Origins

Drew Darby was my first attempt at writing something that I thought other people would cling to. This was near the end of the Harry Potter craze and mixed a bit with a series I loved as a kid, The Myth Series by Robert Asprin.

The original idea was a video game where you were forced to get a job at 16 and you had to work at a McDonalds type restaurant. The idea was to make something kind of Metal Gear Solid where you had to use stealth techniques to escape.

That idea morphed into what Drew Darby became. It mixes young adult adventure with religion, magick, and puzzle solving. Of course this was supposed to be a trilogy and maybe one day it will be.

Methodology

I had just read Stephen King's On Writing. So, I tried to use his methodology of daydreaming your story, then writing it down. This worked for about 75% of the book. But, I started to get antsy that I would forget things or leave too many loose ends. So, the last quarter of the book is back to the old outline technique that I used for Testament.

Characters and Title

One of my favorite aspects of the Myth Series was that the titles all had play on words with myth in them. I always thought it was fun and I wanted to do the same with Psi.

The first book became the Psi-Chotic Adventures of Drew Darby. Although that wasn't as clever as I hoped. The second book was supposed to be called The Psi-rens of Love. I also considered A One Psi-ded affair, The Psi-cle of life, The Psi-entific Method, and The Psi-lent Killers.

Back to fantasy casting my own story...

Drew -Someone who can be awkward yet lovable. Someone strong enough to be a lead.... Finn Wolfhard. Great in Stranger Things and IT. Very strong actor.

Major Wallace - He isn't in it much except as a shape shifter, so that would be Finn Wolfhard again. But, a smooth young, but not high school, good looking dude... I like the pro wrestler MJF here. He is imposing and has a good presence on screen.

Daisy - This character is one of those She's All That type of characters where she needs to appear awkward, but also can be presented as gorgeous. For the younger group of actors, I think Thomasin McKenzie. Great in Jojo but her work in Leave No Trace shows her more awkward side.

Sin - There is a specific look that I think of here that is not very common in Hollywood. Right now I think of Nicola Coughlan. Her work in Derry Girls I feel helps me think she is a decent fit.

Peccadillo - When I think of Peccadillo, I think of someone who is thin and incredibly distinctive. I keep thinking Kate Micucci. She is 20 years older but this is fantasy casting right?

General Pounder - I see some one like Michael Rooker here. I would think maybe a bit younger, but that strong hard breathing type guy.