This time around, I thought I’d share something fun! A few months ago, I participated in an interactive trend. Each like a post got, I shared a little fact about two of my characters from Nebula: Revival. It was fun, people enjoyed it, and I thought it would be beneficial to keep all the information in one place.

So, here you are. Some random facts about Alex and Nova, along with some bonus ones exclusive to this list. Enjoy!

Alex

(main character of Nebula: Revival)

⬡     Alexander Hughes, although he prefers Alex, is 29 at the beginning of the book.

⬢      Alex works for a pharmaceutical company. He is a Marketing and Distribution Executive. However, the role is not quite what we’d expect of someone with that position.

⬡       Alex prefers a more hands on, direct approach to his work, which is a nice way of putting that he’s aggressive with his ambitions.

⬢      It is seen in my art, but it is worth pointing out that Alex has partial heterochromia. There is some brown in one of his eyes, pretty much split down the middle of his iris. Unlike many people in this world who alter their eyes with cybernetics, Alex did not pay for this. He was born with it.

⬡       Alex’s mental health is not the greatest. He holds a mind filled with self-doubt, self-hatred, and constantly feels like a fraud, not to mention he suffers frequent panic attacks.

⬢       Alex is bisexual. However, attraction has always been a confusing aspect of life for him.

⬡      As well as taking his whiskey neat, Alex has a pretty big addiction to coffee, or maybe it’s more of a reliance. So much so, other characters associate the smell with him as it often lingers on him. He doesn’t have one coffee order, though; it all depends on the season or mood.

⬢      As mentioned, he loves coffee. Reliant on it for energy because of the amount of sleep he gets is pretty worrying. Alex loves coffee for the flavour, the versatility of how many ways it comes and could be described as a connoisseur. However, Alex hates energy drinks. Cannot stand them. There is one popular brand in this world that he makes a few comments about.

⬡     Alex has a wrist interface embedded into his arm that links to his neural implant. It gives him access to an AI called Maxine. From just a thought command, he can do quite a lot. Look up the weather, transport, take notes, and operate household appliances. One of the many ‘glorious’ cybernetic upgrades available in this world. Capabilities vary from corporation to corporation.

⬢      Alex predominantly wears tailored suits, often three pieces. All of his suits, shirts and ties are black or grey with very few patterns. Despite his lack of colour in his style, his favourite colour is blue.

⬡     Alex can drive. In that he holds the ability to do so, but with traffic being what it is in the city, he doesn’t actually own a car. His preferred method is a citywide automated car service. He also isn’t against getting the odd train now and then.

⬢       When it comes to food, Alex has expensive tastes. He pays the extra buck for good quality ingredients and also happens to be a pretty damn good cook. His main focus is on achieving a balanced, nutritious meal.

⬡       Alex is left-handed.

⬢      Never would he wear some fabric blend, and everything he wears is meticulously clean.

⬡      Nova is a ‘do everything’ kind of gal, which has led to her having a few job titles. Mainly, she’s a model and the lead singer of a rock band.

⬢      As well as being able to sing, Nova can play several instruments, including guitar, bass, and drums.

⬡       Where Alex loves to cook, Nova just cannot do it. She blames her busy, busy lifestyle for it and mostly lives on noodles. Being that she loves food, making her a good meal is a surefire way of winning her heart.

⬢      Nova frequently dyes her hair. In one book alone, she goes through eight different colours, which you can see through my art. Her natural colour is very dark.

⬡       Nova is the name most commonly used for her. However, her stage persona and fans of her band know her as the Songbird.

⬢       Nova has countless piercings on her ears, a nose ring and four tattoos. Most of them she got on a whim, although some of the tattoos have special meanings that are very close to her.

⬡     Although she was part of a few corporations’ advertising campaigns before it, Nova began getting traction in her modelling career after being the face for a nicotine patch ad. Ironic because she is a smoker.

⬢       Nova isn’t afraid to dress colourfully, although being an alt girl, she mostly dresses in black clothing. Her favourite colour is purple, but more so the louder, deeper shades, not the softer notes of lilac.

⬡     She can be described as flirtatious but only when she’s around someone she’s genuinely interested in. Also, when this girl loves, she does it loudly and proudly. So, you bet she has written a love song or two in her time.

⬢      Nova acts impulsively and often goes with her gut.

⬡     Opposite to Alex, if it smells clean, she’ll shove it on and has been known to wear some clothes three days in a row.

Bonus:

Starsigns! These books are set on a different planet, with a different calendar, but it is a little bit of fun. (Side note: Yes, I did create a working calendar and marked in key events. Yes, I could tell you your fictional Nebula City birthday.)

Alex would be considered a Gemini. Nova would be an Aries.

Both characters are very neurodivergent coded. Not entirely on purpose. I had no idea about myself when I first created them, and thought things like counting repeated ceiling patterns to self-regulate were universal. I leaned into it in later drafts.

I hope you enjoyed this brief exploration of two of my characters. As always, thank you for reading, and if you’re interested in more updates on my querying journey, perhaps consider following me on my socials or even subscribing to my Newsletter.

Bye for now!

–       D