Guest Post: Carolyn Crane

I have the privilege of welcoming Carolyn Crane to the blog today, she's going to share some secrets about the characters from her Disillusionists Trilogy in the form of the contents of their respective bags/purses. I found my way to this series through the recommendation of another blogger and I'm so glad I did as this series is unique, brilliant, and a joy to read. Pick them up now if you haven't yet, you won't be disappointed! And now for a little insight into Justine, Packard, and crew...

Hi! First, thanks, Jenny for having me over to your blog!

So, you know how you can tell a lot by what a woman keeps in her purse, or what a man keeps in his pockets? Well, I thought it might be fun to go through some of the Mind Games and Double Cross characters’ purse and pockets. What will we find? What secret things can be revealed?

This post tells all!


OTTO
Type of bag: Otto loves really nice leather messenger bags, and changes them with his outfits.

Contents:
• Three phones: As an urban fantasy mover and shaker, Otto is always in touch, and he has different phones for different operations, and tons of different ringtones he is able to identify. One phone is totally off the radar for super secret highcap business.

• Spare beret: He keeps one in his bag as a backup, in case he loses his primary beret. Plus, there are always certain situations where a fellow might want to double up. You can never have too much cranial protection.

• Wallet: Otto carries plenty of money, though the citizens love him so much, he barely ever has to pay for his own stuff. Especially not drinks.

• Piece of rubble: this is actually a piece of the old school. Otto will NEVER forget what happened back there.



JUSTINE
Type of bag: Fun and fashionable. Justine used to work at a dress shop, but could never afford the stuff. Now that she’s a disillusionist with a great salary, she has lots of great bags.

Contents:
• Mini medical dictionary: Handy for fake nurses and recovering hypochondriacs alike.

• Ibuprofen: Aspirin has blood thinning effects, contraindicated for vein star syndrome.

• Mini first aid kit: Bandages, thermometer, latex gloves and a stethoscope, in a handy sterile silken pouch. Only the best for the Midcity’s top fake nurse!

• Little knife: strangely, she doesn’t know why she has this…sometimes a girl just gets the urge to go out and linger in a dark urban scenes in her leather jacket holding it. And sometimes people take her picture. Weird!



PACKARD
Type of bag: Packard carry a bag? No way! He keeps his stuff in his pockets. He would never be caught dead holding a satchel or even a bag like Otto’s, and certainly not a purse…well, he might hold one for a sec if Justine asked him to, but he’d be all stormy about it.

Contents:
• Grains of sand: Packard travels to the ocean whenever he can, and sometimes he just gets off the plane rushes down there and lays on the beach. The openness comforts him after being enclosed in that stupid restaurant for eight years. So, there’s sand in his stuff. And let’s face it, how often do guys wash their jeans?

• Passport, lots of cash: Packard’s ready to pick up and go at any time. He needs nobody. He is his own island. Well, er, that’s the plan, anyways.

• Piece of rubble: this is actually a piece of the old school. Packard can never forget what happened back there, much as he wants to.



SHELBY
Type of bag: Shelby’s purse is striped, and many different colors. It clashes with any outfit. Heck, it clashes with itself. Just what the morose girl needs.

Contents:
• Phone with super random gaudy bling glued to it: Like the bag, the phone clashes with everything. Perfect for having depressing conversations.

• Expired bus pass: Oh well, What would really change if she got to wherever she was supposed to be on time?

• A few coins: oh well, if she had enough money to buy what she needed during the day, would it really make her happy? No. Happiness is an illusion.

• Lint: Why clean it out? It’s all you really have in the end.



SIMON
Type of bag: Like Packard, Simon, the recklessness and gambling disillusionist, is strictly a pockets guy. Of course, he has giant pockets a lot of the time in his big weird jackets.

Contents:
• Wallet: Empty. Oops, shouldn’t have made that last bet.

• Small book of uplifting & calming sayings: It’s really funny to offer it to Carter when he’s in a rage. Carter gets really mad and punches Simon.

• One-leaf clover: It’s wrecked now, but it was a humorous gift from Justine, who is actually Simon’s best friend in the world, but she won’t realize it until book #3.

• Tiny flashlight: Perfect for the man who is always going where he shouldn’t.

• Phone: with speed dial to his bookies, so he can place plenty of losing bets.

• Stress ball: It’s really funny to offer it to Carter when he’s in a rage. Carter gets really mad and punches Simon.

