Character Profile Sheet for Yana from Kayleigh Kavanagh's ‘One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches’

 

Years ago (and still applies today), the experts were telling fiction writers that in order to really know their main character, they must come up with a character profile sheet for them and definitely applies to all your characters as well.  This is a good practice because once you know all the ins and outs of all your characters, the book flows better and allows the author to get inside the head of each of their characters.

We decided to ask authors if they would like to come up with a character sketch of their main character, throwing in a few unique questions to make it really fun!

Today we have Kayleigh Kavanagh stopping by on her blog tour with a character sketch of her main character, Mary-Anne Smith, nickname Yana.  Enjoy!

———————————————————–

Learn more about Yana!

———————————————————–

Name of Character: Mary-Anne Smith, nickname Yana

Age: 14

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Brown 

Birthplace: Colne, England

Marital Status: Single. But the book follows her marriage interviews and the epilogue shows her married.

Children: None. In the epilogue, three.

Place of Residence: Family home. Epilogue, husbands estate.

Description of Home: warm, full of life, large enough for the siblings to all have their own rooms.

Dominant Character Trait: Stubborness

Best Friend: non mentioned.

Enemies and Why: Lord James, who wants to marry her. The old god threatening their lives. 

Temperament: Bubbly and sweet with a sarcastic streak. 

Ambition: To marry the man she loves and have children.

Educational Background: Finishing school, but knows her numbers and letters.

Philosophy of Life: God will provide

Bad Habits: Thinking she knows everything

Talents: The gift of foresight

Hobby or Hobbies: Making plans and plots

Why is Character Likeable? She has that headstrong naivety that only someone her age can. She’s a good person despite her ignorances.

Favorite Pig Out Food: biscuits (cookies)

Character Mini-Interview:

Every New Year’s I resolve to: Be the best version of me

Nobody knows I am: A descendant of the Pendle witches

I wish: I could have lots of babies

The worst part of my life is: having to deal with men I don’t want to marry

I want to teach my children that: They are capable and strong, especially with our family gifts

A good time for me is: Spending time with my mother, or other women I admire, like my teacher Mrs Stoneby or the midwife, Claire Davies.

The worst advice my father gave me is: He’s very naive when it comes to the men he associates with, and doesn’t see that they’re not as honourable as him. It wasn’t so much advice, but the fact he thinks his family is automatically safe with these men simply because he wouldn’t do anything untoward is a message I picked up through osmosis and when I had to tell him otherwise, he was very shocked and resistant.

When I feel sorry for myself: I try to realise there must be a reason for it, though Chattox would probably comment on how I have a little wallow first.

My friends like me because: I was clever and helped them sneak cakes from the kitchen.

My major accomplishment is: Helping to save everyone I love through my family’s gifts.

My most humbling experience was: Realising the man I loved couldn’t love me back.

 Meet the Author

Kayleigh Kavanagh is a disabled writer from the North-West of England. Growing up in the area, she learnt a lot about the Pendle Witches and launched her debut novel around their life story. Her main writing genres are fantasy and romance, but she loves stories in all formats and genres. Kayleigh hopes to one day be able to share the many ideas dancing around in her head with the world.

Her latest book is the historical fantasy, One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches. 

You can visit her on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Tiktok. 

Inside the Book

Demdike and Chattox, famed witches of Pendle Forest, might be dead, but they’re not gone. Bound to their bloodline, they’ve spent the past two and a half centuries watching over their descendants, waiting for when they’ll be needed. 

When 14 year old Yana comes into her psychic abilities and inherits the ‘eyes of the Chattox family’, she can see the long-dead witches, as well as an encroaching evil. But even with this foreknowledge, she’s trapped by marriage interviews and being unable to see her own future, and more importantly, whoever her future husband will be. 

Demdike’s healing gifts are alive and working in Claire, a mid-30s midwife well renowned for her skills and holding her tongue. The Secrets of Pendle are safe with her and her midwives. However, when surgeons looking to make standardisation the norm encroach on her territory, she soon realises how, even a respected woman is vulnerable in a patriarchal system. 

The two descendants must come together to protect the ones they love from an ancient evil, all whilst balancing their lives and the cruelties of being a woman in a man’s world. Set in late 1800s NW England, this book has all the elements of the area: strong, hardy people, atmospheric horror and days as unpredictable as the weather.  

One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches is available at Amazon.

🎤Interview with Michael Okon, Author of Monsterland #AuthorInterview

 

MICHAEL OKON is a best-selling author and award-winning screenwriter whose compelling storytelling spans paranormal, horror, thriller, action-adventure, and self-help genres. With a BA in English and an MBA in Business and Finance from Long Island University, Michael merges his creative passion with entrepreneurial spirit to craft unforgettable narratives across his novels and screenplays.

