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Eden & Rafe 
Linda Chaikin returns with her second Dawn of Hawaii historical series, Hawaiian Crosswinds and shares again about her lead characters, Rafe and Eden. Enjoy!
Rafe Easton
Physical Description
Hair color: ebony, wavy, brushes the collar of his shirt, typical of the period of the 1890s.
Eye Color: earthy-brown, dark lashes, slashing brows
Skin Tone: bronzed by the outdoors.
Build: strong, muscled. He was a pearl diver in his youth, also a surfer with his close Hawaiian friend, Keno.
Distinctive physical characteristics: Chiseled features, and a firm jaw that speaks of his strong will.
Actor/Famous person
The guy on the front book cover looks pretty good to me.
Strengths and weaknesses
Rafe Easton struggles with dislike for his stepfather, Townsend Derrington. Rafe believes that Townsend is somehow responsible for his blood father’s accidental death. That Townsend then married Rafe’s mother and 
took possession of Hanalei, the Kona coffee plantation established by Rafe’s father, is a bitter cup that he ha to grow up with. Rafe’s determination to regain his father’s plantation and protect his mother from Townsend’s bullying spirit is a strength. He has several weaknesses. His determination can be unrelenting, and his desire for Eden Derrington to follow his dreams breeds frustration between them when her own plans come up against his will.
Quirk (if any)
Likes to stand with hands on hips, or tilts his head with a slight wry smile when Eden frustrates him.
Your inspiration for the character
I grew up in a large family—mostly big brothers!
Background to the story
Hawaii, home of the early missionaries, becomes an empire of sugar and pineapple built by their children and grandchildren. By 1892 the Treasure of the Pacific is caught in a political revolution between those supporting Queen Liliuokalani, and the new Hawaiians determined to see the Stars and Stripes waving over Iolani Palace.
Eden Derrington
Physical Description:
Hair color: ebony.
Hair length and style: Long, thick, and wavy. When she works as a nurse in tropical diseases at Kalihi Hospital in Honolulu, she wears her hair in sedate braids coiled about her head.
Eye Colo
r: green
Skin tone: fair
Actor/famous person
Eden could resemble the late actress Natalie Wood, when the star was in her twenties. Very feminine but strong-willed for the truths of God.
Strengths and weaknesses:
Eden is self-reliant, determined, and courageous, but is she allowing these strengths to detour her on a path that will rob her heart of an equally desirous relationship with the one man she has always wanted, Rafe Easton?
The desired relationship with her father has placed Eden at risk of losing Rafe Easton. 
Eden’s desire is to establish a relationship with her long absent father, Dr. Jerome Derrington, is a reoccurring thematic element in the story called a “motif.” Her need for the loving, accepting “father-image,” is the cry of the lonely wounded heart for “Abba Father.” God our Heavenly Father through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. This theme also applies in other, more shadowy forms to Rafe Easton.
The inspiration for your characters
The theme of early abandonment and ongoing need is fulfilled in our born anew relationship with our Creator through His Son, Jesus Christ. The glorious hymn “Abba, Father!” tells us what we lost in the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, but was restored with even greater blessings in Christ. Not only Eden, but Rafe Easton, Keno, Zachary, Silas, and Candace (Eden’s troubled cousins) all have a spiritual Father need. Some of it is subtle and the reader may miss it. But it’s there. Maybe the readers can look for the theme for each character.
“Home Sweet Home,” we often say. For those in Christ, Our True Home is where God is.
Thanks so much, Linda ~ lovely having you back at Relz Reviewz :)
Relz Reviewz Extras
Character spotlight on Rafe & Eden ~ 2010
Visit Linda's website
3 comments:
I have been curious about this series for some time now. I remember reading a book by the author years ago called For Whom the Stars Shine that features these characters. It was supposed to be the first in a series but was never finished. I never knew if the first book in this new series is a reissue, continuation, or rewrite. I was a big fan of Linda Chaikin in my teens and early twenties especially but haven't read any of her newer books. I liked that she set her books in unusual places.
My favorite series was Heart of India though now I feel a little differently about it and wish she'd written with Indians as the main characters instead of the British. There are Christians from every country in the world but sadly Christian fiction doesn't reflect that. At least Linda features Christians from other cultures in her books even if they aren't the main characters yet.
Thanks for sharing this post. It is always interesting to see what an author thinks about their characters and what inspired them.
The "guy on the cover" bears a strong resemblance to actor Michael Trucco.
http://tinyurl.com/3l3r8fp
Hey Lori - he does!
Christina - thanks for dropping by. My sister is a big fan of Linda's Heart of India series and her earlier Egypt trilogy. I don't want to think about how young I was when I first read those books - LOL!
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