You would think I'd put the actual main character first, wouldn't you? Nope. I met the game and its characters first, so that's the way I want to introduce them to you. And this is my book. So there. 😜

The inspiration for Ivetta comes from my reading of Chevalier's story in the game (which was also the first story I read). I always gravitate toward the cold, mature, intelligent type with a secret soft spot (see Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing), so I immediately liked Chevalier as a character, but the main character in the game does not match him at all. She's way too weak and wishy-washy, and honestly, I don't see why he becomes attracted to her. She's also set on changing him and making him realize how important love is, which is a very unhealthy way to approach a relationship.

I started imagining a character who would attract his interest. A sassy maid who always knew the right thing to say and do; a hard worker who was only there to do her job and didn't care about Chevalier or any of his brothers. Someone who wouldn't chase the princes. They had to chase her. And thus, Ivetta was born.

I named her after a waitress my family had when we went on a Disney cruise in my childhood. We had a mǎitre d' and a waiter/waitress assigned to us at the beginning of the cruise, and they followed us to a new restaurant on the ship every night (yes, my grandpa was rich, and I seriously doubt I will ever have this experience again). Iveta was my family's waitress. She was a beautiful woman with tan skin and dark brown hair, and she had an accent which I think was Hungarian. I don't remember exactly where she came from, but I know it was a Russo-Slovakian country.

Anyway, she obviously made an impression on me, and I loved her name, so I started using it in stories. Somewhere along the years, I added an extra "t," which means I misspelled Ivetta's name. Oops. But that's what happened with my name when my mother named me (in that case, switched one vowel for another), so whatever.

I almost always write my main character as an eighteen-year-old girl who is an orphan, only has a mother, or, if she has both parents, they're dying. Yep, sad, I know, but it cuts down on the family interactions I have to incorporate into the story. I can start the story at a set point and not have to worry about what happened before that point, because I don't plan my stories, so I have plenty of room to figure it out as I go. Also, I started writing for fun when I was 12, so I guess 18 marked adulthood for me.

So, Ivetta is eighteen, has no last name, no family background, and her mother is dying. And originally, I didn't want the reader to even know that much. My plan (I use that word very loosely) was to have the story take place in the palace, starting when she walked through the doors in the morning and ending when she left in the evening. The reader would never know more than Chevalier or any of the princes until the pivotal point in the story when she ends up in trouble and they find out everything she's been hiding.

You can thank my mother for talking me into changing that.

Since I don't plan, Ivetta has developed with each subsequent edit/rewrite of the story. She has always been an eighteen-year-old girl who is much more mature than a typical girl of her age, which is why the princes think she's older than she looks. She's always had long, straight, silky black hair (no bangs, parted in the middle, pulled back in a simple ponytail while she works), bright green eyes, and a tendency to blush easily, and she's always been small (only five feet tall, because I like height differences in romance). Writing A Beast's Tale helped me elaborate on her description, so she now has a heart-shaped face, full pink lips, and a slender but shapely build. Basically, she's not a Victoria's Secret model, but she has enough curves to add to the illusion that she's old enough for the princes to pursue. And by the time they realize she's younger than they thought, they're already hooked.

As for her personality, she's sweet but sassy, naturally distrusting of everybody, especially men, and yet naturally compassionate, too. She can't help helping people, even when doing so puts her in a bad position. She has a strong work ethic, excellent observational skills, and an ability to make quick connections and fast deductions, and while she's no genius, her above-average intellect allows her to stand on equal footing with any of the princes, including Chevalier. All of that means she's well-positioned to catch his attention, because he attributes no value to others beyond their usefulness, and he's used to nobody except his brothers questioning or opposing him.

But, as he discovers, her background of growing up in poverty with a single mother has wiped out her self-esteem and any sense of hope. She expects predators to attack her, and she believes nobody will help her, so she won't tell anybody what's really happening. She deals with trauma by not dealing with it. However, that isn't really mentally sustainable, so the trauma comes back in nightmares.

In a nutshell, she's a beautiful, sweet, intelligent girl on the outside, but on the inside, she's an emotional mess. And I really amped that aspect up with my latest rewrite, because there's no way she could make it to this point in her life without a hefty dose of PTSD. Which I added to immensely. (Sorry, Ivetta.)

So, the only way she's getting into a romantic relationship is if a man works hard to earn her trust and prove his dependability, and if he manages that, she'll then think he deserves someone better than her, which means he'll have to help her see her own worth. In other words, I'm flipping the script from the game and making Chevalier pursue Ivetta. Because chivalry is not dead, especially for the guy who has the word in his name. And I am a sucker for a protective, strong male lead rising to the occasion when a strong female lead ends up in a difficult situation.