Introductions: Adam's Mistress, Raven Emerson

Raven Emerson is beautiful in an improper sort of way. She is a sultry beauty with brains and faintly slanted, dark eyes. Her inky black hair is straight and typically left down; her way of moving is not that of a lady. This is all to be expected. She is an actress.

In startling contrast, this exotic beauty has a tendency to "mother," in some way, everyone she meets.

Raven was raised in a devoutly religious household, a household where purity was held as sacrosanct. When tragedy and illness eventually left her alone to care for herself and her one surviving sister, Raven used her acting abilities to her best advantage. Despite the guilt that plagued her, she took great pride in her talent and greater pride in her ability to resist the handsome, personable and rich gentlemen who courted her favor.

Then she met Adam Prestwich.

Adam is Raven's first protector. She never wanted to become the type of woman who would sell her body to feed herself. And, indeed, she did not. She was a victim of lust, plain and simple.

How did I come up with a character like Raven?

In the Regency Era, it was common for gentlemen to have a mistress. While, personally, I don't believe this was right, it was common. Adam's personality, certain things from his past, and the way he tends to cope with "stress" were all deciding factors in why I chose to give him a mistress.

I did not want anyone to hate her. At the same time, I did not want anyone to think that Adam should marry his mistress instead. I wanted her to be likable, refined, wise but, ultimately, human. She has flaws.

While Raven's flaws are not really apparent in Betrayal, they come to light in Deception, a story in which she features rather prominently. Her mistakes in Deception are the ones she laments in her own story, Spellbound.

*The preceding is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, to factual events or businesses is coincidental and unintentional.

(c) 2009 Laura J Miller aka Jaimey Grant. All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in print or electronically without the written permission of the author.