The character of Felicity started with a joke and ended up inspiring a series of novellas that connected old and new characters together and pointed them all  in new directions.

Here's the joke set-up.  What if two big, gruff, brooding soldier-spies ended up in a knitter's shop?

That led to creating a knitter's shop and populating it, and in the course of doing that, Felicity came to life. I picture her as a combination of Gina Torres and Candace Parker but I haven't had character art drawn of her. Yet.

She's big, strong, and feminine. Her no-nonsense approach to life has roots in a family background that makes her people-savvy and extremely hard to impress.

I love writing from Felicity's POV. She's refreshing.  I especially love her perspective on all the rest of my colorful, eccentric abby-normal people.

She's so much more sane than most people I've written, definitely more laid-back, and probably more relatable. This is not to say she's boring. She can hold her own against all comers in the conversational arena,  and  she brings plenty of drama to the plotting table.

It's simply that she's more grounded in the day-to-day routines of a regular life than any of my other characters. That makes her view of their world all the more entertaining.

She's the calm voice of reason, the bright beam from the lighthouse leading everyone else safely to port in their various emotional storms.  (Which means when she's in need of support, you know they'll all come running.)

I'm looking forward to introducing her to Alison someday. I have no idea if they'll get along or start bristling like two big cats in a small box, but either way, it'll be great fun to write.