Not like other girls?

If you don't fit in, stand out, like Angelica.

When I was growing up, I was hard-pressed to find a main character who was like me.

I did ONCE, in the Vampire Kisses Series by Ellen Schreiber. Just once.

All the FMCs in books I liked were fit and cool and made fun of the girls who wore "too much makeup" and were meek little mice. Most of the books I wound up gravitating towards had male MCs, because I related to them better.

So what happened once I had the chance to make my own FMC?

Angelica Cross happened.

Curvy, not petite, Goth, wears a crap ton of makeup and short skirts, unapologetic in who she is and what her purpose is. Confident. Brave. A survivor of multiple traumas. Intelligent. She doesn't NEED anyone; her loved ones are there because she WANTS them to be.

She was the person I WISHED I could become when I was 21 and finishing STAKE-OUT. Writing her gave me confidence in the real world.

And I hope readers, especially readers who never found themselves in the cutesy suburban nice girls that paranormal fiction used to present to us as the "ideal girl", get confidence from her too.