Meet Jessica: The First Shifter

Hello Fellow Shifters!

Every story needs a main character, and getting that character right is absolutely essential to telling a good story. This week we are going to look at Jessica, her background, and how I developed her into a (hopefully) realistic and relatable character.

The first thing I had to do was develop Jessica’s background. What are her parents like? How do they feel about Shifters? We often forget that much of a child’s worldview is shaped by their parent’s beliefs. Jessica may not share her parent’s beliefs outwardly when we meet her, but she’s only eighteen. She hasn’t had time to unlearn the prejudice that her parents raised her with. In fact it’s very likely that had she ended up being Normal, she would have gone to school, maybe gotten married, and not given Shifters a second thought. 

The clash between her upbringing and the world she’s been thrust into was particularly challenging to write. She has to learn and unlearn everything she knows about the world and decide if she’s going to run from who she is, or turn and face it head on. She has to learn to trust the very people that she was taught were the enemy.

At her core, Jessica represents resilience. She’s a reminder that even when the world feels stacked against you, there’s power in choosing to keep fighting. Writing her journey has been an incredible experience, and I hope readers see a bit of themselves in her—whether it’s in her fears, her determination, or her growth.

Who are some of the characters you’ve connected with most in your own reading, and what made them stand out to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Stay Wild!

Allie