Claire Christine Belmonte starts out as Christine Messner but assumes a new name and attitude after leaving home in her teens. She’s become an important figure in what I call the Expanded Universe of Fictional Atlanta, where I base most of my writing these days.
Christine Messner, age 13, from Fables of the New South: Phoenix.Christine Messner, age 16, from Fables of the New South: Phoenix.Claire Christine Belmonte from Fables of the New South, Reconstruction, and the upcoming story collection, Terminus.Mr. and Mrs. Zachariah Messner with Christine circa 1986. From Fables of the New South: Phoenix. Christine Messner with James Frederick at church, circa 1986. From Fables of the New South: Phoenix.Claire Belmonte and Zachariah Messner, Perry, Georgia, circa 2005, from Reconstruction: Ashes.
