Characters

Introducing Secondary Characters Part 2/2

by
Crushing It

These are a few of the secondary characters in Crushing It.

This is the Oldtown High School team

Elyse Garrido

Appearance inspired by Meesha Garbett

Age: 14

Appearance: Wavy brown hair, blue eyes, short, tan skin

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Math

Siblings: Older sister Rachel (seen here)

Lauryn

Appearance inspired by Jadah Marie

Age: 15

Appearance: Black hair, brown eyes, medium height, Black

Grade: 10

Favourite class: Science

Alicia

Appearance inspired by Navia Robinson

Age: 16

Appearance: Long wavy black hair, brown eyes, medium height, brown skin

Grade: 11

Favourite class: Music

George

Appearance inspired by Caleel Harris

Age: 17

Appearance: Black hair (in corn rows in this book), brown eyes, tall, muscled, Black

Grade: 12

Favourite class: Computer Science

Adrien

Appearance inspired by Jack Dylan Grazer

Age: 18

Appearance: Light brown hair, blue eyes, tall, white, Jewish

Grade: 13

Favourite class: Chemistry

Siblings: Older sister Gabrielle (Jason’s sister-in-law)

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Introducing Secondary Characters Part 1/2

by
Crushing It

These are a few of the secondary characters in Crushing It.

This is the Parry Sound High School team

Faith Roi

Appearance inspired by Lake Kahentawaks Delisle

Age: 14

Appearance: Long black hair, dark brown eyes, short, lightly tanned skin, Indigenous

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Science

Siblings: Older brother Basil (friend of Kennedy’s). They are both members of Wasauksing First Nation

Sabrina

Appearance inspired by Brooklynn Prince

Age: 15

Appearance: Long brown hair, short, white

Grade: 10

Favourite class: Computer Science

Naomi

Appearance inspired by Isol Young

Age: 16

Appearance: Black curly hair (ringlets), medium height, white

Grade: 11

Favourite class: Physics

Bryan

Appearance inspired by Mace Coronel

Age: 17

Appearance: Light brown hair, medium height, white

Grade: 12

Favourite class: Biology

Chris

Appearance inspired by Aiden Arthur

Age: 18

Appearance: Blond shaggy hair, tall, white

Grade: 13

Favourite class: Physics

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Crushing It Book Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the book Crushing It.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Crushing It. Pictures of a DIY vaccum, Ishihara plates, a bridge, the Toronto skyline, a robot labelled Door Tech, a promo image of the dinner theatre “Knights of Everdome”, a street sign indicating Westmeath to the right, a drawing of DNA, and a maze surround the image of the book Crushing It in various formats.

Summary

After an epic grounding for some bad decisions with even worse friends, Tommy is lucky to even go to the Door Tech March Break camp. There, he crosses paths with Carter Batudev, and chemistry isn’t just for the classroom. With love and a renewed interest in STEM, Tommy returns home to Parry Sound, where, to the relief of his parents, he makes better friends, and joins the STEM club.

When the club goes to the province-wide competition in Toronto, he’s reunited with Carter, whose team is also competing. Thus ensues a wild long weekend full of romance, hijinks, STEM, and singing.

Includes a novelette from Carter’s POV at the dinner theatre show Knights of Everdome.

The first book in the Lucky in Love series.

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Carter Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the secondary protagonist of Crushing It, Carter Batudev.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Carter Batudev. Pictures of bread, a target, a throwing knife, a sillhouette of a martial artist, a rock, STEM image, a lightbulb outside of a box, and a heart in the bisexual flag colours surround a drawn image of a brown haired boy.

Carter Batudev

Age: 15

Date of Birth: March 5, 1988

Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Science

Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario

Siblings: None

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Introducing Protagonists

by
Crushing It

The two protagonists of Crushing It are Tommy Fairfield and Carter Batudev.

Tommy Fairfield

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Maxwell-Jenkins-as-Tommy-1-1024x819.jpg
Appearance inspired by Maxwell Jenkins
Appearance inspired by Maxwell Jenkins

Age: 14

Date of Birth: May 11, 1988

Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Math or Science or Music

Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario

Siblings: Older brother Phillip, married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza and MacKenzie. Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).

Carter Batudev

Appearance inspired by Max Torina

Age: 15

Date of Birth: March 5, 1988

Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Science

Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario

Siblings: None

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Tommy Mood Board

by

If you missed the cover reveal video post last Friday, due to the email mess up, you can go see it here!

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the main protagonist of Crushing It, Tommy Fairfield.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Tommy Fairfield. Pictures of a guitar, torn pieces of sheet music, STEM image, a rainbow heart, an icon reading ‘Best Leader’, and the interior of a bedroom surround a drawn image of a young blond boy. Art of the bedroom and boy are drawn by pinkpiggy93.

