Kerry Adrienne | Character Inspiration—Olivia

In my latest novella from Carina Press, SAVING HIS WOLF, I got the interesting opportunity to write about a shifter who was both blind and unable to shift. The character has been pushing me to tell her story for a few years, but the time was never right.

When I finally did find her story, I realized pretty quickly that she would be a
hard character to capture on the page. For one thing, I’m not blind and I don’t
have experience how it would be to be blind. I did try a few experiments while
writing the novella to help me understand better. I closed my eyes and listened
to a tv show—quickly realizing how much I missed the visual stimulation. I also
closed my eyes and tried to walk through the house. This is a house I’ve lived
in for nineteen years and I still couldn’t navigate it with my eyes closed!
Finally, I tried to eat with my eyes closed. Wow. That was difficult and didn’t
last long.

These little things helped me in the smallest way to see what it would be like
to be blind and what Olivia must have overcome to be able to do the things she does.

Another very important thing to me was to not have Olivia be a victim because
she is blind and unable to shift. Though in the early part of the book, she does
need Powell to save her from the spring snowstorm that gets her mixed up when
she’s running from Alfred, the den leader of the Green Glen Pack, I try very
hard to make sure she isn’t seen as weak or unable to do what she needs to do. I
think by the end of the novella, we see her take her strengths and fight with them.

Overall, the very logistics of writing a blind heroine are complex and
difficult. No one wants to be a victim. Olivia is too strong to fall into that
trap and even her very first move is an act of rebellion. I can tell you that
writing a character who cannot see is complicated. So many of our human senses
are overpowered by our eyesight—and we don’t realize how important it is to our
perception of the world. So many words talk about seeing and so many
descriptions are told through the character’s vision. So when a character is
blind, the author has to be careful to walk the line between what is realistic
and what is victimizing. I hope I did this justice.

I’d love for you to pick up a copy of SAVING HIS WOLF and let me know what you think. I’m sure I missed some things but I hope I gave a good picture of a strong woman who happens to also be blind.

Thank you!

Kerry Adrienne

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