My novel, Burning Embers, tells the love story of Rafe, an entrepreneur, and Coral, a photographer, in the heat and passion of Kenya. It would be easy to assume that my favourite character in the book is my heroine, the feisty Coral, or the handsome alpha male hero, Rafe. But in fact, my heart is tugged towards a secondary character, Morgana, the dusky Middle Eastern dancer and Rafe’s mistress.

Here’s Morgana’s first appearance in the book:

With a sudden, dramatic rolling of drums, Morgana made her entrance.

At first, Coral had a vision of a shimmering comet that flashed across the stage. When she became accustomed to the woman’s costume of glittering spangles, she saw that Morgana possessed the warm, dusky beauty of the women of the Middle East. So diaphanous was her skin, it appeared as if a golden light illuminated the design of her features, which were molded to the perfection of an ancient cameo. Her great, dark eyes flashed provocatively, and her thick, raven hair hung loosely to her waist, forming a dramatic black cloak around her shoulders.

The opening rhythms of the orchestra seemed to turn Morgana from a statue of marble into a living virago. The strips of voile that constituted her skirt alternately flared out then rolled themselves around her legs at every turn and twist, showing off and enhancing each curve of her beautiful figure. She was like a goddess and must have been conscious of her terrifying beauty; Coral had no doubt that the woman’s movements ignited the senses of all the men in the audience.

Morgana had noticed Rafe. She slowly danced her way toward him, but her professionalism ensured that her movements betrayed no emotion. Her face alone burned with passion, and her eyes, steadily fixed upon the man she apparently loved, were afire.

Morgana is Coral’s competition in the book when it comes to Rafe’s heart, and it would have been easy to cast this ‘other woman’ as wholly unpleasant and unworthy of Rafe. But in fact, as I wrote Morgana I found myself growing steadily more sympathetic towards her and, ultimately, admiring her.

First and foremost, Morgana is a woman not afraid to be passionate, which is a quality I very much like in her. This passion becomes focused into fighting for ‘her man’ – she is like a lioness defending her cub, and she fights with all claws out. But Morgana is not a foolish woman by any means, and neither is she – like so many ‘other woman’ characters – without a strong sense of pride. And so, when she realises that Rafe has chosen Coral over her, and that he loves and needs Coral, she melts gracefully and respectfully away into the background. She loves Rafe enough to put his happiness before her own. She loves Rafe enough to let him go. She is, in the end, entirely selfless.

‘There are two sides to every story’ – so goes the popular idiom. Certainly, Morgana has a story to tell. But there was no room in Burning Embers to deviate into Morgana’s story, and to follow the path she takes after losing the man she loves. One day, I would love to find the time to write her story. A fiery, sensual dancer with a broken heart but a great deal of courage and decency – I think she would make a compelling protagonist, and I would like to see her find a man who will similarly ache for her and fight for her. What do you think?