Have you ever had that friend or big brother that you just couldn’t stand, yet they meant everything to you?

That is how I always imagined Owen Comstock. 

He was loud, immature, took nothing seriously, and played pranks on everyone. Despite his antics, however, he was the life of the party and loved by all who met him.

Part of Owen was influenced by Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter, while other parts of him resonated more with Prince Dastan from Disney’s Prince of Persia. He knew when to take action, though often he was afraid of the responsibility, and he couldn’t stand for things to become too heavy. So he always had a joke or prank on hand to lighten the mood.

Owen wasn’t always on my character list, though. In the first editions of The Earthspark, Nienna was an only child, like so many stories you may read. However, I never liked the fact that the main protagonist never had siblings. Who were you supposed to rely on when things got tough or just needed someone to be there when their friends were mean?

So Owen became Nienna’s counterpart at the castle, and the one destined to take the throne, freeing Nienna up to have plenty of adventures.

One of Owen’s favorite pranks this prince plays on his sister is putting pine sap on her hairbrush. As you can imagine, this led to Nienna getting an unplanned haircut, and Owen getting a willow switch over the rump. Yet if you were to ask him, the pain was totally worth it.

This sibling duo is really put through the wringer as they face their individual challenges in The Siren’s Call. Nienna gets more adventure than she ever wanted, and Owen starts to feel the weight of what it means to be a king. 

We get to see Owen go from a carefree, prank-loving prince to a king who really comes into his own when we reach the final book in the series. I am eager for you to see who he becomes and how he goes about doing it. 

Here are some of my favorite scenes from the series, plus a sneak peek from my upcoming book, “The Phoenix and The Wolf,” releasing this fall.

The Earthspark:

“What is the matter with you?” Nienna asked, straightening her vest. Then she froze. “Oh no. It’s tonight, isn’t it?”

Owen leaned against the table, staring at her with an innocent expression.

Nienna grabbed the side of her head and whirled to face the clock on the opposite wall. Eight o’clock. “Your engagement ball. It starts right now, doesn’t it?”

Using the heel of her boot, she kicked over the last remaining stack of books, finalizing the evidence that an indoor hurricane had just passed through.

“I thought you were supposed to come get me at six so I could get ready? Look at the state of me. I’m covered in ink from head to toe!” She bent to snatch up all her supplies into her carry bag.

“I thought you were a big girl and could get yourself ready anyway. You’re usually the one hurrying me along.” He glanced down at the wooden table. “Oh, is this the map for tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Nienna gushed, forgetting the party and her lack of preparation. “I’ve been working on it all day. I don’t think even Vargus can say no to this.”

“Hopefully, this will ease Father’s mood. He’s in a tizzy since I made him miss his meeting with Advisor Harker before the ball.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Not to mention he hates balls as much as you do.”

Nienna groaned as she rubbed a hand down her face, covering her eyes. This situation was getting worse by the moment.

Owen blew the sand from the parchment and whistled. “If I hadn’t seen you working on it, I wouldn’t believe you did this.”

She peeked through her fingers, lips narrowing.

“I didn’t think a girl could do—” 

She punched him in the arm.

“Ow!” he cried, rubbing his shoulder.

She tried to stow the map away before it could come to harm, but Owen was quicker. Spinning around with the parchment stretched between his hands, he held it out of her reach. “This is even better than Professor Bates’s work at the university. And he’s supposed to be the best.”

Nienna couldn’t contain a smug smile as she grabbed for the parchment. “I could never stand him as a professor. I swore I’d become the best cartographer in Tellidus, just to rub it in his face. Pompous old man that he is.”

Owen raised his eyebrows, and his arms, as she tugged on his sleeves. “Don’t get your hopes up too high. Otherwise, the next round of cartographers leaving Alturis will leave you crushed. Besides, mother’s planning to do a double wedding after finding your beau tonight.”

