date) I'll include these characters in the BOUND/Steps section so that you can be introduced.
I should add that all I've mentioned and revealed here only deals with setting up about a fourth of the book. There are many, many changes... and many, many more characters to meet!