YA For Birds

An epic YA love story is unfolding in our garden. It is the story of blackbirds.

 

 

 

 

The lady blackbird, we’ve decided is the heroine of the story. Focussed and determined, she’s built a nest in the roof of our derelict shed. She’s happy to live there quietly, but she will defend her home with an aggressive rage if it is threatened. I’ve called her Rhiannon after the princess from the Mabinogion.

One princess does not make a story, but luckily we have a hero in the form of the quirky black and white albino blackbird. He is indifferent to his rakish good looks, which makes him all the more devastatingly handsome. He’s probably an enchanted prince. The garden is his territory and he spends the days patrolling and gathering worms, most of which he will lay in the nest of Blackbird Rhiannon.

 

 

 

Now we must complete the love triangle. Two other blackbirds visit the garden every day. Both are male with glossy black feathers and bright orange beaks. One is probably Rhiannon’s best friend. They might even have hatched from the same clutch of eggs and known each other since they were chicks. He secretly loves Rhiannon and longs to be with her, but he knows he is not hero boyfriend material and so he will content himself with living in the shadows. Maybe if he’s lucky he’ll get an interesting death scene and Rhiannon will mourn him briefly before forgetting all about him. Or maybe he’ll do something heroic towards the end of the last chapter of the story and Rhiannon will realise she’s loved him all along.

 

Never forget, however, there is one more blackbird left. This one has to be the villain. He’s charismatic and clever, always ready with a musical quip. For a while, Rhiannon might even believe that she’s in love with him. Certainly, the reader will hope that he and Rhiannon will end up together. But this blackbird only loves himself. He wants to rule the whole garden, and he will destroy anything that stands in his way.

Rhiannon stands in his way. Who will stand with her.

Any ideas for a title? I’m thinking something like ‘The Darkling Feather’ or ‘Shadow Wings’.