Mindi Scott on Kendall and Freefall

Mar 1, 2011 by shanyn

Welcome to Chick Loves Lit! To stay updated on my posts, why not subscribe to my RSS Feed?

Today Mindi Scott is here to discuss Kendall, a character in the excellent book Freefall!

Before people read Freefall they probably have no idea that it’s a story about a boy and a girl and . . . another girl. Kendall Eckman isn’t mentioned in the book cover description, but to me, Isaac’s past girlfriend/ Seth’s former neighbor is HUGELY important.

In my first draft, I intended Kendall to be Seth’s one-night stand who wouldn’t be seen again after the first chapter. Later, I decided to have her be the younger sister of Seth’s brother’s girlfriend so that she could turn up periodically to annoy Seth. Eventually, the sister was written out of the story completely, but Kendall remained. She’d managed to work her way into a good number of the subplots and became absolutely crucial to Seth’s arc.

I didn’t create Kendall with anyone from real life in mind, but thinking back on high school now, I do remember that there was someone who had surface similarities. She was tall, gorgeous, bossy, and loud. She was territorial of the guys in her clique and always in the middle of some drama that she was causing.

Naturally, I couldn’t stand that girl.

Knowing this, it might seem strange that Kendall is my second-favorite character (after Seth) in this story. But the truth is, if I were to write a spinoff, there is a good chance it would be from her point of view! There’s just something about her energy that makes her a fascinating and fun character to write. I really hope that readers enjoy getting to know her, too!

Thank you, Mindi! I love to hear stories about characters and covers and everything else behind the scenes!

More about Freefall:
How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend, Isaac, alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time when Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he’s ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth soon realizes he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .

Order a copy today!

3 Comments

Linds @ Bibliophile Brouhaha

March 2, 2011

I love hearing author secrets like this! I plan on making most of April my
‘catch-up’ month to read all the great books that I missed when they first came out – Freefall is on my list! Thanks!

- shanyn
  
  March 2, 2011
  
  Scheduling a catch-up month sounds awesome! Though I’m not sure I could do it because I love to read new releases, too. Can’t wait to see what you decide to pick up
  
Michelle

March 6, 2011

I found Kendall to be a fun and interesting character as well. Thanks for the insight.