Meet Kit Wrenly

The inspiration behind the character

When the ladies needed to come up with a side character who provided comedic moments, the initial idea was a younger female shop assistant for Nyra. A girl who always wore black (combat boots included) with a sharp wit; a complete opposite to Nyra’s zen calm.

But AyDee wanted to go in another direction—a male instead—drawing once again from the world of James Bond.

Q was the head of Q Branch (or Q Division), MI6’s R&D Department, responsible for supplying Bond with gadgets, weapons, vehicles, and other specialized equipment.

From Sean Connery’s reign to Pierce Brosnan’s reign, this character was portrayed by an older man.

Until Daniel Craig took over and a younger version of this character was introduced in Skyfall.

Portrayed by British actor, Ben Whishaw.

Photo credit: Francois Duhamel/©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

His version of Q was more awkward and nerdy, played up with his United Colors of Benneton-type sweaters, black-rimmed glasses, mop of hair…. and the occasional witty comment.

Says AyDee,

One of my favorite exchanges in Skyfall was when Bond expressed surprise that Q was so young, and Q replied that he could do significant damage from his laptop in his pajamas before his first cup of tea. I could picture Nyra’s assistant saying something like that—before actually doing some magical damage. LOL

The fun part was coming up with a suitable name for a gay, 23-year-old hybrid (half-Civilian, half-Otherworlder) male who was being mentored—magically—by Nyra. He’s got delicate features, thoughtful eyes, a soft-spoken charm hiding dry wit and quiet intelligence. So, they needed a name that fit his ethereal, bookish, bumbling golden retriever presence. And their search came up with the following:

• Ezri Wren

• Jasper Bellamy

• Theo Ashcroft

• Kit Elowen

• Rafe Winlow

• Finch Calder

• Milo Fenwick

• Silas Peregrin

• Nico Larkspur

• Albie Thorne

To AyDee, some of the names seemed “too fantasy and whimsical” for an adult book, but she liked the way Kit and Wren sounded. It seemed to fit the lean/fragile/delicate theme they were looking for. She added the ‘ly’ to “make it sound a little more British.”

And so, Kit Wrenly was born.

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