• Tissue: In case of bloody nose or lip.

There we have it! Interesting what you can learn about a person from the contents of their bags and pockets.

What’s the weirdest thing you carry in your purse or pocket?

Thanks so much for stopping by Carolyn! If you want to learn more about Carolyn and the Disillusionists Trilogy, you can find her here:

Website
Blog

I adored her newest release, Double Cross, and you can read my review here.

Review: Double Cross

DOUBLE CROSS (The Disillusionists Trilogy #2)
Carolyn Crane
Urban Fantasy
326 pages
Random House
Available September 28, 2010
Received from author

This review contains NO spoilers

THE STORY
Justine Jones is still a hypochondriac, though to a slightly lesser degree. Thanks to Sterling Packard, she's learned to channel her fear and zing it into another person as part of a rehabilitation program referred to as "disillusioning". With the help of Justine, and Packard's team of talented misfits, criminals are mentally disillusioned and subsequently rebooted so they may become a functioning member of society once again.

Despite having a level of control over her hypochondria, Justine's life hasn't gotten any easier. In fact, it's gotten more complicated. She has yet to forgive Packard for deceiving her when he failed to inform her of the price to pay for his knowledge and assistance, but her traitorous body still responds to him though her mind vehemently rejects him. And then there's Midcity itself, currently being terrorized by a group of serial killers whose targets just might include Packard and the Mayor, Otto Sanchez.

Justine has never felt right about disillusioning unsuspecting people, but she's held tight to Packard's promise that they're providing a necessary service. Now, however, with killers on the loose and the men in her life in jeopardy, Justine must come to terms with not only her abilities, but her conscience as well and determine what, and who, is most important before circumstances make the decision for her.

MY THOUGHTS
Intricate, captivating, and richly complicated, Double Cross is nothing short of a revelation. This story is teeming with enigmatic and ingenious characters, each with their own agenda and a moral compass they claim points north, but it remains distinctly unclear as to whether their respective norths are in fact the same direction. The plot itself is as mysterious as the characters, overflowing with misdirection and leaving the reader continually guessing as to character allegiances and motives. Just when we think we might have a handle on the situation, it becomes clear that Ms. Crane is way ahead of us, an extremely talented puppet master well in control of our strings.

Justine is a truly fascinating heroine. She wants so badly to be normal, free of the worries and fears that have controlled her life for so long, but she, like so many others, is self-destructive. She trades one debilitating fear for another, exchanging her hypochondria for a fear of accepting her own flaws and truly revealing who she is to another person. She herself is more a victim of disillusionment than any of the criminals she targets, refusing to relinquish the anger and resentment tainting her view of Packard, and thereby denying herself the very thing she wants most: someone who understands all of her and accepts it unflinchingly. Packard is the embodiment of all the things that make Justine different; he strips away the blanket of comfort that is her fixation with illness and mortality and forces her into a reality she's not ready to face. She cannot accept him until she accepts herself, and all we can do is watch helplessly as she attempts to conquer that very fear.

Her internal struggles with regard to Packard make the reader ache, wanting so badly to defy the laws of physics and reach through the pages to provide comfort while simultaneously ripping the self-imposed blinders from her face so that she can see what's truly in front of her. Just as I started to get frustrated with her attitude toward Packard, she begins to get frustrated with herself, and we get to see a growth and progression as she starts to take control of her thoughts and actions, refusing to let fear of any kind dictate her life.

In addition to some personal growth from Justine, we also catch a glimpse of Packard as he drops some of his defensive shields and becomes less the authoritative highcap and more the vulnerable human being. This subtle shift in character makes him more attractive on every level, one thin layer of ambiguity removed from the ultimate mystery man, and leaves us begging for more page time with him.

The ending is as spectacularly brilliant as the build-up, forcing the reader to suck in a breath and frantically claw at the back cover in the hope that more pages will magically appear with the sounds of our distress. The execution of this story is flawless, every angle perfectly thought out, every character blissfully damaged but ultimately redeemable, and every detail cleverly placed to provide the most psychological impact on the reader. We are teased with information, taunted with a relationship with incendiary potential, and tormented by extremely emotional discoveries, leaving us nothing but a quivering mass after the last page has been turned, our mouths agape and our hearts pounding.

Mind Games was good, but Double Cross takes the story to a whole new level. Run to the bookstore on Tuesday.

Rating: 5/5