A Bit About Kas, from my upcoming novel

Greetings all. I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to some of the characters for my upcoming novel, Kas, which is scheduled to be released April 17, 2015. So, without further ado, here's a bit about the main character.

Kas

Kas is a 17-18 year old girl who has always felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb in her family. The third of six children, she has always been the odd one out. In her words, here's a bit about her siblings.

There were six of us kids all told. I was the second girl, the third child in the family. There were two boys and one girl under me. The youngest was Russell. He was a two-year-old nightmare waiting to happen. If there was anything he could get into, he did. Without any hesitations. His favorite past time was taking apart Dad’s gadgets and Mom’s computer.

My older brother, David, [...] had a habit of forgetting that he wasn’t the only person in the place. His own apartment was a single, occupant him.

My older sister, Sara, was the opposite of David. Mostly. She was the favorite child, the privileged child. She was always the one who got the car when she had an important date with Mr. So and So in secondary school. No questions asked. Mom and Dad would just hand her the keys, tell her to have a good time, not worrying about it. She got home when she wanted.

The next child in line, Allisa, was trying to catch [Russell]. She had a comb in her hand, for decided use on her prey. She looked like she needed the comb far more than he did. Her hair was a rat’s nest of yellow. Talk about total bed head.

My other younger brother entered next. His hair wasn't quite as bad as Allisa’s. Not that that was saying much. But then his hair was shorter. He still needed a haircut. He flopped down onto a chair and yawned, showing off teeth that had far more damage than a fourteen-year-old deserved. Cavities galore.

From this passage, it's pretty easy to tell that Kas is like most typical teenagers, feeling out of place and disenchanted with family life. That or she is just jaded about life. But what teenager doesn't struggle with family relationships, jealousy of other siblings, etc? I don't think I've heard of a single one who doesn't struggle with something where they feel out of place.

(Author's note  here: I must confess that Kas' siblings are modeled a bit after my own brothers and sisters. My youngest brother really is a technological genius, especially for his age. And yes, at the age of two, he was taking about various gadgets, and somehow managed to erase crucial data on my mom's computer. His name isn't Russel. Gotta protect the innocent, after all.
Dan is also modeled after one of my younger siblings, an easy going kind of guy who doesn't say much, but doesn't miss much either.
Sarah, admittedly, is a combination of my two older sisters, but mostly my eldest sister. And from my, way back when, teenage perspective, got away with a lot that I never did, got a lot more privileges than I ever did, and all that other stuff younger siblings are jealous of.
Allisa is a combination of both my younger sisters, both who were blond and... in some cases, silly and flamboyant. (They have since grown up since I'm basing Allisa after their younger incarnations.)
And then there's David, who isn't really based off of any siblings, but if I had to say anything is similar, it would be a combo of both of the two eldest younger brothers, since I don't have any brothers actually older than me. But if I had had an elder brother, I wish he'd be like David.)

As for what Kas looks like, I offer this:

I think that I'm the only member of our family who doesn't have light colored hair; something I think went back to my great-grandma. Every picture I could find of her suggested black hair. But then, they were black and white photos, which wasn't all that helpful. My hair was dark brown with red highlights. Mom called it auburn.

 Kas is of average height and build, not overly skinny, but not overweight either. She's of fair complexion, a great reader, and a fan of fairy tales and older stories. Tending to be a bit on the romantic side, Kas has often fantasized about living in some of her favorite stories, including damsels in distress, heroic princesses, and the like.  She just didn't expect to be tilted into one willy nilly.

~~~~~~~

In general, I think Kas is a character that most teenagers can relate to, in one way or another. I know I did when I was her age. But who doesn't feel lost a bit every now and again? Who doesn't wonder if there is more to life than the mundane existence so many of us get stuck in? Don't we all wish for some kind of adventure, at one point or another, something that tells us that we are more than what we think we are?

Kas is a story of redemption, in a sense, but more, I think, a coming of age and realization that we are all more than the sum of our supposed parts. We each are more important than we think we are.