I finished the cards a little over a week ago and I'm very pleased, though I technically still need to do the backs to them. While I was working on them though, one of my students was pointing out which ones he liked and which ones he did not. Surprisingly, (at least to me) he really didn't like Maera, who happened to be one of which I am the most proud. I think she turned out stunning and entirely in the vein that I have tried to create her.

She's an intriguing character that doesn't get a whole lot of "page time" as it were. She's introduced very briefly in the back story and then she is present at the beginning of my book, but not much else about her. And yes, I am the author and could do something to change that, but at the same time, I can't. I've got this story in my head about how it's supposed to be and any changes to it will just result in more chaos.

I imagine that if I ever get this dang thing finished anyway, and if it becomes a success, that I will go back and revisit old characters and show other points of their lives where certain events occurred that while quite dynamic for them, ultimately had no full bearing on SkyLark's story and so were left out. I imagine the romance between Maera and Tremayne must have been quite lovely and fierce and I hope that I've managed to convey that in some small way by Tremayne's last moments with her.

Of course, eventually I need to have my own romance before I will ever feel fully confident in writing something that is both real and moving and not syrupy and ridiculous.