Warning: Personal experiences are involved.
Let’s talk about the origin of a story. Most of the stories I tell develop from a place of hurt or anger. The specific stories I’m speaking about today, The Friend Trilogy, manifested from pain.
Most of my life, I felt like I didn’t belong. I always felt “different” or at least, that’s how my peers made me feel. My interests, the music I listened to, the movies I watched, etc. didn’t align with most of my peers (school age). And they made it known that I was “different” or “weird”. Likewise, being a dark-skinned, fat, Black girl/woman didn’t make things better. It just made me stand out more. I didn't feel like I belong in the outside world.
As the years ticked on, I stopped being vulnerable and pulled away from individuals outside of my family. Even though I wanted to connect, I felt disconnected. I was afraid to associate because of the rejection I’d experienced my whole life. So, attempting to connect meant being rejected. In my head, I went around and around with myself, declaring no one would truly understand me or know my heart because no one had before. Because of the disconnect I was feeling from the outside world, it caused me to be lonely.
Many will say they don’t get lonely if they enjoy being with themselves. And that is perfectly fine. I’m an extreme introvert. Mostly, I enjoy being in solitude and doing things or going places on my own. However, there is still a want to be around people who want to be around me. Who share a lot of the same interests as you. People who you can go out and do fun things with. People who are supportive and cheer you on when you’re winning. People who are there to catch you when you fall. There is nothing wrong with wanting those things outside of yourself and family.
Loneliness is not a no one size fits all. Many people feel lonely for different reasons; death of a loved one, job loss, moving away, etc. Hell, individuals can be surrounded by loved ones and still feel lonely. We hear of people feeling lonely in their marriages all the time.
In 2021, during a wave of loneliness, I thought up an idea to basis this emotion on. At first, The Friend Trilogy started off as a short story, A Friend for the Lonely, which I submitted to be a part of a speculative fiction anthology featuring Black female authors. I received an email saying the story wasn’t selected to be featured in the anthology. So now I had this short story that I really didn’t know what to do with. And then another idea hit me. Why not turn it into a novella series? I’d been wanting to do a series anyway so, this was my chance to give it a go.
I was indecisive about the story I wanted to tell. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere in the science fiction/thriller realm, but I didn’t want it to be a sci-fi opera. Finally, after some time, I decided I wanted to tell a story based on three different perspectives.
Lina, the protagonist of The Making of a Friend, is the awkward, intelligent one with a nice heart but not the best with social interactions, especially around the opposite sex. Well, at least the ones she likes. Due to Lina’s loneliness and the rising loneliness stats in the country, she comes up with the idea to make companion or therapy robots. The robots could replace the therapists who are limited in their interactions with clients in the after hours. But, before production could happen, the prototype becomes sentient and events take a dark turn.
Gabi, the protagonist of Finding a Friend, also deals with loneliness. She has two amazing sisters who she adores and adores her but, she would love to have that companion/partner. Unfortunately, she hasn’t found what she’s looking for. However, a few chance encounters send her life on a chaotic mission to help save the world and find a lost friend.
Last, but not least, there’s Trex (my mom’s most hated character I’ve ever created thus far). Trex is the antagonist. Trex is the prototype that goes astray. Without giving too much away for those who have not read the first and second book. However, I’ll leave you with this tidbit. In Trex’s eyes, there is no one or nothing that can come between her and Lina.
And thus, you have the beginnings of The Friend trilogy and A Friend for the Lonely short story.
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