Who is Nya?

I have been so excited about Linger right now, and can't help but let the story flow out onto the page. It wasn't my top priority at first, but I think I've really taken a liking to writing such tragic sadness.

One question I've been getting about Chapter 5: Beneath is "who is Nya?" Readers seem to know her from somewhere, and if you've read More or The Secret, that comes as no surprise. In More, she is the one who Bella meets as soon as she's swept away by Ma'at (leader of the Ravnos). Nya is Ma'at's true love and was once the servant girl of Apep (Aro). In The Secret, she made a mini-appearance as the aunt of Angela and mother of Jen (Jen is another character based off an actual reader/reviewer).

Is Nya based off of a real person? Actually, yes. Her name comes from a good friend of mine who I met through writing fanfic. You might know her as the lovely and very kind luv4jake. Her author page is always fun to look at. She has a list of recommended stories for each month, and she has excellent taste. She is an avid reader of fanfic and in my opinion, she should be a writer. I wonder if I should start a petition to get her to write? (Who knows? That might work?) Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to let you all know that the nature of this wonderful and wise character is based off of the character of the real person, though the magical elements are obviously fictional. However, the real gal makes for a wonderful muse!

Why bother writing Linger when it has such a sorrowful foundation? That is a question I asked myself when I first started. I so much enjoy bits of humor here and there, and in this story I've been very careful to have none at all. Anything that accidentally slips through gets deleted immediately (not even saved for another work that might come along later). The reason I found for writing this story anyway is that I want to explore Edward's psychological territory as he goes through the grieving process. He is afraid of eternal separation from the only woman he's ever loved in all of his hundred-plus years; he is plagued with guilt that flows from her death; and he hopes that there might be a way that he can carry her consciousness with him. So, can he really have her back? This question will be answered as more of the story comes out, but it would be a definite no where it not for the more mysterious and esoteric elements that only Nya can bring to light.

Nya is like the Dumbledore or Merlin of the story. She has wisdom and secret knowledge an it's exciting because it feels as if anything can be possible with a character like that!