JENNY: Mare & Magic

Eileen can't imagine somebody having paranormal powers without being Irish which pretty much leaves Swiss-German me out in the cold. This may explain why I'm trying to desperately to establish a scientific basis for what Mare does or at least how her power works. The whole paranormal thing is not a natural for me, although I love paranormal stories. The problem I see with writing the genre is that I try so hard to make sure the story is real--characters have strong motivations, no coincidences, cause and effect--that to say, "And then she turned into an owl" just makes the whole deal harder. Which is why I'm glad Eileen's sister is turning into the owl. I know transformation stories are older than the hills, I just have a tough time making them real in my head.

I also know that paranormal stories have to have laws and logic, that there have to be limits to the powers. So I'm looking at Mare who moves things with her mind, and I’m thinking, "How?" Does she move the air around the object so that it follows the vacuum? Does she push with her mind the way she would with her arms? Where does the extra effort to move heavy things come from, more concentration or a better understanding of the mechanics of her power? And what happens to the object when it gets moved? Are the molecules rearranged? Does it heat up? And if it does, why? The friction of the molecules, the heat from Mare's mind? It’s important because the way her power works is going to reflect who she is because who she is will have shaped how she uses her power and how she uses her power will have shaped her.

I’m really loving this book, though. So much fun.