Behind the Heroine: Sara Patel

Sara Patel is a brilliant young woman. I say this first because being smart is how Sara defines herself, and how others define her. She’s a woman who has made the pursuit of knowledge her primary goal, and she’s used that goal to ignore a lot of things that perhaps would have been better dealt with head on–like the fact that she’s still trying to make up for being born with negligible magical ability when her parents are some of the country’s most well known magical practitioners.

Sara was an interesting character to develop. I knew from the beginning she would have to be smart. Some Like It Haunted is a story about rival graduated students fighting it out for the most prestigious award their college offers. Because this story takes place in Mystic Valley (our only series where the supernatural is a part of every day life) that means we got to set the story at Mystic Ridge University and its prestigious School of Paranormal Studies.

When we started looking for a picture for the heroine, it wasn’t hard to decide who could pull off endearingly nerdy and brilliant at the same time. This picture is pretty much perfect–though it should be stated for the record that Sara rarely stays this put together for long. Her job as a Teaching Assistant is to handle the Practical Application of Magic Labs, and her students have a habit of lighting things on fire, starting rainstorms inside and in other ways causing structural damage to the university. When we meet Sara, she’s in danger of life and limb thanks to one of her students lighting her favorite scarf on fire–while she’s wearing it.

Sara’s relationship with her hero has always been a rocky one. Until Reed arrived at the university, Sara ruled as the undisputed queen of scholarship in the paranormal studies department. But while Sara’s magical abilities are limited to sensing the magic in others and occasionally being able to guide them in its usage, Reed is a rare breed of psychic: an icredibly powerful Medium. The fact that he’s smart and charming to boot makes him fierce competition. The fact that he’s hot just adds insult to injury.

Ms. Patel isn’t stupid. She knows her dislike of Reed Mercier holds a strong component of protesting a little too much. But she’ll be damned if she lets anyone take her place as the top Paranormal Studies grad student at MRU, no matter how distracting he may be.