Learning to fly

Characters

4 female and 4 male roles

Kathy Kitson, personal assistant to author Arianna Fawkes for seven years, twenty-eight years old; doesn’t like dogs or rats; has more or less given up on love having been let down time and time again by men who use her only to meet her employer; has hopes of becoming an author herself and is reaching the end of her first book at the start of the story; enjoys riding the half-wild horses that Arianna has brought to the island; tries to deny her attraction to Steven, but eventually succumbs and they have a magical evening together; tells Steven the manuscript sought by reporters and fans is on a USB key that she wears as a locket and shows him her completed book; furious at discovering he is really a reporter; rejects him; is kidnapped by Megan Dickson and Jerry Crease as they try to retrieve the manuscript; Steven rescues her and they make a dramatic escape on horseback; Kathy’s novel is published and becomes a successful film and she finds true love with Steven.

Steven Riley, Arianna’s newly employed, ruggedly handsome security advisor; actually a reporter; womaniser; likes dogs; gets easily seasick; is instantly attracted to Kathy; although he persists in inviting her to dinner, she turns him down not wanting to be hurt again; eventually she agrees and they fall into each other’s arms; Steven reveals his true identity as a reporter to Kathy when he realises that he has fallen in love with her and he doesn’t want to take advantage of her; after Kathy is kidnapped, he rescues her and together they find love.

Arianna Fawkes, popular children’s author; very strong; has become extremely wealthy following films made of her Moondog series; values her privacy but fans and reporters can’t leave her alone; angry at the film interpretation of her books, she wrote the final volume of the series but refused to have it published; fans and the press alike would do almost anything to read a copy; dedicated to her work, she is loud and bossy, and always accompanied by her beloved dogs; despite her brisk manner, she has Kathy’s best interests at heart; it is at her writing retreat on a small Scottish island that most of the story takes place, and the household moves there away from the fuss connected with the last Moondog book; she discovers that Steven is a reporter and throws him off the island; when Kathy is found by Steven and they make their escape, Arianna is there with her boat to complete the rescue.

Ian Combes, newly employed handyman; actually a reporter; handsome; muscular; Kathy is attracted to him, recognising that they have a lot in common, but he only wants to use her to gain access to the manuscript; he spies on Kathy by reading her diary and planting a bug in her bedroom and realises that the manuscript is on the USB key she wears as a locket; hearing Steven and Kathy together, he assumes that Steven is seducing Kathy to gain access to the book; Ian ends up with the USB key containing the manuscript, but is forced to hand it back to Arianna.

Megan Dickson and Jerry Crease, freelance reporters who are ready to risk anything for a story; they always work together but their risk taking means that no respectable publication will employ them; they strike it lucky often enough, and stay out of trouble consistently enough, to make a living; they attempt to find the manuscript by impersonating council rat catchers, but Steven realises they are imposters; they guess that the manuscript they seek is in Kathy’s locket; in panic, they kidnap Kathy while trying to retrieve the manuscript; despite their shared disasters, they realise that they make a great team and decide to tie the knot.

Amanda, Steven’s ex-girlfriend; a reporter; follows him to the island in search of a story; she appears to still be attracted to him; in fact, Steven uses her to gain Kathy’s trust; she realises that Megan and Jerry are behind Kathy’s kidnapping and helps Steven to rescue her.
Paul, at the opening of the story Kathy has high hopes for her blossoming romance with him, but it transpires that he is only using her to gain access to Arianna.

The following characters are not personalised:

Golly, Arianna’s most ardent fan; her books speak to him in a way that he has never felt before; he is recognised as an authority amongst fans; completely obsessed with the books, he watches Arianna in the role of an unseen protector; one day, he knows that he will get to read the final volume of the series; he intervenes to rescue Kathy from Megan and Jerry; a talented, but unrecognised, artist, he draws illustrations in his copies of all the Moondog books; his lifelike drawings impress Kathy and she commissions him to illustrate her own novel.
Amber and Hobb, lead characters in Kathy’s novel.