Always there - Norah and Charlie

For any book or series that I write, there will always be two characters with the names Norah and Charlie.

The reason is bittersweet; I do this as a memorial to two adorable little children that we lost too soon. Charlie was my nephew, who died at age 4. Norah was the daughter of a friend. She passed away at age 6.

This didn't start out as a conscious decision. I wanted them both to be remembered--and simply wrote them into my first book. Once I'd discovered this way to remember them, I knew that I'd want to include them again.

Since I Wish was the first YA book that I wrote (although it was the fourth to be published), Norah and Charlie made their first appearance in it. They are two ice-skaters in "genie-land."

They play a bigger role in the Whisper Falls series. Mark (the hero) has a strong relationship with his grandparents, Norah and Charlie. They appear in all three books of the series.

In The Possibility of Somewhere (writing as Julia Day), Eden once held a job at Charlie's Diner, working with a waitress named Norah. A small presence--but I know they're there, and now you do too.

For Fade To Us, there are three main characters: Brooke, her stepsister Natalie, and the guy they both like (in different ways) Micah.  Micah's father is Charlie. Natalie has a camp counselor named Norah. Both Norah and Charlie have small roles in this book--but they are great and memorable people, just like their namesakes!

For Norah and Charlie--

We have not forgotten.