Rachael and Aiden

One of the most common questions I'm asked is "will Rachael and Aiden have their own book?" The answer I give is "at this time, I'm not planning on writing their story." It sounds like a cop out answer. Here's the truth. I adore the character of Rachael. I also love Aiden desperately. However, I don't think they would be as popular if you saw more of their flaws. I think they're fabulous secondary characters. Superficially, they're very fun to write.

However, just the short story I wrote about Aiden's most miserable Valentine's Day resulted in hate mail - like I got a couple of death threats. Did I hit publish on "Falling Into Infinity" to make friends? No. It was a my bucket list item which took on a life of its own, and for that, I'm very thankful.

I will never create my characters or write my stories to pander to the masses because I'm not a fairy tale kind of girl. With that being said, I'm desperately afraid if I did give Rachael and Aiden their own book I'd have to soften their character flaws to make their story somewhat endearing so you wouldn't hate me. As of right now, I'm not willing to compromise their story.

Will I one day give Rachael and Aiden's story a life of its own? Maybe. There are elements I love. I'm obsessed with the bi-racial aspect of their relationship. I think its one that hasn't been explored, and it does add a layer of added relationship tension even though it shouldn't. I also love how completely different they view their relationship. I think this is very common, and one of the main reasons the divorce rate is so high.

What I have thought about is giving Rachael a story of her own separate from Aiden. Have you read "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch? It's one of my all time favorite books. If you have daughters, seriously, go buy it (http://www.amazon.com/The-Paper-Bag-Princess-Annikins/dp/0920236251). Here's the book synopsis...
The Princess Elizabeth is slated to marry Prince Ronald when a dragon attacks the castle and kidnaps Ronald. In resourceful and humorous fashion, Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald --- who is less than pleased at her un-princess-like appearance. 

My mom bought me the book when I was in high school. Rachael is very loosely based on Princess Elizabeth. I'd love to write a story about a smart, resourceful, female who's succeeding in a world of alpha male politics. Her goals aren't to get married or have children. Her happily ever after is defined by the level of influence she achieves over the nation's policies.

Just a thought to ponder when I can't sleep...