Developing the Heroine of Summer With the Silverwood Wolves
Honestly the trickiest part of this story has been the leading lady, Mackenzie Patterson. When I first announced the project, I proposed two comp titles: Fruits Basket and The Inheritance Games. Both of these stories have similar structures and set-ups, albeit in different cultures and genres.
One of the places where these comps differ is in their heroines. Avery Grambs and Tohru Honda. Both of them are poor orphans (or close to it, in the case of Avery) who end up living with the rich families and open their hearts--with very different approaches.
Tohru is very sweet and empathetic, and the Sohmas of Fruits Basket help her grieve and move on from her mother's death as she helps them break their curses (literal and metaphorical). She also has an amazing shoujo girl wardrobe that has inspired many a Pinterest board.
Avery on the other hand has a lot more attitude, and is more academically-driven than Tohru. I really like how she's not willing to put up with bullshit from the Hawthornes and how smart she is.
When I decided on making a werewolf story inspired by these, I wanted to strike somewhere in the middle for Mackenzie. The empathy of Tohru (and her shoujo girl wardrobe) with Avery's confidence and intelligence.
Hopefully I succeeded in Mackenzie. Since I'm still in development and only just beginning drafting, here's some fun facts about our leading lady to get us started:
She loves hematite jewelry and wears a lot of it--rings, bracelets, and pendants
Mackenzie loves to read (with an active library card) and while she reads a wide variety of fiction, non-fiction, and across many genres, her favorites are young adult dystopian sci-fi (the Uglies series is her favorite, and Shatter Me is her guilty pleasure)
Her ideal way to spend a Saturday is grabbing coffee and doing some reading at a cozy cafe downtown and then going to the zoo or natural science museum
She's an absolute menace at trivia, and loves learning. She KILLS at Kahoot
When she was a kid, she wanted to be a Disney Imagineer, but she's since matured and while she is indecisive, she knows she wants to do some kind of scientific research and make a discovery that will change the world
I feel like she played WolfQuest as a tween
Her playlists consist entirely of soft piano Disney covers with rainy day ambience added to them
Her parents probably saved for one American Girl doll and her choice was Felicity, who still sits on her shelf to this day and is a most beloved souvenir of her childhood.
Her favorite tv shows include Anne With an E, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and HBO's The Gilded Age.
Why yes, she did have a Wild Kratts phase, why do you ask? (she has a stuffed lemur named after Zoboomafoo)
I feel like point-and-click adventure games are her speed as well, definitely Zoo Tycoon, Legend of Zelda, and any trivia game would appeal to her
She prefers her full name--many have tried to give her nicknames, none have succeeded.
I hope you enjoyed getting to learn a little bit more about Mackenzie!
