It’s Elivia Spencer – and she won’t let you forget it.
Name: It’s Elivia, pronounced ‘e-li-ve-ah’ because, in truth, I was seven when I named her and didn’t like the ‘O’ sound at the start of the name Olivia. I didn’t realise how strange it was until I first started talking about her to my friends when I was twelve and writing the first draft of Hillside Academy (completed in June 2008). It frustrated me when people mispronounced her name and to this day I have to constantly correct people. It became such a joke, I make several nods to it throughout the recent, most updated drafts of Hillside Academy with several characters either accidentally or on purpose mispronouncing her name – which irritates her to no end. The nickname ‘Lil’ came about in these early drafts too, something that rolled off of my characters’ tongues with ease when I was writing. I liked it so much, as did my characters, that to this day it’s her common nickname, which is a vast improvement on Anna’s names for Elivia; some of which include ‘hobbit’ and ‘mouse’.
Appearance: Originally, Elivia had ‘long mousy brown hair’, according to draft 1 of Hillside Academy; hair which she straightened every morning. This is disturbing to consider now as for the past ten years, Elivia Spencer has had short, white blonde hair. I don’t know why the change occurred but it definitely suits her character. As a society princess, the fact she has a short, almost ‘grunge pixie’ style hairstyle fits her personality and is almost a foreshadow for her journey throughout the series; that she’s nothing like the rest and she has much to prove.
Elivia has, however, always been the shortest of the Main 8, a fact which she has always loathed. Short and skinny with a boyish figure and breasts like bee stings. She may want to change but I wouldn’t have her any other way.
Personality: A fact which may surprise my betas and other readers is that Elivia never used to be a ‘priss’. This is something she has gained somewhere along the way throughout the drafts. Once upon a time, she used to drop the words ‘shag’ ‘fuck’ and other crude words every other sentence. The current ‘Elivia’ only ever swears when swearing is called for. The ‘rich girl’ persona and ‘fashion-lover’ are also things that have gradually appeared over time. However, her hate of smokers is as old as her creation and her attraction to smart, clean-cut preppy boys is also original to the character.
Skills: As a true sign of how far I believe I’ve come as a writer, Elivia didn’t seem to have any particular skills in the initial drafts. While in the most recent draft (2019), her skills aren’t as apparent as perhaps Tom’s or Emily’s, Elivia does indeed have skills. She is a strong debater, an organiser, and a member of the school’s Events Committee, where, later on in the series, she is a valued member. It may not seem like much but not every character has to have ‘striking skills’. It’s what makes Elivia human. And besides, not all of her skills are as simple as a bullet-point list on a CV. Her skills come from experience gained throughout the series. Skills I can’t divulge without spoilers…
Influences: Like most of my characters, especially the Main 8, they don’t have obvious influences, or at least not ones I realise until much later. It wasn’t until the recent draft of Hillside Academy did I begin to notice that there were a lot of Princess Diana influences in Elivia. From her name – Spencer – to her sad storyline and even her short hair and fashionista status. Not only that, one of Elivia’s role models is Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, an ancestor of Diana Spencer.
Friendships: Elivia has always lived in the dorm with the other Main 8 girls plus Susannah Fields and Summer. However, she never used to be close to Summer, who was a completely different character in the original drafts. In fact, Elivia and Anna were seen as the two closest, something else which has drastically changed – what with them now hating each other upon first meeting.
What hasn’t changed is the special relationship between Elivia and Tom. Best friends to the core, these two are inseparable and no matter what I do, these two just can’t stop being friends. Their friendship has grown and grown with each redraft and each book I write to the point where it is, to me, one of the most powerful bonds throughout the entire series.
Storyline: Her original storyline is eerily similar to the storyline of the first two books in the Hillside Academy series, but I can’t talk about that without spoilers. Instead, I will leave you with a cringe-worthy excerpt from the original Hillside Academy draft 1 (2008) for a taste of Elivia, twelve years ago.
‘Elivia sat down on the floor against her bed and cried her heart out. Anna didn’t come back and the hall became silent again. The room began to get dark as the sun began to set. The lights weren’t on so Elivia sat, huddled up on the cold floor. It felt like hours before Elivia was finally able to take her hands away from her wet and blotchy face. What had **** done? What had she done to make him look else where? She felt that everything was her fault. Just as she was about to go find some tissues, there was a knock at the door. She unlocked it and peered out. Tom’s brown curly hair fell across his forehead and lovely hazel, come to bed eyes. He looked straight into her eyes and she instantly felt warm inside.
“Hello,” he whispered “Are you okay”
Elivia tried to hold back the tears but she just burst out. Tom pushed open the door and he put his arms around her, and then closed it again with his foot.
“Anna told me,” Tom said, sitting her down on the bed. He knelt down in front of her,
“I ,thought he, he loved, me. I thought, he was the, the one,” she cried and stuttered her words through her tears and gasps for breath. Tom wiped her eyes with his hankie and placed his warm hands her cheeks.’
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Elivia Spencer Copyright © 2008 Jodie May Mullen
(I do not own the images above. All rights remain with the original artist)