Emilia not Amelia – or just Emily
Name: Contrary to recent popular belief, Emily’s full name ‘Emilia’ derives not from Emilia Clarke, the fabulous Mother of Dragons – though Emily does love the Game of Thrones books – but from British actress, Emilia Fox. Yes, that’s right, my lazy pre-teen ass couldn’t even be bothered to change bits of her name. She is straight-up named after Emilia Fox, a British television actress who I grew up watching in ‘Silent Witness’ a murder/crime show about pathologists which my parents loved and I still adore to this day. The character, Dr Nikki Alexander is a forensic pathologist in the long-running show ‘Silent Witness’ and I was wholly inspired by her intelligence, her bravery and her determination. All traits I wanted to press into Emily. By giving her a powerful namesake, I hoped one day Emily would understand just how incredible she is.
Appearance: Emily hasn’t always been the ‘fattest girl at HSA’. In the original draft, she was just round, shy and badly dressed. In that first draft from 2008, there is a whole cheesy makeover scene where the girls of her dorm (the Main 8 girls) put makeup on Emily’s face, changed her hair and gave her brand new clothes. In the second draft, where Emily became larger and thus the insecure poor body image storyline popped into life, the makeover scene stayed but in this most recent draft, I scrapped it completely. I hate it. I’m still reeling over the fact Sandy changed herself for Danny in Grease. If I want to install in people – my generation and the one below – that your dress size or taste in fashion doesn’t define you, I couldn’t have a makeover scene. Emily needed to just be. Yes, she does change slowly over time but not drastically. Like with anyone, give them a bit of confidence, that confidence will reflect in self-care. Emily has gone from a ‘chubby prude’ to a stubborn, highly-intelligent plus-sized beauty who I hope will eventually be able to let go of her body insecurities. One day…
Personality: On that note, Emily’s personality has also changed drastically. Gone is the quiet, shy, ‘nerdy’, wouldn’t-say-boo-to-a-goose-girl, who allows herself to be changed to fit a certain image, and in her place is a girl who has fire. She is incredibly stubborn, she can be very difficult and while first appearances in Book 1: Hillside Academy (2019) make it seem as if Emily could never be more than a girl who hides in the library and behind her reading glasses, I like to think I’ve laid breadcrumbs for my readers to be able to see that the girl with bite is just beneath that armour.
Skills: Emily has always been smart, good at Maths and taken Latin as a subject. Being able to play cello was an original skill of Emily’s that I scrapped in the second draft (2011). I brought it back for the most recent redraft and Emily has been grateful ever since. It suits her character and since so many of the Main 8 are contemporary musicians, it’s a nice change to have a classical musician in the mix.
Influences: Me. My god, that was hard for me to admit. In truth, I’m nothing like Emily. When asked which character I’m most like I will always say Sam. Sam or Erika – a rude, crass, chain-smoking depressive who drinks too much. But I say me for Emily’s influence because she’s the girl I’d love to be. The timid part of her is the teenage version of me that was bullied relentlessly every day and made to believe I was worthless because I was overweight. My body image is something I struggle with to this day and so Emily’s plight throughout the books when it comes to her weight and how people perceive her is heavily influenced by me as a teenager. I want to believe I’m not as stubborn or difficult as her, but my boyfriend would tell you otherwise. However, I am in no way as intelligent as Emily, or as brave. She is my idol and I truly hope she can be someone else’s one day too.
Friendships: Emily has always been within the inner circle of the Main 8. She’s always lived in the same dorm and after her makeover in the original drafts, is brought deeper into the fold. She has always gravitated closer to Erika, something I clutch onto now in the latest drafts. Erika is the one who holds out a hand to Emily and beckons her out of the insecure shadows and into the light; light which consists of the absurd antics of youth. However, Emily has also grown closer to Susannah Fields in recent drafts; sometimes Erika’s just too dark for Emily Fox.
She has also always been infatuated with Will Bennet. That is just a fact. One as old as time. No matter how many changes they’ve both been through, Emily will always think Will’s the cutest boy at Hillside Academy.
Storyline: Emily’s storyline is much the same as it was in the original draft, although the initial draft focused less on her weight and bullying, and more on her timid nature. I can’t say much more about Emily’s storyline without spoilers, but she has always wanted to be part of a group of friends; always wanted to belong, to be cared for and shrug off the grief of her childhood and make new memories. Does she get it? Guess you’ll have to wait and see.
Here’s a brief excerpt from the initial draft of Hillside Academy (2008) of the original Emily Fox:
“Do you lot talk about anything other than sex?” said Emily angrily adjusting the bag on her back
“Yeah. Just not very much,” Elivia giggled, but Emily just blew her hair out of her face. “What’s up with you? You look like a wet weekend,”
But Emily didn’t answer. She was too busy watching Will and his mates walk up the hall way. She began to blush and become nervous. Will for Emily was like a guardian; he had always be nice and caring with her. She got butterflies everytime she saw him. Elivia saw this and stood next to her.
“Why don’t you ask him out?” Elivia said. She may not have understood a lot of things with Emily, but the way she felt for Will, she did.
“Because we’re not all slags like you, who shag everything you see,” Emily shouted.
The lads, by now had reached Elivia and were staring at Emily. Emily slammed her locker closed and ran down the hallway.
To read more about Emily, head over to her bio!
Emily Fox Copyright © 2008 Jodie May Mullen
(I do not own the images above. All rights remain with the original artist)