In a letter, Jane Austen said of her character Emma Woodhouse, “I’m going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” Granted she did take a gamble by introducing her heroine this way:

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

However, as those who have read Emma know, this is a perfect description of her and you can choose to like or dislike her as the story proceeds. I thought of Emma recently when I saw the cover of my upcoming release Taming Mariella.

Obviously it won’t be the story of a snobbish, young matchmaker in the nineteenth century, but Emma and Mariella have a lot in common. They’re beautiful, rich, and clever. However, Mariella is a lot older and much more…ahem…headstrong.

At first I hesitated about creating a character others might not like. In January 2008, Mariella Duvall will be reintroduced (she first appeared in The Glass Slipper Project) to the world in her own story. And in spite of her ways I hope you will like her as much as I did.