Emmeline Pankhurst

Inspiration comes from odd places. In this case a friend gave me a "face" for a minor character who is rapidly becoming a major character.

Emmeline Pankhurst was a woman's right advocate at the turn of the last century. Militant and regularly arrested she died a few weeks before women earned the right to vote in Britain, which may be one of the saddest things I've heard all day. To work your whole life for a cause and die just before it's realized. I hope she was aware of the impact she had, that all those brave woman who fought for woman's rights had.

The character who is stealing her face is a far-future vice cop who specializes in drug busts and being angry. Why she's angry I don't know. She started as a minor tidbit character, someone referenced who the reader never saw "on screen". With each edit she becomes more insistent, better formed, and her role in the case grows larger. Part of the reason she's angry is that she's aging. She specializes in one area but now younger cops are outshining her, stealing her glory, and she doesn't like the upstarts.

Another reason she may be angry is how people treat her, respectful but fearful. Somehow she's a loner but what she wants to be is a leader, she likes people fawning over her and giving her kudos.... Well, maybe. She's still evolving.

Many thanks to the Original Emmeline who was a gutsy, in-your-face, woman that we can all respect.