Nienna drew back her fist to punch him again when Owen cleared his throat. “Speaking of professors, whatever happened to you becoming one? I thought it was your dream to shape young minds and all that.”

He rolled up the parchment and handed it back to her.

“It was. I mean it is. But no positions were open before I left. So I took the job with Talley. The dean said she’d reach out if something changed, but I’m afraid I’ll have to wait a couple of years.” She set the map back on the table and began cleaning up her supplies once more.

Owen pulled out an envelope from his vest pocket and fanned himself with it. “So, should I wait to give you this, then? It just arrived this afternoon, but as you seem set on waiting—”

“Give me that!” Nienna tackled her brother as he held the envelope out of reach.

“How do you know this is even for you?” he asked, ducking out of her grip. “It’s addressed to a Nina Rostock. Is she a friend of yours?”

“Give me my letter!” 

“Relax before your hair falls out. That Ballitine prince won’t want to marry a girl who looks like she has mange.”

The Siren’s Call

“Then it’s time to change that. Come on.” Rivkah stood and reached out a hand to pull him to his feet.

Owen eyed it warily, especially as Ross stuck his hand out, too. The prince started to pull the blanket back over him, but Ross was faster and yanked it back. Axel jumped in to help Rivkah keep Owen from laying back down.

Owen latched onto all three of them and brought them down with a crash. Ross found himself on top of the groaning guard. He quickly got off and was about to haul Owen out of the room by his leg when the prince grabbed his foot and tripped him. Ross crashed into a broken chair and got tangled up in the wooden legs.

Cursing the wretched prince and his tantrums, Ross shoved the chair away to find Owen pulling Rivkah down to him. He wrapped the blanket around them both.

“Isn’t this nicer?” Owen said, as Rivkah started laughing. “We could just stay here while we let Ross take care of the day-to-day things. They don’t need us.”

Rivkah coughed and wrinkled her nose as she pushed away from Owen. “You know what I need?”

“Anything, my gem,” Owen tried to reel her back in.

Rivkah locked her arms to prevent her husband from getting closer. “I need you to take a bath. You smell worse than that hog farm we visited last month.”

“Really? I’m that aromantic?” Owen asked. A ghost of a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“No,” Ross said, shoving his friend’s head into the carpet. “You smell worse. It stinks like a sulfur pit in here. What have you been eating?”

An amused expression crossed Owen’s face as he sat up. “I’ve still got some left if you’d like to try it.”

The Phoenix and the Wolf

“I’m sorry! I forgot about that one,” Owen said, unable to hide the delight at another of his traps going off. “I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and you never know who might try to get into the family heirlooms.” 

Tellen brushed away the flour that had just exploded onto his face as he’d stepped on a loose floor stone. 

“Anytime I’m down here, I’m never that close to the wall. I think I made that one almost a year ago. Funny no one has triggered it before now.”

“I’m starting to understand why Nienna had always spoken about her brother with a mix of admiration and a healthy mix of ‘I’m going to strangle him.’” Teague shook himself to rid it of more water after opening a door too fast and got a bucket on his head. 

A smirk spread across Tellen’s face as he replayed the image. Hair on end, curses flying, Teague reacted the way any cat did to water. He hissed, growled and bolted to get away before preening himself in the corner. 

“Is there anything else you’ve forgotten?” Axel Roark called, limping slightly. A minute arrow, similar to the darts the northerners used, had pierced his calf. The shaft had enough force that half of it got buried in the guard’s leg. Tellen had gotten it out and sealed the cut, but the muscles were likely still bruised.

Owen held up a finger, then dropped it, like he’d forgotten what he was going to say. Then held it up again, his eyes bright. “I rigged up a tripwire and something else.”

The door to the treasury stood only twenty feet away, but who knew what perils lay ahead?

“And how might we identify this trip wire?” Barrett Marks asked.

“It didn’t span the whole hallway. I remember that.” Owen took five steps forward before pitching forward and landing in a spectacular belly dive. “Found it.”