the characters

There are three main characters in Green Castles, all women. They met at church when they were in junior high and became best friends until after high school when two had a falling out and eventually moved out of state. Even though the characters are loosely based on myself and two friends, the three women are very much fictional right down to their appearances, backgrounds, and circumstances.

First up is Katerina Campbell, who grew up an only child of Robert and Diana Campbell, strictly religious and staunchly conservative local business owners. They are well known in the community, which is why Kat had to be extra careful to avoid getting into trouble when she was growing up. After college, Kat moved to New York City where she became a teacher at a prestigious drama academy, married a British man, and had one son, Jacob, who is six at the time of the story. She has not been back to Indiana until the opening of the story, nor has she seen her parents since Jacob's birth. One of the primary themes of the book is that she has rejected the faith in which she was brought up which obviously has caused a great deal of tension between her and her parents.

Then we have Michelle Lancaster who was the instigator and mastermind of most of the trio's escapades when they were young. She and Kat were particularly close until they had an argument at the end of their senior years that could never be reconciled. Michelle went on to marry a successful accountant and have three children. She is a former elementary school teacher and currently a stay-at-home mom when the story opens. Like Kat, she grew up with strict religious parents but hers were a bit more naive and more easily manipulated than the Campbells, therefore she seemed able to get away with more mischief. Unlike Kat, she chose to embrace her religious upbringing and is not only a regular attendee at her local evangelical church but is also a choir member and Sunday School teacher.

Finally, Jennifer McFarland rounds out the cast. She was the tomboy of the group and always seemed to go along with the whims of Kat and Michelle. Although her parents were also religious, they had Jennifer later in life and didn't maintain tight reins on their daughter like Kat's parents did. When she was in high school, Jennifer's brother joined the military and deployed to Iraq. When he returned, he moved to California to marry and never comes to visit. That has always been a source of sadness for Jennifer and also her parents. Jennifer survived a tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce from her high school sweetheart. She had a son, Cody, shortly after high school who is 14 at the time of the story. Seven years after Cody, she gave birth to a daughter, Hope, who, at age two was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder, a terminal disease.

So, those are the characters in Green Castles. Next time I'll be sharing more about the plot! Stay tuned!