Monday-Monday Catherine’s Never List

The NEVER List

While developing the heroine in The Green-Eyed Doll, I discovered Catherine McCoy had a list of things she would not do. Period. Ever.

Well, you know what happened next! The list became an important thread throughout the as my heroine grew and scratched each one off. 

What were those nevers? What did they mean to her?

(Thank you, Alice, for the beautiful picture.)

Never cry again:

She’d cried enough. Cried because she couldn’t fix her broken marriage. Cried because she’d had to take such extreme measures to protect herself.

Never look back:

Putting her past behind her was a start of a new beginning…a new life. Never looking back meant escaping the skeptical stares and vicious news mongers.

Never trust completely:

She’d trusted once. Her judgment had been bad and had almost resulted in her death.

Never run out of money:

Being broke put her in danger of having to trust somebody enough to ask for help. She had to keep moving and stay self sufficient.

Never have sex with the sheriff:

This one she added right after she discovered the sheriff was interested in her. Sex meant opening herself up to more criticism. As tempting as the sheriff was, she couldn’t allow him inside the walls she’d built. The risk was too great he’d see the real Catherine.

Never reveal her past:

People are too judgmental to trust with the truth. To have a new life the past had to stay buried.

Never depend on anyone else:

Depending on someone else meant trusting. That was a luxury she could not afford.

Catherine had a lot to overcome before she could scratch each one off and have her happy ending. Adding the NEVER List helped deepen her character.

Any Nevers you would have added?