Rusty Duncan

In honesty, I cannot talk about Sunnyville Stories without discussing one of the two stars of the series.  That is Rusty Duncan, a teenager of fourteen years who moves to Sunnyville with his family.  

Rusty was pretty much there from the start when I originally conceived the Sunnyville concept back in 2005 (the origins of that universe will be discussed in a future post).  During my childhood, I had moved out of Queens, New York to a rural location in the southern USA.  It was such a radical experience for me.  Not only was I dealing with a unique culture within my own country – I also had to deal with a different mindset and different vocabulary.  Another thing about this move involved the remoteness.  In my old neighborhood, everything from stores to school to the doctor was within walking distance.  Down south, we lived in the middle of nowhere and had to drive to get to anywhere.  It was those experiences I drew upon when creating Rusty.  So in a way, Rusty is very much a reflection of myself being a fish out of water.

Rusty is the wise guy of our two heroes. He’s always quick with a joke or ready to make some sort of quip. In a way, his humor functions much like that of Peter Parker/Spiderman – it acts as a defense mechanism.

Both he and Sam are polar opposites. Rusty is an only child whereas Sam is the third of five children. Rusty is from a big city and Sam has lived in the diminutive hamlet of Sunnyville all her life. Rusty would rather slack off while Sam would fulfill her responsibilities. It’s these opposites that’s going to provide for a lot of humor, much drama, and most of our stories.

Next week, we’ll meet the other star of Sunnyville Stories – Sam Macgregor!