Because I am telling so many people about The Blood Feud, I've compiled this master list of all the characters and plots.
The book currently has six main story lines, along with various ancestors' sub-plots, which feature as letters/short stories between main bits of narrative.
Main Plot:
Two families war against each other in a sham blood feud that no one knows is fake.
Then there are the characters (some of which have not been included).
Main Characters:
Frederick Martin: Frederick is the Martin Head of House. He is a careful, conscientous man who weighs everything before responding to it. He has never believed that the blood feud has any sense whatsoever.
Marie Martin: Marie is a free spirit who firmly believes in trying something just to see what it's like. She hates dates and would rather be riding a fast horse or eating an exotic food than sitting in at a meeting. Her younger brother, Frederick, is convinced she's going to die some day from too much excitement. Marie is the Martin Ambassador and thus often goes on business trips to the other estates.
Grigory Martin: Grigory is 19, and will take any dare you give him, be it jumping off the roof, eating a pound of grapes in ten minutes, or walking on coals. He's the youngest of the main Martin's: Marie is his older sister and Frederick is his older brother.
Natalie Lundquist: Natalie is the beauty of the Lundquists and is their pride and joy. She works at the hospital as a Morale Booster: a person who sits and talks to patients to boost their morale. She is 19, and has a bad temper.
James Lundquist: Natalie's older brother and Head of Lundquist House, James is brutally killed by Gerald Hughes, thus foisting the estate onto his second cousin, Henry Lundquist.
Gerald Hughes: George's great-grandfather is George, and his grandmother is Arianna Martin, who married Daniel Hughes, who has Sirius Hughes, who had him. Gerald is schizopherinic, and he hears voices in his head that tell him to hurt people. His story is about struggling with his growing insanity.
Henry Lundquist: Henry Lundquist is a quiet, careful young man who does not enjoy adventure. His left eye is brown and his right is blue, giving him a lopsided look. Henry is the Lundquist Ambassador starting November 2nd, 2011, because no one else wanted to be and because he was the only one silly enough to say "Yes."
Jakob Anderson: The black, 5'11" journalist with dreadlocks that is paid to write stories on the Martins and Lundquists. He is working for the Martin Informer— a newspaper almost on the line between the Martin and Lundquist Estates. He is engaged to Eleni Carlson, and is working his tail off so that they can get married.
The Ancestors:
Thomas Lundquist: The founder of Lundquist Estate, Thomas lost half his lands to his best friend, Joshua Martin in a night of gambling. The same night, Lundquist Manor burned down. Thomas Lundquist has a few secrets secreted throughout the walls of Lundquist Estate. He married Athena Rothspar, and had three children.
Joshua Martin: Joshua Martin built Martin Estate with limited funds. The house is therefore added on to whenever there is money left, and it is somewhat mis-matched. Joshua Martin married Katherina, having courted her on a tree on the grounds of Martin Estate. Daniel, Richard, and Isabelle are his children.
George Martin: The great-grandson of Joshua Martin, George Martin died suddenly in a carriage collision— smashing head-on into Arabella Lundquist's carriage. His wife, Victoria, and he had Alexander, Aiden, and Daniel.
Arabella Lundquist: When Arabella married David Lundquist, she inherited an entire estate.She had George, Harriet, and Nicholas. She died in a carriage collision on June 12th, 1960 with George Martin.
Minor Characters:
Roxanne and Rebecca Lundquist: Clairvoyant twins, Roxanne and Rebecca are Henry's aunts on his father's side. They speak in riddles, finish each other's sentences, and generally confuse the other members of the family. They receive communication from the dead by telegram, and flesh out the ancestor stories.
Judith Martin: Marie, Frederick, and Grigory's mother, who offers hot beverages and large shoulders to cry on.
Eleni Carlson: Jakob's fiancée, Eleni has a disease that will prove fatal if she doesn't get medical attention. She is in almost constant pain.
Jolene Artemis: Frederick's girlfriend.
Chad Artemis: Artemis Head of House.
Sandra Artemis: Central Hospital Director
The Plots:
Natalie/Grigory Story Arc:
Natalie and Grigory have known each other for nearly six months in close quarters, and they absolutely hate each other. When Grigory gets sent to the hospital for an emergency stay, Natalie is the one chosen to keep him company.
The two cannot stand each other… so how is it that Henry is finding heart-shaped notes around Lundquist Manor, and why does Frederick feel as if he hears his brother calling "Nat" in his sleep?
Marie Martin Story Arc:
Marie's brother, Frederick, sets her up with an epistolary dating service. As Marie juggles various deaths, she writes to three men, all of which seem wonderful.
Gerald Hughes
Gerald Hughes is hearing three voices: Hera, who criticizes everything he does and everyone he sees; Thor, who finds something to be angry about in the smallest things; and Pluto, who is convinced that Gerald needs to kill people.
As Gerald is put under house arrest for crimes he didn't mean to commit, he struggles with Hera, Thor, and Pluto— and ultimately himself.
Henry Lundquist
When Celia Lundquist, Ambassador, was murdered, Henry reluctantly became ambassador, hoping fervently that he'd be able to resign just a few months later.
But when the Lundquist Head of House is killed, Henry finds out that he is next in line for the estate. Going from simple man to ambassador to head of house has never been easy, but it's worse for Henry, who has never wanted to be in the spotlight.
He can't possibly abdicate: there's no such thing, and besides, the only other inheritor is a distant cousin so far removed that he's practically on the Martin's side.
To add to his problems, Henry's letter-writing is deteriorating and he's been rejected by one of the women he really thought was the one; his second cousin, Natalie, is fraternizing with the Martin boy, and people are dying, left and right.
James Lundquist
James Lundquist has always been a good leader, even if he is very young. But when his ambassador, and then two other prominent family members are killed, James becomes incensed and storms to Martin Manor to demand one of the largest blood payments in history.
What he doesn't know is that Pluto has been waiting for him… and Gerald is ready to kill.
Jakob Anderson
Jakob Anderson has troubles: his rent is due, his feet hurt, and it's hot enough on the streets to melt a candle. On top of everything, his fiancée, Eleni, is dying.
When he got the Martin-Lundquist column, he thought it was the best day of his life, and one of the best opportunities he could have ever had.
When he trips over a toy on the staircase and falls and breaks his leg, he thinks it's just bad luck: after all, Frederick's been nothing but kindness. But then he gets to his apartment, and he gets kicked out because it's booby-trapped.
And a knife was perilously close to his ear one morning when he woke up.
Suffice it to say, Jakob Anderson can't wait for this story to be over.
Frederick Martin
Frederick has never believed that the blood feud is real: it's just too nonsensical. The beginnings of it have almost been lost in time, but when Frederick finds a little note in his desk that hints at answers to the questions that have been plaguing him, he begins searching for more.
And what he is slowly finding out is that everything he's known is untrue…
The Blood Feud
Many people think that the blood feud started because Thomas Lundquist lost half of his estate to Joshua Martin and then his estate burned down.
But what Frederick is now finding out is that that isn't the whole story…
Interpersed between various points of view from the other characters are the stories of the ancestors: those that were affected by the blood feud, but are now dead.
Please note that this is a sort of master document, and that it may not be clear: in which case, please tell me, so I can fix it!
