Why I Love Writing Secondary Characters (And How Leandra Changed My Trilogy)
When I talk about The Dark Blade Trilogy, people often expect me to focus on Dan — the young man who picks up a cursed sword and must decide what kind of justice he believes in.
But if I’m honest?
I love my secondary characters just as much.
Sometimes more.
Recently on my podcast, I talked about how much I love writing secondary characters, not as side decorations, but as people who actively shape the story. For me, a secondary character must always have a relationship to the main character that creates movement. They don’t just exist. They challenge. They reveal blind spots. They open doors. They create consequences.
And in The Dark Blade Trilogy, one of the most important of those characters is Leandra.
How Leandra Came to Be
Theron was there from the beginning.
He was originally one of King Xandros’s advisors — a mentor figure, someone I knew would matter deeply to the story and to the younger generation coming behind him.
But Leandra?
She didn’t exist in the first version.
When I was publishing the story on Kindle Vella, readers asked for a female point of view character. That surprised me because in most of my books, I naturally include one.
But in this trilogy, I hadn’t.
So even though much of the book was already written, I went back and created Dan’s sister.
And Leandra changed everything.
A Noble Daughter in a Corrupt House
Leandra is Dan’s sister. She has the same parents. The same criminal household. The same moral tension.
But she doesn’t join the Watch Guard.
In the world of Aramatir, women can join the Watch Guard. They can join the Sword Guard. They can fight.
Leandra doesn’t feel she can take that path.
Not because she isn’t capable, but because she has been trained differently. Conditioned differently. Watched more closely. Her rebellion has to take a different shape.
So she chooses another path.
And that choice reshaped the trilogy.
Through her eyes, I learned more about Aramatir especially about noble culture, social expectations, and the quiet power structures that operate behind formal authority. As the daughter of a noble house that has gone wrong, she sees things Dan cannot.
She understands appearances.
And she uses them.
When Clothing Becomes Armor
Leandra is different from many of my other female characters.
Take Stelia, for example — a sword fighter forged by hardship. She is physically strong, mentally tough, and carries scars from what she’s endured. She builds walls and has to learn how to let them down.
Leandra is strong too.
But her strength looks different.
She has been trained by society to maximize her appearance. For her, a dress is not vanity, it is strategy. Her finest clothes are armor. Her poise is a shield. A jeweled hair stick might very well be a weapon.
She is secretly trained in sword work — something her parents don’t know.
She has built a false persona the world believes.
And beneath it? Determination. Intelligence. A desire for justice.
Writing her forced me to think differently. I don’t usually linger on clothing details or the subtle calculations behind presentation. With Leandra, those things matter. They are part of her warfare.
She fights with wit as much as steel.
And in many ways, she is a match for Theran — steady, observant, and far more strategic than she first appears.
Why Secondary Characters Matter
Secondary characters must move the story forward.
But more than that, they must reveal something about the protagonist.
Leandra reveals Dan’s blind spots.
Theran reveals the weight of legacy.
Stelia reveals the cost of strength.
Without them, the trilogy would be thinner. Narrower. Less alive.
Leandra, especially, shifted the emotional center of the story. Through her, I explored questions of loyalty, family, rebellion, and the quiet courage it takes to step away — mentally first, and then physically — from a corrupt legacy.
She made the trilogy better.
And I’m grateful to the readers who asked for her.
Sometimes the side characters are the ones who teach us the most.
To Speak
To Speak: Poems of Inspired Courage, Wild Grace, and Sacred Ordinary is my newest poetry collection — a book about finding your voice. It includes memoir-style poems, imaginative pieces, and even fantasy-inspired poems like Fairy Godmother, Swipe Right? and Silver Surf. If you’re longing for courage in quiet or bold ways, this collection is for you.
Dark Blade Trilogy Kickstarter
The Dark Blade Trilogy Kickstarter launches in March, and I’m currently preparing special editions, maps, and behind-the-scenes extras. If you love epic fantasy rooted in faith, justice, and redemption, I can’t wait to share more soon.
Podcast
This week on the podcast, I read Chapters 20–21 of Dark Blade Forged and talk about why I love secondary characters — especially Leandra. She wasn’t in the original draft, but she reshaped the trilogy and became one of my favorite characters to write.