Meet Lorne Atwater

The main character you'll love to hate

12/9/20242 min read

Character art for Lorne Atwater Blightshade by Alison Wright
Character art for Lorne Atwater Blightshade by Alison Wright
“I would consider being afraid if I were you,” Lorne showed all his teeth. “You see, a real Curse Crafter might not be flattered by this charade. In fact, it might inspire them to get a little mean.”

Lorne Atwater, the main character of the upcoming dark fantasy, Blightshade, is a mouthy, vain, Gucci dumpster fire of emotional issues.

As a POV character, he’s arrogant and waspish, closely guarding a fear that, by his very nature, he’s unworthy of belonging.

Among all the magic types, Lorne never expected to manifest Curse Crafting. He expected to manifest something beautiful (or at least palatable). But his magic bloomed in the form of deadly nightshade, the emblem of Curse Crafting. As a mysterious blight infects him, Lorne’s powers become more volatile.

Source: Canva

To keep anyone from seeing the rot eating his magic alive, Lorne severs all of his connections and builds an outer shell of glossy perfection to hide from the world.

But the blight is getting worse, and Lorne can no longer hide from the things inside him. To have any hope of a cure, Lorne must entangle his fate in a knot of unstable relationships, and face his own corruption and the very monster that blighted him.

Source: maycchino’s utterly perfect piccrew.

I am beyond excited to introduce Lorne (and Blightshade) to the world. I’ve often feared that, as a main character, Lorne is too much. Too bitey. Too difficult. Frankly, too far up his own ass. But I couldn’t change him if I tried.

I grew up on Artemis Fowl. I fell in love with Loki (Marvel) and Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) and although these abrasive, emotionally complicated villain-to-antihero archetypes aren’t for everyone, they are for me. And I’ve been surprised and warmed by the people who’ve welcomed Lorne into that same camp.

Despite his many (many) failings, I’ve been thrilled to find that people are drawn to Lorne’s wit. His mouth. His catty sarcasm. People resonate with his pain and the neglected, frantic thing within him that wants so desperately to be loved and seen.

I love Lorne and I’m excited to finally let him be seen.

Blightshade is Alison Wright's dark fantasy debut following Lorne, a vain witch with corrupted magic. Lorne's quest for a cure will expose his diseased powers, entangle his fate in a knot of unstable relationships, and force him to face the very monster that blighted him.

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