Selena image above is from my talented friend Jennifer Garnett. So humbling when someone like her produces an image even better than the one in my head :).
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Note: Shifting gears again. I have a few more ideas for Wells that I might return to later. For now, to keep things flowing, I’m going to shift to a YA novel idea I have.
Selena Jones (16)
Project: YA Novel (Psi High)
Known as: No nicknames
Real name: Selena Jones
Group affiliation: Sometimes the Alphas, sometimes the Omegas
Physical description: Selena in the first book is 14 (soon to be 15) and a freshman. She is tall (5′ 11′) and is self-conscious about it (she thinks it makes her look too thin and gangly). She has smooth brown skin, large brown eyes, and wavy black hair. She doesn’t spend too much time on her appearance as she is afraid it will only draw attention to her imperfections. In truth she is insecure, and quite pretty.
Personality: Selena needs to find herself. She has many exceptional qualities that are a little hidden at the moment due to her insecurities. She excels in spite of herself. She tells herself to stay quiet in class, but invariably has questions and comments. She doesn’t believe she is courageous, but never hesitates to stand up for a friend. She never intends to take charge, but often seems to be the only one who knows what to do. A strength and weakness is that she if very curious, and has troubles letting things go.
History: Our story with Selena begins on her first day of a new high school: The Coldwater Secure Academy for the Psychically Gifted (known colloquially as “Psi High”). Despite the fact that there is no known history of psychic powers in her family Selena recently tested positive for the rarest of psychic gifts: telepathy.
The Electi (those with extraordinary mental powers) have existed among human kind since the beginning. Extremely rare, most of the Electi’s gifts were mild enough it was difficult to separate them from other extraordinary people. A few of those rare people had gifts that could not be easily dismissed as luck, intelligence, or perception (e.g., staring a fire with a stare instead of flint and steel). These individuals were met with a host of reactions by different cultures over the years: worship, elevation to leadership, appreciated, or slain as witches.
In modern times, most countries had arrived at rules to govern these gifted few. Armbands so normal humans would be aware that someone with gifts would be in their midst, special laws with steep consequences for an unauthorized use of power, and restrictions from holding certain potions (e.g., political leadership) are all common. In general, the Electi’s gifts provide them with advantages but not overwhelming ones. Additionally, they have truly useful roles in society. Telepaths did not have the level of power where they could casually plunder information from anyone’s mind, but they could get impressions and were very useful as lie detectors. Telekines can only move what they are physically able to lift but their ability to do so at a distance makes them useful in several situations, and so forth. This mix of usefulness with restrictions usually mean the Electi function reasonably well in society or so it would seem (they certainly are known to cause discomfort and suffer prejudices).
Selena never expected to be one of them but now finds herself attending one of the rare schools where she will not only learn the curriculum common for high school but also receive training on her gifts and her place in society. She has never even known an Electi before this, so this is all new to her. If you thought high school was bad wait until you add psychic powers.
Role in the narrative: Our protagonist. As someone who never expected to be in the world of the Electi, she will learn along with the reader about them. She’ll face many of the challenges and heartache that all teenagers do, but more complicated with moral choices and adventures mixed in. The school holds some secrets, as to the Electi in general (it’s possible that not all the Electi are as limited in power or well-managed as they seem). Her curiosity, leadership instincts, and drive to protect others will make Selena the straw that stirs the drink, story-wise.
Abilities: Selena is a telepath she can “read minds.” She assumes she must be a pretty limited telepath. While she is good at reading emotions and detecting lies, she can only pick up simple thoughts thought very clearly by people (basically, the other person has to cooperate to send a clear thought). She’ll soon find that this level of ability already ranks her among the more talented telepaths at the school (there are only a few it is a rare skill).
Her abilities will grow with practice. Without getting to spoilery, she’ll ultimately uncover abilities that are beyond what she understood Electi were even capable of, which will put her on the radar of a shadowy organization. In fact one day she might even uncover truly unprecedented levels of ability that could change the world.
Inspirations: Harbinger (the comic) is a clear influence with a bit of Psi Force mixed in. The X-men, Harry Potter, and countless other stories of young people with extraordinary gifts learning and facing challenges together are influences. Fictional telepaths abound. I wish I had the guts to set this in Japan for an anime flavor (another influence), but I just don’t think I have the bandwidth to do the necessary research to make such a setting resonant. I would attempt some romance/love triangle type things (which also makes me shake in my boots).
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