Creating Logan

READERS OFTEN ASK how I come up with my characters. Are these people you know and just changed their names? Is the main character really you? Writers want to know if there is any trick to creating memorable characters, particularly the main protagonist in a series. And it’s a good question — you’re going to have to live with this character for years, if you’re lucky.

Another question no one has ever asked me, but is a good one, is whether or not I know a book is going to be a series, or a standalone mystery. This probably varies from author to author, but for me, Logan McKenna intrigued me. This was a multi-dimensional character whose life I wanted to follow. I gave her a lot to overcome. I want to see what she does with it.

First, I gave her a strong name. With all the crap I was going to put her through, she needed to be tougher than the average Jill.  I always preferred climbing trees to helping my mom vacuum every square inch of carpet in the living room (go figure), so the independent, tomboy aspect of Logan’s personality came naturally. I don’t think I could write a series featuring an eye-batting femme fatale or a long-suffering victim.

I decided to plop her down in the early middle of her life, still reeling from the simultaneous, cataclysmic losses of her husband, her job, her music and her illusions. Years ago she made decisions which changed the course of her life, and now, she needs to rediscover who she really is. Nothing is easy.

As Logan slowly rebuilds her life throughout the series, often unsure about what choices to make, she draws on strengths she didn’t know she had, and discovers new and forgotten joys.