Let’s bring in the quiet storm. The one with hands in soil and secrets in her eyes. The one the others think is sweet, soft, harmless.
They’re wrong.
CHARACTER BLUEPRINT: RAYLEIGH “RAE” COLLINS
I. FULL NAME:
Rayleigh Belle Collins
But you can call her Rae.
If you call her “Rayleigh” in a certain tone, expect one eyebrow and zero patience.
II. AGE:
28
Old enough to know who she is. Young enough to still pretend she doesn’t.
III. ETHNICITY & BACKGROUND:
White – Southern Illinois country girl, born and raised in Joliet
Grew up on a flower farm with four brothers, a Bible-thumping aunt, and a mother who disappeared when Rae was 12
She left home with a suitcase, a broken locket, and a wild belief in beauty
IV. PROFESSION:
Florist + part-time barista at a downtown spot called Bloom & Pour—the unofficial gossip hub for the group
Also known to do:
• Emergency corsages
• Emotional plant pairings
• Clandestine flower deliveries “for someone who doesn’t deserve you but should remember you”
She’s building a secret pop-up floral installation brand called “Rooted & Reckless”
V. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:
• Hair: Golden brown waves, usually pulled back with a scarf that somehow matches her soul
• Eyes: Moss green, open and watchful, with flecks of storm
• Skin: Sun-warmed and freckled; a few faint scars she never explains
• Style: Floral dresses, denim jackets, boots with secrets in the soles
• Signature Accessory: A small bouquet she tucks behind her ear or gives away without warning
VI. PERSONALITY:
• Type: Sweetheart with steel bones
• Strengths: Empathy, quiet courage, emotional intelligence, killer gut instinct
• Flaws: Overextends herself, avoids confrontation, runs from her own depth
• Love Language: Acts of service and morning coffee just the way you like it
• Secret Pleasure: True crime podcasts and watering plants while narrating the murder mystery aloud
• Greatest Fear: Becoming invisible. Or her mother coming back.
VII. CURRENT LIFESTYLE:
• Lives in a tiny above-the-shop apartment with an army of plants and a typewriter she swears she’ll use
• Her past is blurry, her present is messy, and her future is quietly building under soft petals and steel resolve
• Has a floral tattoo she did herself. It covers an old scar. She never shows it.
VIII. SOCIAL ROLE IN THE GROUP:
• The Root. She grounds the chaos. Softens the sharp edges. Sees what others miss.
• Most likely to give you a flower that means more than you realize
• Least likely to judge—but always knows
IX. RELATIONSHIPS:
• Priya: Intimidating, but Rae admires her strength. And knows she’s lonelier than she lets on
• Veena: Rae bakes with her sometimes. They laugh too loud. There’s flour in Rae’s hair for days
• Laila: Protective. Rae sees the soft cracking under Laila’s gloss
• June: Their silence is friendship
• Carmela: She scares Rae, and Rae loves it
• Monroe: Monroe gave her a book and Rae cried over it. Still hasn’t returned it.
• Violet: Surprisingly tender. Rae brings her flowers that mean truth. Violet never asks why.
X. ARC & CONFLICTS:
• A stranger appears in the flower shop claiming to know her mother
• Someone from her past might be stalking her—sending bouquets with the wrong meanings
• She’s caught between two potential loves:
• One soft, familiar, and steady
• One chaotic, electric, and… possibly very wrong
• And she just found a photo in Violet’s house that looks exactly like her. Except it’s decades old.
XI. TAGLINES & QUOTES:
• “Just because I’m gentle doesn’t mean I won’t gut you with kindness.”
• “I remember everything I bury. It all grows back eventually.”
• “People think flowers are fragile. They’ve never watched them crack concrete.”
Want to create her image next? Picture Rae in her flower shop after-hours, apron dusted with pollen, surrounded by plants and secrets.
Or would you like to shift into the novel’s opening chapter, brunch scene, or The Great Purse Theft scandal first beat?
MY DIGITAL HOME 