Discovering characters for your book happens in many different ways for a writer. Often, these ways will end up surprising you.
Below, you will meet two of the characters in my middle grade historical novel, FOR THE LIFE OF LILY, and learn how they found me.
Lily is pictured below, a female Asian elephant, favored by circuses because of their docile nature and the fact that female Asians do not grow tusks.
I first saw this elephant at one of the several circuses I attended while doing research for my book. What set her apart from the other elephants was her tattered ear and heavily speckled pink trunk.
I knew at once that she was "my" Lily, and that that ear and those pink speckles belonged in my book.
I knew, too, that her photo belonged on my desk, where it has sat for years, while I wrote the book, revised the book, and now did a total rewrite of the book.
Lily's picture kept me going, looking at me, calmly telling me to take heart and keep the faith. I would, Lily assured me, finally find the right way to tell her story.
Chickens, however, had never entered my mind when I began writing Lily's story.
Then I went to Kentucky, to visit my friend, Regina Abney's hometown, and Fayree, pictured below Lily, entered my life.
Regina's family welcomed my husband and me with what I can only think is the "southern hospitality" that region is famous for. They invited us into their homes, fed us wonderful home-cooked meals each day and took us sightseeing.
One night, as the family gathered with us after dinner, they gave me Fayree.
Regina's brother, Ronnie Bennett, is a great storyteller. One of the stories involved his grandfather, Lasley Fayree Bennett, and the chickens he trained to ride on his shoulder.
I was immediately enchanted with the story, wanted it for my book, and named my chicken, Fayree, after Mr. Bennett.
And so a character was born.