Talia Silverwoods from Repeated Lives

Talia was the first character I wrote for my first dark fantasy novella. She wasn't written up before, rather the idea of a story, compelled me to write her up. I had a plot and I just wanted a character to play her part. Repeated Lives- my novella- was story driven, but as I started to give life to Talia Silverwoods, I was immediately drawn to her and intrigued by her development.

Yes, I did write her up, but she did take a life of her own.

In the beginning, she was a normal girl who had everything- friends, loving family and a boyfriend who doted on her. There is a subtle indication that Talia doesn't necessarily appreciate what she has and like in any event, she was going to learn how to appreciate what she had. This was where the twist in my story came into play.

Though Talia was well loved by all, there was someone who hated her enough to want to kill her. But why? Talia was going to find out only after she dies.

Everyone had a destiny they must fulfill and Talia wasn't exempt from that rule of the universe. She was unaware of her true purpose and she died before she could complete it, therefore time bent the rules, and Talia was sent back to live her life again and accomplish her purpose. However, she was also given a chance to find out who wanted her dead and why.

This time around, Talia's life isn't ideal at all. Her Father leaves when she's very young, her boyfriend, cheats on her with her best friend and she is forced to shift and live with her Aunt.

This part was incredibly interesting for me to write and even more so, since Talia had to be given a back story. She had to react to things now because of her experiences while at the same time she was going to realize her magical destiny.

She was going to look at the things and places she had been in before, in a whole new light. The school was where she had studied in her previous life, she was going to meet people who used to be her best friend, and the boy she had so carelessly dismissed before was going to be the love of her life.

Talia, for me, became like a small child learning things for the first time and it was satisfying to teach her things through this story. She finds out how important a role she must play and despite the circumstances, she faces them with unwavering resilience. She does find out who  had killed her previously, but at the end she learns the most important lesson of all- Forgiveness.

The sequel was written on a whim. I never intended to write sequels for any of my books, but putting myself back in Talia's world was just too tempting. Talia had the perfect life, she had died and come back and managed to get her life back. This time around, things were going to get a lot darker and angst-ier.

Talia has everything ripped away from her by a former enemy and she decides that forgiveness is not always the best option. This sends her into a whirlpool of darkness and throws her into a world where there is no one she can trust.

But there is someone she does have to put her faith into, and that is the one person who had taken everything from her in the first place.

Writing Talia Silverwoods, going through these unfortunate events was a bit heart breaking for me to write. This was a character I had created to find peace and eventual happiness, but now, she must face hardships with not even one person by her side, because she had brought the negativity and darkness with herself in her new life.

How she redeems herself and embraces her destiny again is the trial she must face. Eventually, Talia must realize that her anger was what caused her to lose everything and she must find a way to accept responsibility for the mistakes she made as well.

No matter how many books I write, or how many characters I create, Talia Silverwoods will always be my favorite. And this I say not only because she was the first character I created, but because her journey and her evolvement has been so incredible. Yes, her character was plot-driven, but writing her facing obstacles has made me feel like I've overcome some hurdles as well.