Have you ever joined a new Bible Study or some other gathering when you’re told there’s about to be an ice breaker? I hear all you introverts groaning out there! 😅
Truthfully, I’ve felt the same way, and yet … those little games can help a room full of strangers start talking, and even become friends. I’m thinking about a new Bible Study I attended once. At the beginning, the host said, “Let’s break the ice by sharing one thing about ourselves that no one else in the room knows.”
Some said things like, “My earrings don’t match” or “I was in the stage play of Home Alone in middle school” etc., but one elderly woman simply said, “I can touch my nose with my tongue.”
What?! She then proved it to a room full of laughter! She was one quirky character!
In case you’re wondering …
I told the group about my past as a secret shopper for Taco Bell. Honest. I used to go from store to store, checking cleanliness and sampling food for various Taco Bell stores, all in secret. (I hope I never have to sample a chalupa ever again, haha.)
This got me thinking about characters I’ve both read or written who’ve done quirky things or held unusual jobs.
Without spoilers, here are a few quirky characters from some of my own books:
In Chocolate Beach, Bri is a disaster in the kitchen (I mean, really), EXCEPT she bakes amazing brownies.
In Sweet Waters, Tara has a secret addiction to a reality show. NOTE: This one is FREE on many retailers today and tomorrow. Find your store here: Amazon or other stores: Books2Read.com/Sweet-Waters
In A Sea Glass Christmas, Trace says whatever’s on her mind. In other words, she has no filter!
And in Beach Music, Rafael, the dishy town handyman loves to hum—but doesn’t realize he’s doing it 😙
I’ve also loved the curiosity of Mary Lennox (Secret Garden), the grumpy but soft-hearted AJ Fikry (The Storied Life of AJ Fikry), and the snarky and smart Ashley Stockingdale (What a Girl Wants / Billerbeck).
How about you? What quirks or attributes of your favorite characters made them memorable? Tell me about them below.
Happy Wednesday, Julie! Your blog made this retiree chuckle. I also was a secret shopper for a local grocery store. Since I did my grocery shopping there weekly it wasn’t much different than usual, except I now paid attention to employees’ names and occasionally had to return items, which I never did at the grocery store. Being a secret shopper was an educational experience and I received gift cards for shopping.
I laughed at Rafael in Beach Music. During Covid I homeschooled 3 grandkids. Logan – Grade 7 also hummed while he was doing his work. So loud it interfered with his younger sister’s 1. Grade zoom meetings. His siblings says he is still annoying.
While I know characters in books had annoying characteristics – can’t recall specifics this morning. Enjoy your week.
I love Charley in the Hope Harbor series. He’s not quirky, but he knows things people don’t necessarily want him to know! Plus, he talks to Floyd and Gladys. I’d love to meet Charley! In the Tales of the Grace Chapel Inn, one of the town’s residents has a pig that she dresses up and takes all over town in a stroller. There have been others in others books, but most of the quirkiness makes me love the character more!
Hello and welcome today. Thanks for sharing all of the above. I have read some stories where the main character still sticks with me. From Jen Turano “Flights of Fancy” (American Heiresses series) Miss Isadora (I love that name) is full of life and love for her fellow humans. She needs to run and hide away for a while. She goes to a small town and starts to live there. She is so not used to children and work. It is funny and full of love and respect and lots of work. I am not really sure why she has stayed with me. But her and her trials and her work ethic remind me of myself a little. I love this author. She makes each character climb right into my heart and stay there
Hi Renate – That’s amazing! I’ve never known another secret shopper :-). Funny story about your grandkids. That’ll be one they’ll talk about as adults!
Oh my goodness! I love the story about the pet pig (my brother in law’s family had one too and took a family photo with it. Lol)
I love the name too. And she sounds like a great character to read.
I can’t stand those ice breaker questions, I can never think of anything to say. I need a quirky talent like that lady lol!
I always loved the character of Anne in the Anne of Green Gables books – she was quirky and looked at the world in a different way. But not too over the top, I find sometimes characters that are meant to be quirky can just be a bit over done.
Thanks you for the free book, I will look forward to reading it.
I would say smart, outgoing, loves to bake, does not back down, and gets herself in challenging positions that she needs to get out of. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
I know I read a book where secondary characters were quirky it was a husband and wife who worked for the heroine (in a historical) and the banter between the couple was quirky.
I like characters that have quirks we all have them even when we don’t realise (although some can be really annoying. mum use to suck the wind through the gap in her top teeth and it could be really annoying.