The second book of The Firebrand Chronicles, Flare, releases today! Yay! I’m so excited to share the crazy (mis?)adventures of the heroine Brenna James. She’s loyal, snarky, and has ADHD. But she wasn’t originally written that way.
When I first began writing Spark (which was initially called The Sacred Veil), my youngest daughter entered kindergarten. She was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive in second grade. I was thrilled to have answers to why she did the things she did, and our family began learning about the world of neurodiversity. (Neurodiversity includes autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, as well as other neurological conditions.) I became an expert, if not in ADHD, then at least in my child and her needs. But where were the fantasy books with an ADHD main character? (I don’t count Percy Jackson—his ADHD and dyslexia is explained away when he discovers he’s a demi-god. A missed opportunity, in my opinion!) There were too few neurodiverse characters, and the idea of a main character with ADHD was born.
As Spark and then Flare were written, Brenna and I addressed some of the markers of ADHD—impulsivity, time blindness, distractibility. Although she can hyperfocus and solve puzzles creatively, the reader sees her challenges and her struggle to be “good enough” in a world that labels her as different.
Readers have asked me, Will Brenna ever stop making impulsive choices? Will she stop and think before acting? Will she stay focused? Probably not, because that’s not who she is. ADHD governs that part of her brain. But she’ll never give up, she’ll keep trying, and she’ll believe in second chances. Because that’s something offered to absolutely everyone.
This is absolutely beautiful! I knew some of this, of course, but I absolutely loved learning more about Brenna and getting a sneak peek into the background of the Firebrand Chronicles. Excellent post, and happy release day!
Thanks so much! I just wanted to shed a little light on Brenna and the way she thinks. 🙂
Authors are often told to write what we know. Some of us embrace that, huh? You know my Anna and her struggles. I haven’t used her exact special need in my writing, but all my stories have a character with some kind of disability. It’s part of my life, so I use it. You’re doing the same thing! And when our readers can resonate with our characters, we’ve done our jobs.
Congrats, Jill! I’m looking forward to reading FLARE!
Thanks, Pam. The more people understand others who are different (whether it be a physical disability or a cognitive disability) the better it will be for everyone.
Thanks again! <3
I love this! My daughter has severe dyslexia, slow-processing speed, and ADHD inattentive type. Like you, having a diagnosis gave us so many answers. And I’ve learned so much about learning differences since then. A character my daughter can identify with makes me happy!
Raising these special kiddos can be hard, can’t it? And like your daughter (& mine), it’s never “just ADHD,” but a combination of disorders.
Brenna isn’t perfect, but she tries her best, just like most kids. ☺ Thanks for stopping by!