Some Insights into My Characters—Patty

I’ve heard it said that when we create characters, they each reflect something about ourselves. They are, in a sense, part of who we are. As I have written more and more about the Flaugherty twins, I am beginning to get a real sense of each of the characters—how much they are like me, and yet, how very different they are as well.

I’d like to look first at Patty. Her full name is Patricia Ann Flaugherty, named after her father and her maternal grandmother. Patty is 17 years old when the series starts. She is very bright and loves learning. She is an excellent student and ranks high in her class.

She is a constant reader, and she’s not afraid to pick up a lengthy nonfiction book if the subject fascinates her. She likes to share what she has learned and occasionally comes off as a know-it-all.

She has a sharp eye, and rarely misses anything that is going on around her. She always looks at things logically and tries to break down the situation so that she can understand it better.

She hates to be wrong, and is not good at admitting it. And she loves to pick on her twin brother, who—if she really wants to irritate him—calls him her baby brother, since he was born four minutes after her.

She is in a very serious relationship with her boyfriend Bob, but has never told him that she loves him. She seems almost afraid to use that word. Having been raised by a widowed mother since her father died when she was only two, she has a fear of intimate relationships. Sam Daily, Bob’s father, often acted as a surrogate father for her when she was younger.

When she finishes high school, she plans to go to college and eventually study law. Her father was the youngest district attorney for their county, and she plans to follow in his footsteps.

She feels that she and her brother make an excellent team because they have such diverse ways of looking at things and tend to complement one another in an investigation. She never planned to be a detective, but when mysteries come her way, she is all about getting them resolved.

As the series unfolds, we will see Patty first as a bright girl with some character flaws who will transform into a confident young woman with a much better understanding of her own character and a much deeper appreciation for the others in her life.

Watch for more of Patty Flaugherty when the third book in the series, Lost on Black Mountain, is published.