Having created Gavril as my first character as an Alpha Cwn Annwn, the next stage was to create his Beta, the Pack second in command. But I had a bit of a problem. Many of my characters start with a picture of a male model. When it came to creating the Cwn Annwn Beta, I had two completely different individuals whom I wished to use. So, what was the solution?

Simples! Create two Pack Betas. Welcome to Bran Cadwgan and Owain Cadwaladr.

Let’s look at Bran Cadwgan first. The model who inspired him was Angel Macho, and specifically, it was one picture in particular which caught my eye, and inspired the first Bran-oriented story. I will add at this juncture that I had found out that my maternal family contained Ashkenazi Jewish blood, courtesy of my great-grandmother. I know nothing more about this side of the family, but a few years ago, whilst on a business trip to Berlin, I was able to go to the Holocaust Museum. What happened to the Ashkenazi sect really hit home then. When looking for a photograph for “Bran”, this one struck a chord. There was something in his eyes, plus there was the Star of David around his neck.

How could a creature based on Welsh legend end up wearing a Star of David. The short story, “Eliana” was born, a short story which became the opening chapter of “Beta”, the third volume in the Diaries of the Cwn Annwn. In that story, Bran is involved in the evacuation of children at risk of deportation to the concentration camps towards the end of the Second World War. Eliana was a Jewish girl whom he was sent to evacuate. In return for Bran’s jacket, given because she was cold, she told Bran that she needed to give him something in return. The only thing that she had was the necklace her own mother had given her. Bran promises to return it to her, but when the time comes, she tells him to keep it. He does and continues to wear it in her memory.

Bran became the serious of the two Cwn Annwn Betas. He also became the one who was reluctant to expose himself to public scrutiny. He hid behind a wall of technology, espousing the emerging age of the internet until a point when he controlled the sourcing of information used by the Pack behind a wall. It was safe. There was no risk of humans finding out about the paranormal world and no risk of the Cwn Annwn being exploited in the way in which the Nazis had tried in “Alpha”, Volume 2 of the Diaries of the Cwn Annwn. It served a purpose, because in later years, that understanding of the Web would prove invaluable.

Bran’s world was to change further when, contrary to his belief that he would never find a Mate because of ‘failings’ during the War, he had found his Mate, in Alix Gosselin, a wolf shifter and the only daughter of a powerful Alpha from Canada. Alix’s ‘look’ was inspired by my own cousin, Nikeeta Bellgard, a student and model in India.

Returning to the story of my two Pack Betas, originally, Owain Cadwaladr was inspired by the actor, Manu Bennett. However, my pet troll struck again, and the original Facebook account for Owain was reported as fake. If I had not backed up what my co-authors and I had written, we would have lost significant sections of the story. I learnt from the incident, and changed the model for Owain, such that the image for Owain’s story looks like this:

The challenge was why did I need two Betas? What was so different between Owain and Bran. I made Owain the more lighthearted of the two. He was still aware of the responsibilities of being a Beta, but he was the jovial barman, he was the teacher of the Pack younglings. Unlike Bran, he was fairly certain that he would find his Mate, but he was willing to wait. Que sera, sera … That was Owain.

But, for all that lightheartedness, Owain has a serious side, and that will be seen in “Delta”, when along with his newly-discovered Mate, Merida Davinier, he investigates the sex-trafficking ring uncovered by Alix Gosselin and her human State Police partner, Jake Petersen.

In conclusion, Bran and Owain were two sides of the ‘Beta’ coin. Both are individuals, but each complements the other. Such is the challenge of developing a character. And, as the best TV shows say, stay tuned for the next installment, when I will examine how I designed some of my leading ladies.

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LINKS TO THE BOOKS IN THE DIARIES OF THE CWN ANNWN

“Bound”, Volume 1 of The Diaries of the Cŵn Annwn
Amazon.com $0.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016TQFBNY
Amazon.co.uk £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016TQFBNY
Smashwords.com £0.00 (Free): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/589130