The Brood

Dog Days of Summer

8/12/16

Devin Green’s Brood

I keep thinking I’m going to come up with a better name for them than that, but it’s sticking for the time being. In any event, they’re my most extreme biological family yet, and were totally meant to be that way. I just didn’t think any of us would get so attached.

My very first published book was Keep You, and when I started it, I came in from the barn one day, grabbed the notepad beside the phone, a pen, and wrote down five names: Walt, Mike, Jessica, Jordan, and Jo. Slapped Walker on the end and launched from there. Some of the most fun I had was dreaming up those five siblings in the process of writing Jo’s book, and the same thing happened with The Nine. In fleshing them out as Walsh’s siblings, they became fascinating as individuals, almost more so, since they were never intended to have a wedge of the limelight. They became the guilty pleasure characters I wanted to work into every scenario.

 

Origins

Devin, oh Devin. It’s complicated. Once upon a time there was a man with the spookiest, prettiest blue eyes who managed to talk innumerable women into the sack, nine of which mothered children by him. Each one of the nine siblings has their own, complex feelings about their father. From Walsh’s dismissal, to Phillip’s outright hatred, to Fox’s grudging respect (and secret abandonment anxiety). Up ‘til now, we haven’t met the man himself, and that’s been on purpose. In Fox’s book, Prodigal Son, due out sometime next year, we’ll get to meet Devin and it’s going to be delicious. I’m looking forward to that.

The Sibling Curse

I love writing about siblings. Seriously. Maybe it’s some latent desire for a really big family, or maybe it’s just fun to pretend to have a family that large for a little while.

The club is a family, and they’re all brothers and sisters, yes. But it’s still a chosen family. I love to play around with the drama of the blood family that is The Brood. For the most part they get along, but when they don’t, they still have to face facts that they’re family, whether they want it that way or not. If Fox was just another club member, Walsh wouldn’t have to endure him a second longer. And Fox knows that, which is why he pushes his luck…and he also knows that somewhere, very deep down, Walsh loves him. Maybe.

Whether it’s fueled by love or hate, that sibling bond is something strong, and getting to explore the ins and outs among nine characters? So much fun for me.

All Nine, In Birth Order:

Iain Glen

Phillip

~*~

Dean O'Gorman

Walsh

~*~

Jeremy Renner

Albie

~*~

Jared Turner

Shane

~*~

James McAvoy

Fox

~*~

Emily Blunt

Raven

~*~

Sebastian Stan

Tommy

~*~

Andrew Garfield

Miles

~*~

Maisie Williams

Cassandra

Hmm, how many Marvel alums can I cast in this thing? The answer is a lot.

Playing Favorites

The thing is, because these nine are such guilty pleasure characters, straight down to the “casting,” they’re all my favorites for varying reasons. I love Walsh because he’s Walsh. And Raven because she can verbally flay a man alive. And Fox because he’s a cocky little shit whose ass actually can cash the checks his mouth is writing. I love Albie because he’s the quiet, gentle furniture-maker with a hidden basement full of ill-gotten weapons. I’m hoping we get to see more of the others as we go along, get deeper into their personal stories and see the world from their POVs. All in good time.

This still ended up being a shorter post than I intended. Ugh. So if anyone has any specific questions about any of The Brood, fire away, and maybe I can even add some expansion posts over the weekend. Long story short, I love this bunch, and can’t wait to write more of them.