Welcome, Annie.
In my last post, I introduced you to Elin and Lexi from 'Whispering Olive Trees'. I told you how difficult it was to say goodbye to them and move on to my next characters, especially Mary Ann Evans whom I've called Annie.  She will be the mother in the story and in the two weeks that have passed since that last post, I've been trying hard to get to know Annie better. I already know the time and place where Annie's story will be set, her family circumstances and have an insight into her feisty determined character. From the decisions she'll make, we'll see that she's loyal and selfless. It's the trait of determination that will come to the forefront when she becomes a mother herself. Missing her own mother who died when Annie was such a young age makes her steadfast in ensuring she does the best for her own daughter. 

How I imagine Annie to look

Although the story is not my mother's story, physically I imagine Annie looking like my own mum - petite and pretty, with luscious, thick, dark brown, waved hair and hazel green eyes. Like Annie, she was left to run the home and care for her younger brother and sister after the untimely death of her own mother. Like Annie, she and her father, my lovely granddad, were very close. But that is where the similarity ends. Mum later worked as a secretary for a local business man before joining the Land Army where she worked on the clerical side as opposed to working on the land. However, there are members of the family who did work in domestic service. My nana worked in Abbeycwmhir Hall and she and the Hall are the inspiration for Rose and Greystone Hall in my first mother daughter novel. My mother-in-law worked in service in Cardiff, London and Llandrindod Wells. Recently, because of this connection, a friend bought my husband a book about girls in service in Wales, 'No Job For a Little Girl - voices from domestic service' by Rosemary Scadden. 

It's an invaluable insight into their working conditions and I shall be using this as a reference when I attempt a re-write of my first novel, now named, 'The Secret Daughter'.  Annie, too, will witness conditions for girls in service at Cefn Court when she leaves her job as a stable girl and becomes a nurse-maid to the youngest member of the Pryce household.

Annie has inherited her mother's musical talent. She has a beautiful singing voice and is a keen member of the church choir. It is here that she makes firm friendships with other young people from the village whom she will come to rely on when she faces hardship. Of these, her special friend is Dolly who works as a kitchen maid at the Court. 

Cefn Court

As I showed you last week, I imagine Cefn Court to be a large imposing building, built in pale buff stone and home to the wealthy Pryce family. It is surrounded by an expanse of fields and rolling hills where Annie will ride Kenna, a beautiful chestnut mare, who belongs to Edmund, the son of Sir Charles and Lady Margaret, Annie's employers. Kenna's name means fiery, reflecting her temperament, a bit like Annie's! All I'll say at this stage is that, against the odds, handsome, blue-eyed Edmund will feature in Annie's story. 

Annie's locket

When Annie's mother dies, she leaves her daughter an engraved gold locket inscribed with a secret message. The locket is Annie's most treasured possession and she wears it round her neck every day. What happens to the locket, how Annie becomes parted from it and her desperation to find it again are all crucial elements of the story. 

Selecting some images has helped me 'see' the setting and character of Annie. I know that once I've plotted and planned the story, Annie will reveal more about herself to me. I'll get to know her mannerisms, her likes and dislikes and the way she feels. I can't wait to tell her story. As I like to have a working title for my WiP, what title should I choose? 'Annie's Story'? 'The Secret Locket'? 'Annie's Secret'?

Thank you for reading. Do you use images to help you 'see' characters in your story? I'm looking for an photo of a good looking fair haired young man who could be Edmund. At the moment, he is just in my head! Do you have one you would like to share? Do you have a treasured possession? Which title would you work with? I'd love to read what you think. Thanks.

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