A-Z Blogging Challenge - F is for Finny

Adam Finlay, known as Finny, is an example of how a ‘minor’ character can unexpectedly develop into a major role-player in a story – and is one reason why I am a ‘pantser’ and not a plotter! 

Finny first appeared in Irish Deceptions when Ellie (see yesterday’s E post) went into the local school to drum up some support for her new dance and drama school.

Here’s the introduction to Finny:

“That was fantastic.” Brona grinned as she led the way along the corridor at the school on Tuesday morning. “Showing a DVD of a street dance team was an inspiration.”

Ellie laughed. “All credit to you for suggesting we offer street dancing.”

“No, the credit’s yours for showing how dance can be dynamic and exciting. Even Adam Finlay was impressed.”

“Which one was he?”

“The boy with the spiky blond hair. They call him Finny and he’s a real handful. I kept my eye on him, ready to yank him out of the room if he misbehaved, but you hooked him when you showed that routine. His eyes were as round as saucers.”

“And he took an application form at the end. Do you think he’ll join the class?”

“I’m not sure, but a lot of the others showed interest.”

At that point, I had absolutely no idea of the part Finny was going to play in the rest of the story, but he did join the street dance class, and then surprised everyone (including me!) by displaying other talents, which led to … No, no spoilers!

Finny is a lively, cheeky, streetwise thirteen-year-old who stole my heart. So much so that he reappears in a larger role in my next novel, Irish Shadows, when he is given the opportunity to meet his father (who abandoned his mother before Finny was born). This causes a rift between Finny and his mother, but in the end the 13-year-old learns the truth and displays a maturity beyond his years in dealing with the situation.

Maybe one day, once he becomes an adult, Finny will be the hero of one of my novels! Hmm, that's given me an idea ... :-) 

(All my books are available from Amazon  or from Tirgearr Publishing )