Tommy Fairfield

Age: 14

Date of Birth: May 11, 1988

Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Math or Science or Music

Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario

Siblings: Older brother Phillip (who lives in Parry Sound), married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza (who lives in Toronto) and MacKenzie (who lives in Ottawa). Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Recommendation Monday – Kung Fu 2021

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Hello TV show fans,

I was a massive fan of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. I watched it with my mom and it was one of the shows that helped build my understanding of story structure. It was fun and exciting and a little magical.

So when they announced a reboot I was a little unsure about it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well they kept the 1990’s TV show feel while updating everything else. The story writing was fantastic and the characters were wonderful. I’m amazed at how well balanced the show is for drama. Never drawing anything out too long and never going for the cheap shock. If I had to say anything negative about the show, it’s that the action was great, but not mind blowing. But there is a lot more to Kung Fu than just fighting.

I really think that modern superhero shows can learn a lot by watching how well arced and set up it was. Most important, to me, was the wonderful family dynamic that was both realistic and heart warming. The show’s action, story, and everything else is useless if we don’t like the character and I could happily watch these characters do anything.

The next season has been set up masterfully and I can’t wait to see more.

If you liked the original or it’s sequel and enjoy good character dramas, check this show out. You’ll be hooked by the end of the first episode.

Be kind and stay safe,

Éric

Introducing Secondary Characters Part 3/3

by

These are a few of the secondary characters in Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers.

See Part 1 and Part 2

In order of appearance:

Rachel

Appearance inspired by Aimee Carrero

Age: 20

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Dark hair and tan skin

Job: Student in third year at Westmeath University, working in sales at Discreet Frills

Connection to Protagonists: Coworker of Kennedy’s, was babysat by Jason when they were younger

Nick

Appearance inspired by Colton Haynes

Age: 23

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Grey eyes

Job: Head server at The Hawaiian in Oldtown

Connection to Protagonists: Works at Jason’s restaurant

Jesse

Appearance inspired by Tom Cavanagh

Age: mid-50s

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Tall and thin, greying hair

Job: Owns and operates Mortimer’s Diner in Oldtown

Connection to Protagonists: Jason loves his Hungry Man’s breakfast

Introducing Secondary Characters Part 2/3

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These are a few of the secondary characters in Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers.

See Part 1 here.

In order of appearance:

Zhanna and Lydia Turgeneva

Appearance inspired by Jackie Burroughs and Cloris Leachman

Age: Unknown (very old)

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Old, hunched demeanor, Lydia uses a cane carved to look like Baba Yaga’s house

Job: They own and operate a tailoring and sewing store called Seams Likeable in Oldtown

Connection to Protagonists: Kennedy’s neighbours

Judy Fauche

Appearance inspired by Lorraine Toussaint

Age: Early 60s

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Very large, red hair, Black

Job: Owns and operates Judy’s Butchery in Oldtown, has a dojo on the third floor above it and runs classes on the weekends, in charge of policing and protection for the Oldtown Council

Connection to Protagonists: Trained Jason in Kung Fu

Michelle and Evanna Swan

Appearance inspired by Michelle Trachtenberg and young Alexa Gerasimovich

Age: Early 30s and 3

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Single mother and daughter, blonde

Job: Unknown

Connection to Protagonists: Kennedy’s neighbours

See Part 3

Introducing Secondary Characters Part 1/3

by

These are a few of the secondary characters in Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers.

In order of appearance:

Carter Batudev

Appearance inspired by Max Torina

Age: 14

Date of Birth: March 5, 1988

Appearance: Long and gangly, grey eyes

Job: Grade 9 student at Oldtown High School

Connection to Protagonists: Kennedy tutors him in math, son of the bakers at Oven Baked in Oldtown

Vee (Veronica) Giles

Appearance inspired by Olesya Rulin

Age: 25

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Short and pale, with shoulder length chocolate wavy brown hair, large eyes, heart shaped face, and pointy chin; has an air of innocence

Job: Something in engineering

Connection to Protagonists: Jason’s best friend and the Phantom’s ‘Person in the Chair’

Claude

Appearance inspired by David Nykl

Age: 66

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Silver hair, attractively wrinkled face, handsome and affluent

Job: Manager of Jason’s restaurant The Hawaiian, treasurer of the Oldtown Council

Connection to Protagonists: Honorary uncle to Jason

Dr Amita Dubois

Appearance inspired by Amita Suman

Age: Unknown

Date of Birth: Unknown

Appearance: Tall, lanky, large eyes

Job: Lead researcher at Westmeath Agricultural Research Cooperative (Westmeath ARC)

Connection to Protagonists: Tutor of Jason’s during high school

See Part 2 and Part 3