Learn all about my book Defy! Oh my goodness, part four already? Geez, that’s a lot of writing! Let’s get to this week’s topic!
Who?! (Part 1)
This week’s post is about the characters in Defy. Before you say anything, yes I know I sort of already touched on this topic before, but now I’m going to focus on the made-up characters of the book. I’m going to explain some characteristics and facts about each character, diving a little bit into the backstories of each. FYI, the main three characters all have well-thought-out backstories that help explain who they are, but for now, I’m really only going to give Annabelle’s story a spotlight (you’ll learn why a little later in the future).
Now, for anyone who happened to miss the previous posts and doesn’t know this: ALL OF THE CHARACTERS LISTED BELOW ARE FICTIONAL AND ARE NOT REAL.
Okay, now that’s out of the way, let’s get into the content!
Annabelle Dietmar (with Amélie and Wilhelm Dietmar)
Born in 1912 to Amélie and Wilhelm Dietmar in Paris, France, Annabelle Cecilia Dietmar was given an upper-middle-class upbringing. Though her parents considered having more children, they didn’t really get the chance. When World War 1 began, Wilhelm left France to go and fight for Germany, even though he had been living in France during that time. During the war, Amélie took over Actualités Dietmar, having it recognized as more of a French business rather than a German one, allowing it to survive much of the negative stigma associated with Germany. Much to her dislike though, in order to achieve French status, she had to repeatedly publish anti-German propaganda and fire all German workers. Even though Amélie supported the French in the war, her love for Wilhelm made it hard to bear, as well as the pain of firing hard-working employees because of their nationality. During the war, Annabelle would face the harsh reality of racism against her German heritage, but not truly understand it until she grew up a bit more.
When the war concluded, Wilhelm returned to France and took advice from Amélie to make his business more French in order to survive. He took advice from his wife and hired many Parisians in the area, helping to provide employment during a trying economic time. Amélie however, did not get to see this change. In 1918, a couple months after the conclusion of the war, both Amélie and Annabelle became ill from the Spanish Flu. Annabelle managed to recover, but sadly Amélie did not. Growing up after her mother’s death was a little hard, but, in turn, Annabelle grew closer to Wilhelm, whose influence caused Annabelle to find in him a role model. During the “Crazy Years” Annabelle was taught the importance of what her family had and made sure to use it to her best ability. She pursued an education in journalism, learning to speak French, German, Spanish, and English fluently. When Annabelle turned 18, she traveled to England and attended university, earning a degree in journalism and business. In 1936, Wilhelm decided to make Annabelle the new owner of Actualités Dietmar. Though she was only 24, she showed him a great promise and strong ambitions.
When Defy begins (not “Shh….” but “Answers”), Annabelle is 27 years old. She’s owned Actualités Dietmar for three years now and has gotten a good grip on handling the business. Her father has retired to the countryside, living in a small cottage near the location of Dimitri’s farm. Annabelle currently lives in Paris, France, owning an apartment close to the Eiffel Tower (don’t ask me the street, please. Just make one up!).
Dimitri Florimond
Born in one of the poorer districts of Paris to Elise and Edmond Florimond in 1909, Dimitri Simeon Florimond grew up in a hard-working farming family. Though they never really had much to their name, it didn’t bother them too much. Youngest of six (Martin, Olivier, Edith, Leonce, and Claudia), Dimitri grew up in a very competitive environment, adding to his hard-working personality. (There’s more to his story, but I don’t want to spoil it 🙂 ).
Since 1931, Dimitri has owned a large farm in the rural outskirts of Paris. It’s split into several pieces with tenant farmers working most of the land.
How did he meet Annabelle? Well, the small cottage I mentioned before abuts Dimitri’s land and the Dietmars have owned it since Annabelle was a small child. The farm that Dimitri owns used to belong to his grandparents (it has grown in a considerable amount since they gave it to Dimitri) and he used to visit it a lot as a child. It was during the time he spent at the farm when he met Annabelle and they began their friendship. Since their childhood, they have remained close friends through thick and thin, although now, the war has placed a considerable strain on their relationship.
Albrecht Fitzi
Born 1908 in Munich, Germany to Baroness Hertha and Baron Albert Fitzi, (Baron) Albrecht Erich Fitzi was given a rather upper-class upbringing. His parents were rather rich, having both been raised aristocratically, but their titles lost all special legal power in 1919. When the state of Bavaria was under political unrest in 1918, the Fitzis moved to Salzburg, Austria for the time being. They lived there for almost a year, returning to Munich in late 1919, but that was not the last time they moved. Later on, following the rise of radical politics in 1923 by Hitler, the Fitzis moved one last time, further north to a town just south of Frankfurt, the town of Neu-Isenburg. (And of course, there is so much more, but again, I don’t want to spoil it!)
Do a little time jump from all of that and we meet Albrecht as a Captian (in the book, I use the German translation Kapitän) in the Nazi army. He has been stationed with the S.S. in Paris, France since the beginning of the occupation. It was upon his arrival that, as a part of his duties, he spent time regularly at Actualités Dietmar and began a friendship with Annabelle. It took them a while to begin a relationship, having to both disclose their true alliances before trusting one another. Eventually, they fell in love (more on that later… 🙂 ).
Does Annabelle’s story fill in some blanks? Do you understand her better now? I know that you probably want to hear more about the other two leads, but I’m holding back in disclosing it all now (I’ve got some plans with those stories!).
Next week, I’ll share some backstories and information about other characters in the book! Look for it!
See you next week!
L.A.