Who is Audra Cummins?

How many drafts does it take to make a publishable book? Depends on the writer. What about Kam? Too many to count. Each draft and rewrite morphed and changed the story until the final story was a completely different tale than what was originally stated.

How did Kam originally start? Well, for starters, his name was spelled Cam in the first draft. In that same draft, Audra Cummins was a more common name.

Below is the first page of an unpublished, original draft:

I didn’t have time to whisper a prayer.  All I could do was close my eyes, and brace for impact.  

There she was.  The most beautiful girl on the island.  She was standing just outside my workshop.  If she turned her head ever-so-slightly, she’d see me.  My heart pounded in my ears.  My breathing accelerated.  

She always came to the willow tree in the town square after she ate lunch.  Lucky for me, I worked in the welding shop in the town square.  I took my lunch break when she came, just to see her.  One of these days, there would be a chance encounter.  Our lives would finally collide.  That would be the day I would either gain her friendship or her hatred.  Our lives would play an irreversible role in each other’s fate.  Or maybe that was me being too hopeful.  

The breeze ruffled her oversized shirt.  She’d rolled up the sleeves so she could work.  Her father’s belt was cinched around the middle to keep the excess from snagging.  Her pants were too big on her and worn thin in several places.  Patches covered her knees and elbows.  Her hair was always wind whipped and messily covered her face.  She had to wear her father’s hand-me-downs.  She could never successfully get all of the sheep fuzz off of her.  Despite all of these imperfections that might turn someone away from her, I only loved her more.  

I knew a secret that very few people did.  I knew how to watch someone without them noticing.  This pastime may seem strange and stalkerish, it also kept me from making any real friends.  I knew how she acted when she thought no one was watching, and somehow that made me love her more.  

I loved the delicate way her fingers caressed the flower’s petals as she picked the wildflowers in the meadow just beyond the market.  

I loved how her nose scrunched up when she smelled her favorite flower, the primrose.  

I loved how she carried her bundle of flowers like she would a newborn child.  

I loved how her freckles squashed together and her face flushed when she was being snarky to someone.

She moved with such grace and ease, it was hard to believe she wasn’t spoken for.  That could partially be because of her fiery temper, or the only other eligible boys our age were boneheads.  Then there was me, who was somewhere in between the two extremes.  I intended to make my move before she was claimed, but every time I tried to speak to her, my tongue inexplicably stuck to the roof of my mouth.  

Perhaps the gods enjoyed toying with me as much as I hated their games. 

That paints a much different character, doesn't it? Kam is not the dedicated, nervous worker that he was shown to be in Kam, here, he is a lovesick kid. How much could that change the story? I am so glad you asked. As the story progresses, Audra becomes a central character. She and Kam grow close, even share a kiss!

In this draft, it is Audra, not Rowan, that suggests the plan in chapter 17. Yes, that plot-changing, life-altering plan on page 232. Audra was sarcastic, smart, part of the social resistance on the island, and a very major part of the story.

So what happened?

As Grace planned for future books, she worried readers would have an issue telling characters apart, especially since, in this draft, Kam was born with magic, just like Glenn from book three. After much deliberation, she decided that Kam and Glenn were just too much alike. Both stories had romance, family drama, and were magic-born. To help separate the characters, she lost the love interest and Kam’s magic over water. Instead, she added the beloved character Rip.

Still, it felt wrong for Audra to be cut completely from the story. As an easter egg, Grace kept Audra as a background character. In chapter one, Audra comes into Birger’s fix-it shop and asks for her father’s sword returned as a nod to her previous gravity in earlier drafts. Her full name makes an appearance on page 99 of Kam Kovah, but when she steps out the door two pages later, she fades back into the background instead of joining the central fight against change with Kam.