Born into a family of avid writers and readers, Michael’s passion for storytelling runs deep—writing isn’t just something he does; it’s who he is. Ever since he first watched The Goonies as a kid, Michael has been captivated by the power of adventure, compelling characters, and the ability of stories to entertain and inspire. Whether crafting monster theme parks or penning insightful guidance in self-help, his goal remains the same: to create narratives that stick with readers long after they’ve turned the last page.

Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, a horrendous golfer, and a sucker for esoteric & self-help books. He lives on Long Island’s North Shore with his wife and children.

His latest book is Monsterland.

Connect with Michael on X and Instagram.

 

 Can you tell us what your book, Monsterland, is about? 

A teen has to save his date in a theme park whose main attractions – real werewolves, vampires and zombies – descend the place into chaos.

Can you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters? 

Wyatt Baldwin is a restless, big-hearted teen caught between small-town normalcy and the terrifying secrets of Monsterland. His journey forces him to confront fear, responsibility, and the courage to stand against forces far bigger than himself.

Your book is set in Copper Valley. Can you tell us why you chose this location in particular?  

I chose Copper Valley – a fictional desert town in California, because it represents the kind of small, overlooked town where people feel forgotten, making it the perfect backdrop for a story about exploitation, corruption, and hidden truths. Its isolation heightens the tension, while its everyday familiarity makes the supernatural horrors of Monsterland hit even harder.

How long did it take you to write your book? 

About 4 months.

What has been the most pivotal point of your writing life? 

The most pivotal point of my writing life was realizing that my stories could resonate beyond just entertainment…that they could carry themes, metaphors, and emotions that stay with readers long after the last page. That moment shifted my focus from simply writing cool ideas to creating worlds and characters with lasting impact.

What kind of advice would you give up and coming authors? 

I’d tell up-and-coming authors to write relentlessly and fearlessly. Don’t wait for inspiration….build discipline. Read widely, study structure, and never be afraid of rewriting, because that’s where the real magic happens. Most importantly, trust your voice…no one else can tell your story.

📙 A Bookish Word or Two with Paula Onohi Omokhomion, Author of Shape of the Sun #abookishword

 

 

On A Bookish Word or Two, we have a guest post by Paula Omokhomion, author of SHAPE OF THE SUN.  

 

Paula Omokhomion is a Master of Public Policy student at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy, though she’s fairly certain that won’t be forever. She holds a B.S. in Public Health Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also minored in Creative Writing (Fiction) and graduated with highest honors for her 120-page thesis novella, New Age Taffeta.

Paula developed her skills and love for writing fiction in a very, very interesting Nigerian boarding school, where the lack of television meant she had to invent entertainment for everyone else. She loves reading manhwa, watching Indian TV dramas, listening to music, and writing short stories.When not doing any of those or in the classroom handling R code, she’s refining her LinkedIn or taking Instagram selfies.
She lives in California with her family, including her two fellow triplets, and is currently dreaming of a future PhD in public health—and maybe another novel.

Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

The Inspiration Behind Shape of the Sun

By Paula Omokhomion

Shape of the Sun was really inspired by how fiction canon traditionally does not express male leads in an unflattering manner, and going further, how some actually have male leads that do terrible things but put in major efforts to compensate for it, which could come off as whitewashing in realtime. Raj, SOTS’ male

lead really is that central character that is by no means misunderstood and is particularly consciously unreliable. There is also meta-fictional commentary on whether romance can really wipe out negativity as well as the effect of family neglect and performative masculinity. 

Like for instance, what is it like if the nice guy isn’t actually nice or how do we deal with a villain that we can see being molded into that in real-time, but at the same time isn’t some hidden innocent or wholesome person. There’s all these contradictions in traditional fiction roles, and that was intentional because in real life, there are many people whose lives mirror that of what leads are especially if they have everything that anyone would want, but at the same time, do not have the traditional main character energy of being Mary Sue or just kind and bright and always willing to help and so on. If you think about it, these sort of people are underrepresented, at least in my perspective. 

Summarily, I was most interested in a honest male lead, especially since the grace that extended to male leads are usually not granted their female counterparts. So here was a dude who was thrown by the author under the lamp to be scrutinized. 

I also think that it was interesting writing characters that are majorly high-income or part of high-society in one way or the other. In that way, we have a good view at the rot that might come with wealth, and the struggle is less of fighting against the system and more of fighting against oneself to thrive or not to thrive within the system. 

Concerning the publication process, I got self-published through Draft2Digital, which is a very cost-effective and proactive way of getting your work out there and on different retail platforms. I didn’t really think traditional publishing matched with my intent for SOTS which was a very independent and small work. 

I hope everyone enjoys reading it, and I am always open to feedback. Happy reading!