* My sixth grade superhero, Chase Benjamin Cooper. He is named for one of my favorite aunts, Margaret Wachtler (whose nickname is Chase), my brother Cheyne (whose middle name is Benjamin), and my great great grandpa Jan Kuiper (an Americanized version of the name; he was husband to the great great grandma I mentioned in the Off to Iowa post). Chase is pictured above, as drawn by the awesome Sean Tiffany.
* Chase's fifth grade sister, Addy. At the time, I didn't know anyone named Addy. Now I do. Hi, Addi! Anyway, that drew me to the name. I wanted Chase and his sister to be close in age to rev up their conflict early in the story. Learning to be nice to his sister is one of the story's main lessons. Brothers and sisters should be on the same team.
* Chase's preschool brother, Charlie. Because I've never taught a Charlie I didn't like.
* Chase's photographer mother, Leigh. Named for my sister (middle name, again).
* Chase's best friend, Johnny Li-Larsen. He was always Johnny, named for a great grandfather on my Mom's side. His last name changed several times over the years... I eventually settled on Li-Larsen because I wanted him bi-racial and "Li-Larsen" reminds me of my friend Kevin.
* Chase's friend Kat. Mary Katherine Nathan. I have two wonderful cousins named Katherine, so that was an easy call. And not only is Nathan my baby bro, it is one of my very favorite words to say.
* Chase's father, Will. Despite the name having been used for a main character in a famous novel (Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier), I stuck with it. You can guess in the comment section where the name came from. (It's not a hard one.)
What I didn't have was a villain. And what good is a superhero tale without a great villain?
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