Late morning at the end of August.  I dropped my kids off at school, re-heated my half full cup of coffee and began washing dishes.  It was when I was scraping dry, crusted oatmeal off the inside of my husband’s cereal bowl that it came to me.

Four girls.  Four friends.  They’ve known each other since they were little.  I meditated on this while finishing the dishes.  Then I grabbed my coffee, (even though there was only a small amount swirling in the bottom), sat down at the kitchen table and opened my laptop.

The story literally poured out of me.  I wrote for three hours that first day, not thinking, not planning, not stopping.  To say it was cathartic is not enough…it was cleansing.  It felt like something had been living in my head, but I didn’t know it existed until my fingers and keyboard released it.  There were moments that my heart rate increased and my stomach felt like it had butterflies fluttering around as I wrote.  Excitement.

I loved the beauty of the friendship the girls shared.  I couldn’t get enough of their unbreakable bond and their connection.  Wistfully, I wished all girls could have this gift that these four girls had been given.  Because I knew, without a doubt, that if girls would support each other’s unique qualities and talents, it would serve as a foundation they could stand on as they grew into women.  The friendship between Beth, Jenny, Rachel and Melanie was created from that hope.

I’ve always liked the simple femininity of the name Beth.  It is also the second part to my sister’s name, a young woman who I carry inside my heart everyday I live my life.  So that sealed the deal on the name Beth.

I have known a lot of Jennys in my life, and have liked or loved each one, very much.  I have very dear friends named Jenny, and I have another sister named Jennifer.  It seemed that the name Jenny fit the character’s vivacious personality as well.

To me, the name Rachel has both delicate and tough connotations.  So there could not have been a more perfect name for my Rachel, a girl who is both.

Melanie just came to me, and stuck.  It’s a melodic name, both beautiful and strong, just like my character.  I also have happy memories of times spent with my cousins, one of which is named Melanie.

I spent that first morning getting to know these girls.  It was nice.