Meet the Main Character

Character profile: Adelina

I’ve told this story before, but Misshelved Magic was not supposed to be my debut novel. I was writing a novel with a protagonist who had a lot of trauma, a will-they-won’t-they romance, and a very rare type of magic. It wasn’t working. The drama was forced, the romance was tiresome, and I couldn’t figure out why this character, whom I knew had potential, was just not turning out likable.

So I decided to take a break. I decided to write something as unlike my current project as possible. That’s when I decided I’d write a character whose only ‘power’ was a desire to be virtuous, and Adelina was born.

Adelina is an ordinary young woman, living in an extraordinary town. She walks past the Library of Magic, the place all spells return to every day, but she’s never been past the mundane sections of the library. She’s not even supposed to touch spell books. In the eyes of the world, she’s nobody. But she finds a spell book in the history section which is supposed to be impossible, and her curiosity and compassion for the misshelved spell set her on a path to change the world. She’s not exceptionally strong, or eloquent. She simply does the right thing, and then the next right thing, and follows the path the creator has set for her.

That was the concept for Adelina, and she quickly became a whole person. She is interested in fashion, although she’s too practical and frugal to really chase trends. She likes to read poetry and has written some that she thinks is pretty good. When her family bickers with one another, she either mediates or retreats to hide. Feeling like she’s invisible is what makes her want to see and understand what’s happening with the overlooked spellbook. It’s her humility that lets her see the unseen, like encountering and even befriending the cervara, a creature that’s shrouded in mystery. It’s only when those around her don’t ignore her that things begin to be set right.

Keep an eye out for my profile of Leon next!

Talk to you soon,

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