Feline Savior
Kevin L. O'Brien
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Text Copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien
Portrait of Differel Van Helsing copyright 2013 by Ariel Roberts
Cover design and typography copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien
Eurostile font distributed under a free use license by Fonderia Caratteri Svizzera Walter Fruttiger A.G. Data
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License Notes
Please consider writing a review for this book on the retailer's website.
If you see any misspellings or typographical errors, please notify Kevin L. O'Brien using one of his online social networks. Thank you.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either products of the imagination of Kevin L. O'Brien or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Because some ebook platforms do not support special characters, certain words may appear misspelled, but this was done deliberately to avoid the problem of the platforms deleting the characters. Also, the LRF platform used by older models of the Sony Reader does not permit the use of links to external URLs, whereas the PDB platform used by Palm reading devices does not support any form of linking whatsoever. Finally, certain words use British instead of American spelling, to simulate the characters' English accents.
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Table of Contents
Preface
A Father's Death
An Aunt's Betrayal
A Friend's Sacrifice
About the Author
Other Books by Kevin L. O'Brien
Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien
Sample Excerpts
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Preface
Sir Differel Van Helsing is the third of my three primary characters, about which I write most of my stories.
I freely admit that I do not as a rule read manga; however, my favorite so far is Hellsing, by Kouta Hirano. I cannot remember the circumstances of how I came to learn about it, but I do remember that it was through my discovery of his character, Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, otherwise known as Sir Integra. I have a weakness for powerful, strong-willed female characters who succeed through their own endeavors and not as a result of partnering with a man. My introduction came at a time when the allure of my own characters had worn off, and I found myself fascinated with her. I wanted to know more about her, but aside from the events portrayed in the comic, the only additional information was a flashback to 10 years earlier. On top of that, in the final chapter the narrative suddenly jumped ahead, skipping over 30 years of her life. By the time I had finished the 10-volume English version published by Dark Horse Press, I was full of questions: how did Integra become such a powerful warrior; was she ever in love; did she get married and/or have any children; were there other threats that she and her servant Seras Victoria had to combat? Yet it was clear that Mr. Hirano did not intend to explore those possibilities. So I decided to do that myself, and I started composing stories to fill in the gaps.
I really couldn't help myself. Once my mind becomes obsessed with an idea, it worries it like a terrier with a rat until it comes up with a solution; in this case, fan fiction. As a writer it's hard to resist the idea of writing fan fiction, even though I could never publish it. I had in fact cut my teeth on writing Cthulhu Mythos tales, one of the few franchises which allow writers to professionally publish their pastiches. I was able to develop and perfect my craft, and it inspired me to create my own worlds. So I was not averse to writing a Hellsing fanfic to get it out of my system, except it would also be a crossover with one of my own characters. Unfortunately, I discovered I couldn't leave it at that. Story ideas came thick and furious, ideas that excited me enough to develop, but that meant I was faced with a choice: spend too much time writing gobs of fan fiction I could never sell or just drop the whole thing. And there was no way I could do the latter. I finally decided that my only other option was to create my own "Hellsing" world; that way I could write the stories and publish them if I wished.
And so was born Sir Differel Isolde Churchill Pendragon Van Helsing, 16th Baronetess of Denver, Director of the Caerleon Order of the Companions of St. George, and Master of the Voivode Vlad III Tepes Drakulya. This novella is the first of three that will constitute her origin story. Fans of Hellsing will note a number of similarities between this story and the manga, some more subtle than others, but also significant differences. Readers who think they already know this story will be surprised. However, while Sir Integra is the direct inspiration for Sir Differel, as so often happens with my characters her creation and development was affected by other influences as well, many of them subconscious. One example that I just recently recognized was young Ari, the clone of Ariane Emory from Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh. Two-thirds of the novel describes her coming of age through her teenage years as she is forced to work behind the scenes, forging friendships and alliances, to protect her from corporate and political forces seeking to eliminate her before she can reclaim the power that is her birthright. This and future stories show Differel engaged in the same struggle, except that she is operating more openly. Throughout, they will describe her coming to terms with her duties and responsibilities as she learns about the legacies of her families. Just as Ari's actions will forge the person she will ultimately become, so too do Differel's actions create the individual described in the later stories. Meanwhile, additional information can also be found at her official website [https://www.sir-differel.com/].
I would rather let the stories reveal the differences between Differel and Integra, but one I will mention here is the key to understanding what I plan for this character. Integral means constituting a whole. It implies completeness, and in fact Integra was complete. Though some critics have spoken of her coming of age and shedding the last of her innocence, we actually see a much better example of that in Seras Victoria. With the exception of how she was portrayed, Integra never really changed throughout the entire narrative of the manga.
Differel, on the other hand, is derived from differential, which is the measure of how a mathematical function changes as more data is collected. It implies incompleteness, fluidity, even growth. I chose that name to be a deliberate cognate with Integral, to show that unlike Integra, Differel will never be whole or complete, that she will always be growing and changing. The stories I have and will write about her use this as a basic theme across the series.
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