CREATIVE CHARACTERS: WRITING JESSIE & TYRA
It always sneaks up me, the releases I mean. I've been having a reduced schedule the past few years so I've not yet gotten back into the groove of releasing books. Hopefully that will change next year, but my point is such that I didn't realise how close we were to release, and since I always planned to talk about the third Cramping Chronicles book around this time, it was a bit of a surprise when I came to writing my blog posts this morning and found it was already time!
So for those new to my blog, I generally, around the time of release, go into a bit more depth about what it was like writing the main characters of the story. For those who know nothing about the CRAMPING CHRONICLES series, lemme give you a little insight. It's a YA urban fantasy series that deals with Jessie, who's 15, and disabled with M.E and Fibromyalgia. She's also an empath. She has the ability to feel certain people's emotional and physical pain, and in the first two books, she was trying to get a handle on it, in book three, she's finally found a tutor in all things empath and is hoping to learn how to control her ability.
Only there's a problem, while learning, Jessie also has to deal with another new trigger, Tyra, and Tyra happens to be the school bully. While Jessie wouldn't want to leave anyone in pain if she could help it, the fact that Tyra has taken an instant dislike to Jessie doesn't help matters. So while dealing with Tyra's pain, Jessie also has to juggle some other issues, like whether or not she should tell her parents about her ability, and learning more and more about the empath life, and what it holds for her. This third book also launches us into finding out the background and lore of what being an empath means, and you're gonna be in for a ride!
So what was it like writing Jessie, a character I've grown close to, opposite the school bully who has her own secrets to hide? Lemme jump into it!
WRITING JESSIE
Jessie has been through a lot in the first two books, she found Meera, her girlfriend, but she also found a whole lot of pain to go along with it. While she knows a little about being an empath, it was really only dealing with Marcus' pain in book two that pushed her into getting a tutor, and bringing Lucas into the picture. Jessie has always been sure that she wants to deal with things on her own. She doesn't want to tell her parents about her ability, and now isn't any different. The problem is, that after what happened with Meera, and then again with Marcus, she knows she doesn't always have the tools to deal with problems that arise and even though she wants to be an adult about it, there are some things she's gonna need parental help with.
Bringing Lucas into the picture helped, but once things started to become clear that there was a whole lot more about Jessie, and her ability, that he wasn't going to be able to help her with, she's kinda stuck between making a choice that might backfire, or going it alone and hoping for the best. Enter Tyra, a bully who seems to think Jessie, and the world, owe her a favour and it's no wonder that Jessie is hesitant to help. Of course she wants to minimise Tyra's pain, but not at the expense of herself.
Jessie is always a delight to write. I love her wit, her way of dealing with things, and I really do feel like had I been at school with her, she'd have been a fast friend. Of course, there are complications, and Jessie is learning things about herself, her distant relatives, and her ability fast, and there doesn't seem to be any one around to lend a hand. She's in the deep end now, and she's gonna have to learn how to swim.
WRITING TYRA
Tyra was a character that I knew would show up eventually. Most schools have bullies and even if you're popular, you're bound to come across one in some form. Tyra Meadows is the kind of bully I grew up with. The one that seems to think everyone owes them something, and because they've not gotten it handed to them, they'll happily take it by force. Her story is a sad one though, and without giving spoilers, I will say that Tyra has her reasons for acting the way she does, though of course it doesn't excuse it.
Tyra was never going to be someone Jessie instantly got on with, and because of that, they were always going to be at cross-purposes, but the story behind her, the reason for her pain, was one that needed to be told. I did like getting to write Tyra, to bring the kind of person she was to life on the page, and I'm really happy with how she turned out.
Like I said, this book is the start of something huge in the CRAMPING CHRONICLES universe, and because of that there is little I can share about that stuff, but if you're wanting to dive into the series, and pre-order the third book, you can do so here!
I hope you enjoy them!
Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!
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