How much will we see of Winsome in the story? Anything you can share about her personality? How she's handling things?
Oh, you’ll see a lot of Winsome! A lot of the story is going to deal with her relationship with Emory and how the two of them navigate their new life after Theo’s death – how they both learn to move on from that loss and heal.
Winsome’s personality is high-energy, intelligent, curious, assertive, and self-sufficient. She tends to be matter-of-fact and can be too clever for her own good, often picking up on subtle cues from the adults around her. She has always been very loved and encouraged, and has a lot of confidence in her personality as a result. Winsome loves the natural world – plants, animals, rocks, insects, you name it – and loves spending time outdoors. Her best friend is her dog Beauregard, who follows her practically everywhere.
Her mother’s absence since her death has been hard on Winsome. She and her mother were exceptionally close and were always together. Her mother was her role model, the person she looked up to and aspired to be like. Her death has left a void in Winsome’s life that she has faced bravely, for her father’s sake. Being as perceptive as she is, it hasn’t escaped Winsome’s notice that Emory is struggling with his grief and his new responsibilities as a single father, and she’s trying to do her best to make things as easy for him as possible.
Unfortunately, that has meant that Winsome has withdrawn into herself. She spends more time in her room, alone, reading or doodling or daydreaming instead of doing her schoolwork. She doesn’t go outside as much as she used to, or play with other children her own age. She’s become quieter and more mature, out of some sense that she has to be the woman of the house now. How she and her father ultimately heal will be a major focus of the story.
