Characters: Ferry Donovan

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A lot of readers of the Ferry's Tale series asked me to write about how I created my characters. So I think it's fair to start with the protagonist of the series, Ferry Donovan.

Ferry is a changeling. According to Wikipedia, in Irish folklore, a changeling was believed to be a child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities.

A changeling is typically identifiable via a number of traits; in Irish legend, a fairy child may appear sickly and won't grow in size like a normal child, and may have notable physical life of characteristics such as a beard or long teeth. They may also display intelligence far beyond their apparent years, as well as possess uncanny insight. A common way that a changeling could identify itself is through displaying unusual behaviour when it thinks it's alone, such as jumping about, dancing, or playing an instrument — though this last example is found only within Irish and Scottish legend.

This is how a changeling is described in Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, one of my favorite books. 

In Romanian folklore, there are a lot of old tales about stolen babies

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In Romanian folklore, there are a lot of old tales about stolen babies. They say an unbaptised child should always be watched because the fairies love human babies and they would steal the child and take him (they are mostly looking for boys) into their world. There are actually countless tales about whirlwinds lifting an unsupervised baby in the air and taking him afar. 

A changeling is not a nice-looking baby

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A changeling is not a nice-looking baby. And Ferry is no exception. In The Moonlight Boy, he has white hair and fair skin, his eyes change color, he has narrow eyes, and pointed ears. His strange appearance frightens his human mother and pushes her to hide him away from the world for nine years.

 His strange appearance frightens his human mother and pushes her to hide him away from the world for nine years

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