(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So back in April I was really struggling to come up with a name for the main fictional character in my next book. If you remember correctly, although my next book is based on a real family and on the very real events that happened in their lives, I needed to create a fictional character to carry the heaviest parts of the story. I am ever mindful that I am writing about real people. Historical fiction is just that, it’s my imagination based on the historical documentation, but it’s still fiction. I just try to be as respectful as I can be to the individuals that are someone else’s ancestors.

So in April, even though I knew the attributes of my fictional character, I couldn’t come up with a name for her. So I reached out to all of you! You responded with so many names that honestly I will never need to go searching for names again! I saved that list! And even though I did not choose a name from the list, all of that creative energy from you all eventually led me to the name that was needed. Her name is Alicen. Which I should let you know auto correct doesn’t like! I’m constantly having to go back and add the “n”.

Well Alicen and I need your help again! If you remember Alicen is a young woman who comes from a family with a bit of a mystical background. There are already rumors about her and her family being involved in things that raise a few eyebrows. The setting is 1600’s England and the possibility of being accused of witchcraft is ever present for any woman, man or child that is perceived as being different from the rest of the community. Enter the Familiar.

Familiars are animals, often associated with accusations of witchcraft because the accused is said to have spoken to these animals, or cared for them in ways not normal to the treatment of animals at the time. From the 21st century it’s easy to look back and see these Familiars were just beloved pets. Similar to my own dogs, Susan and Douglas, who are like children to me. I refer to them as my kids, I talk to them often and if I were living in the 1600’s I would most certainly be accused of witchcraft based solely on my relationship with my dogs! In a time of hysteria, like we see with accusations of witchcraft, anything could be turned into evidence to prove a suspicion. Folklore grew up around these animals and many medieval tales exists of them speaking or changing into the shapes of other beings. All very helpful when you are writing historical fiction about a mystical family!

So it is that I knew almost from the beginning of writing this story that my fictional character was going to have a Familiar. Alicen is not a witch and I don’t want to lead you to assume the next book is about witchcraft. It’s not. But Alicen does have a lot of suspicion surrounding her and one way I can make that more believable is to give her a pet, a very unique pet, that others of her time would have considered a Familiar.

I thought the Universe had literally handed me this concept on a silver platter back in May while speaking to a family member. During this conversation this family member said to me “I would love to be written into your next book!” I laughed, but immediately thought of how unique this person’s name is and it would actually make a really interesting character. I could probably do that. From nearby, another family member, who finds joy in teasing, hollered out “Make her a turtle!” Everyone laughed but in my heart I thought, a Familiar that is a turtle and has a really cool name. BINGO! (Not to mention the turtle is my spirit animal so….there’s that!)

A few weeks ago I wrote the scene where the Familiar makes it’s first appearance. I wrote the character as a turtle. But boy, it was a struggle. It just didn’t feel right. And then as I thought more and more about the future of this animal and how it will fit into the overall story, a turtle just didn’t seem right at all. So I did a little research and settled upon a hedgehog. They are native to the part of England where the story is set and a hedgehog seemed a bit more “pocket friendly” then a turtle, if you know what I mean.. So I’ve written now for a week and half with the Familiar being a hedgehog. But I’m still unsettled. It just isn’t feeling right.

As I sat here this morning contemplating what this week’s blog would be about I thought of all of you, and the help you gave me in choosing Alicen’s name. Since YOU will be the ones reading the next book it occurred to me that maybe I should reach out to you all again for help.

What animal do you see as Alicen’s Familiar? What would be the most believable to you if you were reading the story? This animal will bring great wisdom into Alicen’s life. This animal guides Alicen as she takes her place in the great story of her family. This animal needs to be transportable, as Alicen will find herself on the move soon. This animal relates itself as the female gender in it’s first appearance to Alicen

So let’s see what you all can come up with! I’m open to all suggestions as this point so let me know. You can leave a comment on the social media post where you found the link for this blog. Or use the contact form on the home page of this website and let me know what you think! I’ll let you know what I decide in a couple of weeks!