Most seasoned writers know this about developing characters: The characters actually know more about themselves than the writer…until the writing gets well under way. So when I write characters, I don’t always have a lot in mind about them from the start.  Here is what I know about the Mayden Chronicles characters as we start…and beware, anything can change.

Mayden—She’s 16, daughter of a very rich father in his late 50’s and a bombshell, 32-year-old step-mother (her third). She doesn’t know exactly who she is, and she’d rather be rejected for reasons she understands than reasons she doesn’t. She’s super smart, but not bookish; pretty but not typically beautiful; anti-social but very socially aware. She’s dying for something interesting to happen. She will soon meet both Josh and Michael, and both will fall for her. But who will she fall for? Scottie is her beloved cat. But what animal spirit is she truly related to? 

Anna—She’s 88, and though they look nothing alike, considers herself the “twin” of Bea. She’s been in a nursing home an endless 2 years because her daughter, Helene, put her there. The official diagnosis is that she has Alzheimer’s. In reality, prescription drugs are keeping her insane. When she goes out into the woods, she comes alive for brief moments. Deep inside, she’s related to the spirit of the mountain lion. 

Helene—She’s 64, the wealthy daughter of Anna and the niece of Bea. She’s Mayden’s father’s “silent” business partner. She knows all about her mother’s magical world, and will do anything to keep her from it. Her grandson, Josh, is already lost to the magic, and for this she will never forgive Anna or Bea. She knows the animal spirit family she’s related to, but rejects it completely and will never tell a soul.     

Bea—She’s 88, born on the same day of the same year as Anna. They have different mothers (Bea’s mother part Italian, part Indian, while Anna’s mother was from the Old Wealth East Cost of the United States), but they share the same father. Long ago, there were rumors a third sister was born that same day. Bea’s grandaughter died giving birth to her great-grandson Michael. Bea promised her granddaughter on her deathbed that Michael would not learn to “shapeshift” into his spirit animal until he was old enough to decide for himself if he really wanted a magical life. Bea lives on a patch of land owned by the government with Josh, and her magic helps them both hide who they really are. Her spirit family is that of the black panther.

Josh—He’s 17, the grandson of Helene and great grandson of Anna.  He’s rash, handsome, angry, and as yet unable to control his shapeshifting (so he must stay with Bea, away from the world, until he learns). Mayden is the first girl he’s seen in years, and it doesn’t take him long to know what he wants. His spirit family is that of the leopard. 

Michael—He’s 17, the great-grandson of Bea. His mother died at childbirth, and until recently, he’s been raised in European boarding schools. Now living with his father, he is eager to get to know his maternal great-grandmother, especially if she can explain the magical events that keep happening to him.  His old girlfriend in Italy keeps texting him, but Mayden is far more interesting. Who can say what animal spirit family he will be related to, once he reaches the age that Bea will allow him to learn the magical ways in which a person can find out?

Rod—one of Mayden’s two closest friends from childhood…but does he want more than friendship now that she’s so much more grown up?