Inspiration Behind the Heroine of Common by Laurie Lucking

Inspiration Behind the Heroine of Common

 

Leah, the protagonist in my debut young adult Christian fantasy novel, Common, doesn’t have many traits of a typical heroine. She isn’t particularly bold, witty, courageous, or skilled with weapons. Instead, she’s a shy, hard-working maid who prefers to fly under the radar. And that’s what I love about her.

I enjoy reading about heroines who speak their minds, bravely seek out ways to overturn the injustices of their society, or have extensive training in swordsmanship or archery. But as someone who isn’t particularly athletic and tends to avoid conflict, I can’t usually imagine myself in those characters’ shoes. I admire them, but I have trouble relating to them.

With Leah, I tried to create a character who has the capacity deep within herself to fight for her kingdom, but who doesn’t show it and doesn’t even realize it about herself. She wants to do the right thing, but she’s scared and sometimes can’t determine what the “right thing” is in tricky situations. Only the circumstances she faces in the book—where her country and best friend are in danger and she’s the sole person who knows enough to help—could push her far enough out of her comfort zone to turn her into a spy and fighter. Even when she does finally step up, she doesn’t have the ideal skill sets for accomplishing her task. But she does have a strong desire to protect her loved ones and help from the people God has placed in her path, and that’s enough.

While I didn’t purposefully fashion Leah to be like me, I can relate to her on many levels as she stumbles through her attempts to thwart a plot against her kingdom. Those struggles and insecurities are what I hope make Leah’s story inspiring to teens (and adults!) who don’t feel like “hero” material. Every person has the capacity to do extraordinary things, no matter his or her personality or skill set. Whether we’re facing a threat to an entire country, a bully at school, a challenge at work, or a painful decision, God can use the situation to surprise us with support from unexpected places and resources within ourselves we didn’t even know we had.

Only one person knows of the plot against the royal family and cares enough to try to stop it—the servant girl they banished.

Leah spends her days scrubbing floors, polishing silver, and meekly curtsying to nobility. Nothing distinguishes her from the other commoners serving at the palace, except her red hair.

And her secret friendship with Rafe, the Crown Prince of Imperia.

But Leah’s safe, ordinary world begins to splinter. Rafe’s parents announce his betrothal to a foreign princess, and she unearths a plot to overthrow the royal family. When she reports it without proof, her life shatters completely when the queen banishes her for treason.

Harbored by an unusual group of nuns, Leah must secure Rafe’s safety before it’s too late. But her quest reveals a villain far more sinister than an ambitious nobleman with his eye on the throne.

Can a common maidservant summon the courage to fight for her dearest friend?

Common purchase links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07958ZV6X

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/common-laurie-lucking/1127863203

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/common/id1338176577

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/common-1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36755967-common

 

An avid reader since birth (her parents claim she often kept them up late begging to hear just one more story), Laurie Lucking discovered her passion for writing after leaving her career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom. She writes young adult fantasy with a strong thread of romance, and her debut novel, Common, released on February 14, 2018, from Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing. Laurie is the Secretary of her local ACFW chapter and a co-founder of www.landsuncharted.com, a blog for fans of clean young adult speculative fiction. A Midwestern girl through and through, she currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. Find out more about Laurie and her writing by visiting www.laurielucking.com.

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