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Hi, All!
I'm working on the second book of a new paranormal romance/urban fantasy series and a secondary character I'd like to give her own story is African-American. This is a spin-off series of my Tales of the Sazi reality, which are shapeshifters of all known predator species. Let me tell you a little about where the story sits and maybe you can help me give her some background.
Rachel Washington grew up until age 11 in Detroit's Eight-Mile. It's a pretty tough part of town. She grew up in a strongly Baptist household. I don't have much detail worked out on her family, but let's say that she has one sibling (still to be worked out) a father who worked blue collar and a mother who worked as a nurse. That's about all I've got right now.
But it's what happened at age 11 that turned Rachel's life around. She was kidnapped as part of a plot in the original Sazi series where ordinary humans were captured and forcibly turned shifter to become part of a mind-controlled army that the villain of the series was going to use to take control of the world. It could have worked except for the efforts of my heroes.
So Rachel was one of the girls turned. She became a Great Horned Owl. When the villain was finally uncovered after 8 novels, and defeated in the final book, she was rescued and taken to a location in northeastern Washington State to heal and be protected from the remaining bad guys taking her back.
Now it's 10 years later. She is instrumental in helping my first heroine (who was also one of the kidnapped girls---all three first books of this series are some of the kidnapped girls finding their place in the world and love in the process. ) get rid of the bad guy. Unfortunately for Rachel, as shapeshifters go, she's not terribly powerful magically and so she wound up being a victim again (physical and sexual), this time of the villain of the first book of this series.
In other words, Rachel's life has sort of sucked. Here's what I want to do:
1. I want to give her a love interest who is another bird. It can be an owl like her or even an eagle or falcon or hawk. I'd like him to also be African-American and a member of the law enforcement branch of he Sazi world, called Wolven.
2. What I think would be fun would be for the hero to have been someone she knew from before the Sazi entered her life--back from Detroit in her old neighborhood. But that's not going to come out until mid-way through the book.
3. Rachel has never tried to contact her family since she was turned. Her family know nothing of shapeshifters. The world is like our world. Shapeshifters "don't exist". They're hidden from society because they'd be hunted down and killed. That's sort of the plot of the first series, discovering that humans really fear and/or hate shifters. So they've gone deeper underground again. I'd like for Rachel to reconnect with her family. Some will welcome her back (remember that she's been missing and presumed dead for a decade). But her very religious family will have to come to terms with her being magical She will be stronger and faster than humans and be somewhat bloodthirsty. Some might consider her evil or at least they could fear her.
4. I'm also open to ideas about the hero. Name, background, likes/dislikes/etc. for living in Detroit for most of his life. I plan for him to have come from a family of shifters who have lived nearby to Rachel's family for generations and nobody knew what they were.
5. Rachel used to wear her hair in cornrows as a kid, with beads, but hasn't done that in years. She's flamboyant and a singer. She recalls, very vaguely, singing in the church choir, but doesn't remember much about her background as a child other than she misses it and fears going back to it because she's become something she, herself, would have shunned back then.
Thoughts? Ideas? Anything appreciated!
I'm working on the second book of a new paranormal romance/urban fantasy series and a secondary character I'd like to give her own story is African-American. This is a spin-off series of my Tales of the Sazi reality, which are shapeshifters of all known predator species. Let me tell you a little about where the story sits and maybe you can help me give her some background.
Rachel Washington grew up until age 11 in Detroit's Eight-Mile. It's a pretty tough part of town. She grew up in a strongly Baptist household. I don't have much detail worked out on her family, but let's say that she has one sibling (still to be worked out) a father who worked blue collar and a mother who worked as a nurse. That's about all I've got right now.
But it's what happened at age 11 that turned Rachel's life around. She was kidnapped as part of a plot in the original Sazi series where ordinary humans were captured and forcibly turned shifter to become part of a mind-controlled army that the villain of the series was going to use to take control of the world. It could have worked except for the efforts of my heroes.
So Rachel was one of the girls turned. She became a Great Horned Owl. When the villain was finally uncovered after 8 novels, and defeated in the final book, she was rescued and taken to a location in northeastern Washington State to heal and be protected from the remaining bad guys taking her back.
Now it's 10 years later. She is instrumental in helping my first heroine (who was also one of the kidnapped girls---all three first books of this series are some of the kidnapped girls finding their place in the world and love in the process. ) get rid of the bad guy. Unfortunately for Rachel, as shapeshifters go, she's not terribly powerful magically and so she wound up being a victim again (physical and sexual), this time of the villain of the first book of this series.
In other words, Rachel's life has sort of sucked. Here's what I want to do:
1. I want to give her a love interest who is another bird. It can be an owl like her or even an eagle or falcon or hawk. I'd like him to also be African-American and a member of the law enforcement branch of he Sazi world, called Wolven.
2. What I think would be fun would be for the hero to have been someone she knew from before the Sazi entered her life--back from Detroit in her old neighborhood. But that's not going to come out until mid-way through the book.
3. Rachel has never tried to contact her family since she was turned. Her family know nothing of shapeshifters. The world is like our world. Shapeshifters "don't exist". They're hidden from society because they'd be hunted down and killed. That's sort of the plot of the first series, discovering that humans really fear and/or hate shifters. So they've gone deeper underground again. I'd like for Rachel to reconnect with her family. Some will welcome her back (remember that she's been missing and presumed dead for a decade). But her very religious family will have to come to terms with her being magical She will be stronger and faster than humans and be somewhat bloodthirsty. Some might consider her evil or at least they could fear her.
4. I'm also open to ideas about the hero. Name, background, likes/dislikes/etc. for living in Detroit for most of his life. I plan for him to have come from a family of shifters who have lived nearby to Rachel's family for generations and nobody knew what they were.
5. Rachel used to wear her hair in cornrows as a kid, with beads, but hasn't done that in years. She's flamboyant and a singer. She recalls, very vaguely, singing in the church choir, but doesn't remember much about her background as a child other than she misses it and fears going back to it because she's become something she, herself, would have shunned back then.
Thoughts? Ideas? Anything appreciated!