If you know anything about me at this point, it’s that I have a near obsession with character-driven stories. On a deeper level, it probably stems from my fascination with psychology and why people do the things they do.

The why.

The dire need to know the answer to the question, what makes a person tick?

When I first sat down to start working on Fates Released, the most important thing to me was making sure that my characters really felt what happened to them in Fates Chosen.

I thought about it first from the reader’s perspective. First impressions of a character are important. Realistically, this is true in any situation, whether it’s fiction or everyday life. We have to remember, however, the trauma response and how pivotal that second impression can be when it comes to a series.

What’s that saying about life imitating art?

We expect to see growth in ourselves and those around us. Those same expectations are held in place for the characters we fall in love with in the books we read. Relatability. Seeing yourself in a character, not merely physically but emotionally—mentally—can sometimes hit us straight in the feels way more than we even realize.

I know I can say with absolute certainty that there have been times where I have read a character’s internal monologue, and they’ve said something that resonated so heavily with me it took me by surprise. To a point where it helped me actually name and recognize something I was feeling that I couldn’t necessarily place on my own.

This is one of the many reasons why character development is so important.

Without giving any spoilers…

We know at this point Fates Chosen ends on a cliffhanger that leaves Evie and her friends reeling. To the point that it would change a person. Everything you thought you knew about the characters in book one is shaken up in Fates Released. We see the characters dealing with the aftermath in ways that are similar but different.

WARNING: Their actions could be incredibly infuriating to the reader. And I can’t blame you for wanting to scream at them. I, myself, was getting annoyed. But it was important for me to make them real. After experiencing something traumatic, you never know how a person will react. I always say, if we, in this mundane human world, feel anxiety, imposter syndrome, societal pressures, and fears of burdening those we love with our problems… why wouldn’t someone have those same feelings, and then some, in a world with similar-but-different stakes with the added pressures of magic?

Even in Fates Chosen we see multiple variations of growth that Evie goes through from start to finish. It’s only natural for the evolution of a character to change. Sometimes we like what we see in those changes, and sometimes we don’t. There’s only one way to find out…

If you haven’t already,  check out the full series here.

I would love to know what kinds of characters you like to see when you read! Who are some of the characters you’ve connected with the most over the years? Post some of your favorites on IG and tag me!

Until next time!

🩵 L