Megan's Comic Relief

Other than Caleb, the first character to make an appearance when I was writing is his friend Megan.  She is sassy, sexy and says what she thinks no matter what.  She is the best friend I always wanted, and is in fact, a combination of about five of my closest female friends.  She loves Caleb the way my friends love me, and she was my way of showing them just how important they are in my life.  So if you'd like to know more about Megan, click "Read More" below...

Model Kaela Humphries

Before anyone else, Caleb and Megan were the first two characters that I knew would live inside the world of Awakened. Megan was more than just comic relief, although she did provide the vast majority of it. She was Caleb's sounding board, his motivation to get out of 29 Palms, the person he could always rely on, and his conscience. 

When I was imagining Megan early on, I came across pictures of Kaela Humphries (above), a model who fit the exact mental picture I had of Megan when I was writing her. She is a sexy, multicultural girl who doesn't take shit from anyone, especially the guys she dates.  Which is a good thing, because as you see in the books, some of them have been a bit much. Kaela fit that mold for me in the photos I found of her. She exudes confidence and gives the sense that she would always feel like the prettiest girl in the room. That is Megan exactly.  And this confidence jumped off the page as I was writing, shaping her into the character she was.  

When the character of Adam was introduced, I had intended for him to become the love interest of Caleb, but when Megan met him all that went out the window.  The character of Megan in my mind, very much like her character on the page, took over and claimed him as her own before anyone else had the chance.  I really liked the way that it turned out however, because I didn't want to fall into the same pattern of storytelling that was happening at this time, where a female character was caught between two eligible male love interests. Or the other, more specific, story arc which is the unpopular gay character falls for the athletic straight  character and pines after him until finally giving up hope. I hope the way it all turns out in the end is enjoyable for the readers, but it very much met and exceeded my wishes for what would happen between these characters.  Without Megan, I don't think the tension or end result would have been as powerful or enjoyable.​