Since yesterday was Mother's Day here in the UK I thought I'd start the
week with a blog post dedicated to all the fictional Mums who I've created in
the last few years. Some of them are arguably much more deserving of a
pampering on Mother's Day than others...
Isla Connelly
Isla is Aiden's wife in my Avalon series and
mother to their little daughter, Meegan. She's had a tough time adjusting to
her new life outside of the city and adapting to being a full time Mom. She
does her best with her young daughter but sometimes lets her frustrations get
the best of her.
She hooked her basket to the back of the stroller
to stop Meegan loading it up with random goods. However, this didn’t stop the
little girl, as when Isla looked down to check on her she was holding a box of
crackers, a jar of peaches and a packet of spaghetti.
‘Oh, Meegan,’ she despaired, removing the items and
trying to find their appropriate location on the shelves. ‘What has Mommy told
you about picking things up in shops?’
Meegan just laughed as her mother scolded her and
started reaching out for more treasures.
‘Stop that!’ Isla pushed the stroller into the
centre of the aisle so that Meegan couldn’t reach any of the items.
‘Kids can sure be tricky,’ a male voice from behind
her noted.
‘Yes, they can be very tricky,’ Isla said, turning
around. She was greeted by a tall man; she guessed late fifties by the lines on
his face and the grey in his hair. He was devilishly handsome though, even more
so as he was wearing a pale blue shirt which was unbuttoned enough to hint at
an admirable physique.
‘Oh, hello, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Isla
Connelly.’ She offered him her hand and blushed profusely when he kissed the
back of it in a gentlemanly manner.
Angie Trafford
Angie is Mum to Maggie in Dare to Dream along
with Maggie's unruly siblings. Like Isla, Angie struggles with motherhood. She
regularly feels like she's fighting a losing battle as she tries tirelessly to
raise her children alone whilst rubbing two pennies together in the hope of
making three.
‘Jack, Kyle! Whichever of you is making that racket, turn it down!’
Maggie’s mother threw the kitchen door open, hot and bothered and clearly
annoyed by her sons’ inconsiderately loud music. She glared angrily at the
ceiling, brandishing her baking spoon like a weapon. Angie Trafford was in her
late thirties but she appeared much older. Raising five children single handily
had taken its toll and she looked haggard and her eyes were forever shrouded by
dark shadows. It pained Maggie to see her mother like that but there was little
that could be done; they had no money and could just about survive day to
day.
Eileen Summers
Mother to Dawn from Sunkissed, Eileen is a broken woman. She's being forced to watch
her daughter slowly waste away and sadly
Dawn won't be the first child she's lost. Eileen is a product of her time;
hardened by the cruelties her life on the frontier has forced her to endure
.
The only respite Dawn had from her ailments came
when sleep took her, and in these moments she could find peace once more. Eileen
longed for the day when the Lord would be merciful and end Dawn’s worldly
struggles, she hated how she had become hardened to her suffering and it was in
both of their interests for Dawn to eternally be at peace. Lately, Dawn
had taken to sleeping more as her body slowly began to run out of energy,
unable to keep fighting against the disease which relentlessly tore through it.
She would die soon, and the thought of it gave Eileen some morbid comfort.
Ivy Johnson
Later
this year I’ll be introducing readers to my favourite fictional Mum yet, Ivy
Johnson. She is an utter gem; the embodiment of kindness, generosity and
patience so it’s little wonder her daughter, Tilly, adores her. And hopefully
readers will too when they meet her in Paper Princess, the first book in my
Princess Trilogy. Here’s just the smallest of teasers from the book;
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Ivy Johnson smiled.
Whenever she smiled her features softened in such a way that Tilly’s mother
looked like it would be physically impossible for her to ever be mean.
Who are some of your favourite fictional Mothers?
xoxo
