Favorite Character Blogfest: Introducing Derek Halstead

I don't sign up for many blogfests, but this one sounded fun. Plus, I figure it's time to start introducing the Defenders of the Covenant to the world. Laura Josephsen is hosting this one and there are even prizes up for grabs. Go check out her blog to read the other entries.

We're supposed to pick our favorite character (Oh, so hard!) and introduce them to you with a little snippet. There are even prizes up for grabs! So here goes. Introducing my personal favorite, Derek Halstead. (Though, I must say I love all my characters. Really. I feel like a mother asked to choose a favorite child!)

Derek is eighteen years old, smart, nerdy and shy. He's about 5' 8", has dark hair, brown eyes, and can't see without his glasses. Sounds like your typical nerd, huh? But Derek is far from typical. Here's a little snippet from Defenders of the Covenant. Derek, Hannah, Jeremy and McKenzie have just left their hidden refuge for the first time in their lives, and Derek realizes that they won't be able to return:

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Derek slapped his hand against the stone wall and hung his head. He chastised himself for letting Jeremy taunt him into leaving the refuge. The whir of the flying machine outside echoed through the cave. He pressed his hand harder against the rock. The gritty roughness bit into him, controlling the fear and frustration that threatened to undo him.
 
Hannah stood beside him, whispering through the dark, "The leaders will come for us, won't they?" Her voice shook. She wanted reassurance that Derek couldn't give her. Oh, he longed to put his arms around her, to comfort and protect her, but he was smart enough to know that she didn't want that from him. And he couldn't tell her everything would be fine when he knew it wouldn't. More frustration knotted up inside him. Without answering, he walked away and crouched at the cave's entrance.
 
"Yeah," Jeremy piped up. "We'll just hide in here until they do."
 
The idiot. "Be quiet," Derek hissed back at him. If the leaders opened the doors now, the refuge would be exposed. He could see the machine out there, hanging in the sky, a dark orb barely distinguishable from the night. No one came out of it, though. Probably a probe, he thought.

**************

Well, that's Derek. Defenders of the Covenant will be available from Walnut Springs Press in February or March of this year. In case you've missed my previous posts, here's a description of the book:

Hannah and her friends have been warned about the danger lurking outside of their secret refuge, but some things, like friendship and freedom, are more important than staying safe.

Hannah and Derek have spent their lives hidden underground, out of the reach of the alien invaders who devastated the world years before. When McKenzie and Jeremy decide to run away, Hannah and Derek follow, determined to bring their friends home.

Once outside, the four teens soon realize they cannot return to their refuge without endangering everyone there. Captured, enslaved and separated, Hannah, Derek and McKenzie each learn the unique role they must play in liberating the Earth, because even an alien invasion cannot stop the work of God. 

P.S. The Writing Speculative Fiction series will return on Friday!