Character Notes on Kaylah
The protagonist of the Salvage series is Kaylah. Here are a few of my notes about her. Read more about her specifically in these posts or read more about Salvage here.
Naming Kaylah
Since Kaylah is part Cajun, I considered quite a few names for her:
Top Names: Ezelle, Zellie
Cajun girl names: Acadia, Adrienne, Alette, Alexandrine, Alexia, Ameline, Avoyelles, Cezelia, Edmee (Edmay), Eliette, Ezora, Karelle, Karine, Katia, Leonie, Marielle, Sidonie, Zeline
Other names: Kirra, Kira, Tyra, Tirra, Thea, Kyrine, Kireen, Zelelle, Kette, Cadia, Elonie, Zelia, Ezelle
Cajun Vs. Acadian
A Side Note
Wikipedia lumps Cajun, Acadian, and Creole folk in together a bit more than I would. While I believe southern Louisiana is a melting pot of ethnicity, subcultures exist even today.
A friend in college was offended if you called him, or his family, Cajun. They had been in Louisiana for many generations long before the Cajuns showed up.
I never heard him use the word Acadian, but I think that’s with whom he would identify.
Kaylah’s Description
Logically minded, yet not logical about her gift. She suffers from a delay in processing negative emotions, which causes her problems. Blind spots. Socially inept,
Short curly black hair. Petite. Voracious mind. Unsophisticated. Knows a great deal about space, especially astronomy. Easily blushes. Thin.
Likes to move sometimes when thinking or dealing with something. Awkward when watched. Quiet unless you know her well. Loner. Introvert. Anxiety issues. Processes emotions after the fact.
She sometimes offends people without knowing because of her emotional immaturity. Naïve. Gift of encouragement, tries to help others, likes to feel needed; loyal; unlucky; defends the innocent; persistent, courageous, kind, ingenius, loyal, weird sense of humor; doesn’t know how charming she is to other people (some of them, anyway). On occasion spunky.
Father is part Cajun, mother is a heartland mix of Irish, English, Scottish, German.
What Does She Want?
To survive. To be accepted by others. To be left alone. To study the stars.
What Lies Does She Believe?
People will reject her. She’s a freak and a failure. She’s not lovable. She doesn’t fit in anywhere. Space is safe. Her family is normal. She can be an astronomer even on the colony planet.
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