When I created the characters in The Snowflake Trap, I made sure each one represented a different type of millennial in the real world. I needed the typical woke, sheltered one, someone who’s been downtrodden by society for too long, and a high achiever who’s been put under lifelong pressure. As readers, I reckon you will be able to relate to at least one of them, whether it be due to their job situations, their parents, their race or sexuality or just their personalities. A lot of psychology has gone into creating these well-rounded, diverse characters, so I hope you love this lot as much as I do.

So, with no further ado, let me introduce you to Max Ward, Leah Carlton and Shawn Parker, the Millennial Musketeers – well, that’s what Max wants to call them anyway. Three school friends who live in the small town of Leasford, England (which I’ll tell you more about soon). The trio have been friends for sixteen years, and met back on their first day at Leasford Grammar. They were lumped together in a misfit group but soon became the best of friends. They’ve been close ever since, even after spending a few years apart at uni, and they all still live down in Leasford with their parents. But, even though on the surface, the group look tight knit, you’ll soon find out they’re not as solid as they seem. And can childhood friendships really go the distance into adulthood? Are they more of a hinderance or a welcome familiarity of times gone by? This series as a whole will explore that theme heavily as the group go through the biggest ordeal of their lives – going to war against a group of baby boomers who want to destroy their generation.

Max Ward

Age: 27

DOB: 14th September 1992

Appearance: White British, ginger with blue eyes and has a man-bun and a full beard (something that came about at uni that his friends take the p*ss out of him for!) He’s fit, tall and athletic.

Pronouns: He/him/his

Sexuality/gender identity: Straight, cis-gendered

Max is a typical ‘snowflake’ millennial. Woke, naive, a little narcissistic and very idealistic. He’s an optimistic guy who believes he can change the world and has been seeking his true purpose for a while now. After completing a philosophy degree, he returned to Leasford looking for a job where he could do something meaningful, but unfortunately, after a string of job rejections, he ended up working in the local hardware store. He’s hoping Leasford’s Annual Job Fair will be the lucky break he needs to find something that can help him reach his dreams. Max also influences on the side on his channel ‘Millennial Max’, which he really hopes will take off someday.

Max has always been sheltered because of his overprotective helicopter parent mum. She’s never liked his friends and still doesn’t like him hanging out with them. Ever since his dad left to become an activist (or so Max has been told), his mum’s kept him on a tight leash. That meant Max missed out on a lot growing up and Leah and Shawn became much closer, something Max is secretly quite jealous of. Max is also romantically interested in one of his followers known as VeganQueen98 who he really wants to meet and eventually start dating. He’s had a few girlfriends in the past at uni but no one special since then.

In The Snowflake Trap, Max goes on quite a journey, learning more about the people around him and who he wants to be too. But will people really take him seriously, especially since he isn’t that used to freedoms people his age have had for a while?

Leah Carlton

Age: 27

DOB: 7th June 1993

Appearance: Black British, with dark, curly, side-parted hair, has brown eyes and a curvy build – shorter than the other two. She also wears rose-gold framed glasses.

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Sexuality/gender identity: Straight, cis-gendered

Leah’s sassy, witty, slightly cynical, a little clumsy, but kind and highly protective of her loved ones. She happily teases her friends and can be quite self-righteous at time, but that’s just who the world has made her into after the many years of dealing with racism and sexism. Leah’s a keen photographer, always taking her camera with her to social occasions. She developed a passion for it back at school and studied photography at uni. However, she can’t seem to get a job with it, in fact, she can’t seem to get a paid job full stop. She’s only been able to get unpaid internships and is currently interning at a place called ALC in Wacherton – a city about half an hour away from Leasford.

She lives with her parents and two brothers, Kevin who is older and Ben who’s far younger. Despite her parents being quite chilled out and her being very protective over Ben, Leah’s never got on with Kevin and those two frequently fight. As for the guys, Leah’s far closer to Shawn in their trio and sees him like a brother, and she thought she felt the same way about Max, but she’s recently developed a crush on him, although she’s convinced he doesn’t feel the same due to her race. She’s been trying her best to get over him, but he’s so much better than any of her previous boyfriends. Leah really wants nothing more than to take off and travel the world with her camera, a full rucksack and her passport so she can make a living from travel photography – if only she could afford it. If she can’t find anything at the job fair, that’s her plan.

In The Snowflake Trap, Leah’s still keeping her secrets, at least from Max, and is seeking a new start. But as she progresses through the book, things change and situations arise that she could never have expected. She’s forced to change who she is and deal with some very unexpected moments that’ll change her life forever – will she really be able to achieve her dreams now?

Shawn Parker

Age: 27

DOB: 12th January 1993

Appearance: White British, mid-height, skinny with neat blonde hair and green eyes.

Pronouns: He/him/his

Sexuality/gender identity: Unknown, cis-gendered

Shawn is the most introverted of the group, a shy, quiet, very smart guy. He’s always been a high achiever and the brains of the group, and studied maths at university. However, his true passion is singing, playing the guitar and songwriting – he wants to be just like his idol, non-binary indie singer, ‘Odd Sock’ who he absolutely adores. However, Shawn’s parents won’t let him go down that path. Ever since then, he’s been struggling. Shawn suffers with depression and anxiety and used to self-harm to cope with it. He nearly killed himself at uni, but got help and went on medication, which he decided to come off when he returned home. He never told his family or his friends about any of it, though Max and Leah are aware he has mental health issues. Shawn also can’t seem to hold down a job and has been quitting plenty over the years, keeping that a secret from his parents and just pretending to work instead. He just hopes they’ll never find out the truth.

He’s also an only child, like Max, but sees Max and Leah like siblings. They’re always bantering and he generally feels comfortable with them, but not enough to tell them the truth. He knows Max is too innocent to understand and may even blab to Shawn’s parents, and Leah’s too judgemental, so for Shawn, it’s easier to keep it all hidden. As well as not opening up to his friends and family, Shawn’s found it hard to truly open up to anyone and therefore never sought out a relationship. He doesn’t understand ‘physical attraction’ to any gender identity and has never been interested in anyone in that way, even though his friends want him to find someone.

In The Snowflake Trap, Shawn goes through quite a transformation. From being quite fearful of the job fair, he really gets his chance to step up, but still remains held back by his mental health conditions. And within the high pressure situation, his secrets are about to be discovered – what will he do to make sure they remain hidden, especially when nothing’s off the table when it comes to protecting his self-preservation?

I really hope you get to love these three over the course of the series. As they’re all technically the same age I was in 2020, I really relate to them, their issues and the childhood they grew up in. And although they all may seem so different, they’re all pretty similar in some respects too. They’re the heart of this story and their millennial issues are what really makes this more than just a spoofy action book series. It makes the book completely relatable and I hope you see that there’s so much more than meets the eye with these millennials.

The Snowflake Trap will be released on September 19th and the remaining two books of The Snowflake Series will be released in the next couple of years. In the meantime, check out my other books The Signs Are Coming and The Luke Bright Series which are all available to buy! Check out the individual pages for links so you can grab your copies. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K.