My Inspiration: Quinta.

La’Quinta Talulah Patterson: What can I say about a character I created with whom I feel a personal connection to? A DAMN LOT, so let’s see how this goes and hopefully I don’t spoil anything! Hmm, maybe I’ll just say a little and halt the rest? I am known to be quite the blabbermouth!

Growing up in middle and high school I accrued a mass of friends. A lot of them. I didn’t really hang out with many, but I had three best friends. Somehow they were all of Jamaican and Haitian descent and I was not. You can imagine the culture shock I got when I walked into their homes and could hardly understand a word their parents would say to me. It took years guys, years, until I could walk in there and answer with “I’m doing fine, how are you?” and then I was lost once again.

In that time, I came to realize these women came from strong backgrounds and their culture was deep in their blood. Their work ethic, the tough love care they have for their friends and family is something truly to behold. And, without being able to give too much away, because of them, Quinta was born.

I wanted to create a woman who works hard for what she gets. She’s not afraid to go in and get her hands dirty when necessary. She’s simple, she’s not much of a technology driven person (I’m talking pre-world apocalyptic here), and she lived her life the best way she saw fit. With a lot of hard work, a lot of good food, music, dancing, and family. Of course, when the Fall happened, she lost a lot, as did many people, but I wanted to have a strong woman as a main character. Who could carry her own weight, take care of herself, and look death in the face without fright.

Quinta loves hard, fights hard, and works hard for the people in her life as well as herself. I guess I could say I’m somewhere mixed in the strain of her imaginary DNA, but let’s face it, if this happened in real life; I’d be dead. I don’t know how to fight, I can barely run, and swinging a machete around feels pretty dangerous. Yet, my island friends do it without problems or care in their gardens.

Speaking of the gardens, I can not WAIT until this cold season is over and I see what sort of goodies they have blooming on those trees for me.

All in all, I can say that I gleaned a little of my friends’ parents, their own attitudes, and the way they approach life in this broken world is where Quinta was inspired from. I’ll have to do an updated version when we’re further down the timeline, right now she’s just breaking out on the scene. So, I have to cut it short. You’ll just have to see where this little gem is going next!

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