I remember when I first came across Floyd's character and I didn't have a clue what sort of domino effect would come from his character. He was introduced in the first draft of my novel Neon Blood and was killed off several chapters later. Despite leading such a short life in this early draft, I became enamoured with him and decided to extend his life within the story, by writing a series of chapters to postpone his death.
When I gave the fourth draft of this story to beta-readers, Floyd won the Favourite Character Poll that I had constructed, to see how my characters were being received. He managed to win that poll by four votes; an absolute landslide! From there, the complaints about his murder came flooding in - my readers were greatly upset and conspired that he ought to be resurrected.
I fought against the people's wishes for over a year, but eventually, I decided to re-visit Floyd's character and work out whether it would be plausible for him to survive. From that mere consideration spanned a "cult" following. His spirit animal of a flamingo became the symbol of my social circle whilst at university and his development lead to the reconstruction of the entire series so his entire story could be told. He, out of all of my characters, deserved it!
Out of every character I have ever created, Floyd is my all-time favourite! Everything about him makes him endearing to me as a writer; his intellect and his skills as a tactician, his ability to be self-sacrificing, his sense of loyalty to the promises he once made and his general charisma and exuberance! He has a soft spot in my heart and the hearts of my family and friends! I cannot wait for his story to finally hit the shelves in the years to come.
So happy birthday Floyd!
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