Some characters arrive fully formed, demanding to be written. Sophie Feegle was one of those characters. From the moment she appeared in my imagination – standing in a cold morgue, touching a body and seeing something she shouldn’t have been able to see – I knew she was going to be something special.
Who Is Sophie Feegle?
Sophie is an autopsy assistant at the San Francisco City Morgue. She’s practical, sharp-tongued, and exceptionally good at her job. She’s carved out a life she’s finally comfortable with; steady work, a favorite bar, and the company of the dead, who are much less complicated than the living.
She’s also snarky as all get-out.
When something goes wrong, Sophie doesn’t scream, she makes a dry comment. When faced with impossible situations, she doesn’t panic, she mutters complaints under her breath while dealing with them anyway. Her coping mechanism is dark humor, and honestly? Same.
The Origin Story
Sophie came from a “what if” that wouldn’t leave me alone: What if you were a magical being and didn’t know it?
I loved the idea of a protagonist who has an intimate relationship with death; not in a morbid way, but in a practical, professional way. Sophie sees death every day. She’s not afraid of it. She’s made peace with mortality in a way most of us haven’t.
So when she touches a body and sees its final moments – something no ordinary person should be able to do – her carefully built routine starts to unravel. The bodies on her table aren’t all human. And neither, it turns out, is she.
When she’s pulled into the hidden world of shifters, ogres, vampires, and Fae, she approaches it with the same methodical mindset she uses for everything else.
Except this time, her subjects fight back.
The Snark Is a Shield
Here’s the thing about Sophie: her sarcasm isn’t just for laughs (though I hope it makes you laugh). It’s armor.
Sophie keeps people at a distance. She’s been hurt. She’s been alone. She’s learned that relying on others leads to disappointment. So she builds walls of wit and sarcasm, keeping everyone at arm’s length while pretending she prefers it that way.
The magic of her story isn’t just about supernatural creatures – it’s about Sophie slowly, reluctantly, letting people in. Finding her found family among the “odd ones” of San Francisco’s supernatural underworld. Learning that vulnerability isn’t weakness.
She’d hate that I described it that way. She’d probably make some comment about getting soft. But we’d both know the truth.
Her Relationship With the Supernatural
Sophie didn’t ask for any of this. She was perfectly happy in her morgue, thank you very much. But the supernatural world doesn’t care about what Sophie wants.
What I love about writing Sophie is that she doesn’t become a different person when thrown into this impossible situation. She’s still practical. Still organized. Still snarky. She just now has to apply those traits to problems like “why can I see dead people’s final moments” and “why is this very annoying fox shifter following me around.”
She adapts without losing herself. That’s her superpower, really; remaining authentically Sophie no matter how weird things get.
And when she discovers that the supernatural world isn’t just around her but inside her – that she’s not human, that her memories have been stolen, that everything she thought she knew about herself is wrong – well, that’s when things get really complicated. But even then, she’s still Sophie. Still complaining. Still showing up.
The Grumpy Love Interest Situation
I can’t talk about Sophie without mentioning her love interest. He’s everything she finds irritating: overprotective, secretive, prone to brooding silently instead of using actual words.
Their dynamic is one of my favorites to write. She pushes, he walls up. She snarks, he glowers. Underneath it all, they’re both terrified of connection; and that’s exactly why they’re drawn to each other.
Two damaged people who see through each other’s defenses. It’s not instant love. It’s not easy. It’s a slow burn of reluctant trust building into something neither of them expected.
Sophie would describe their relationship much more colorfully, probably involving several complaints about his communication skills.
Why Sophie Matters to Me
Every book I write reflects something I’m working through. Sophie is about learning to let people in. She’s about finding family in unexpected places. She’s about the courage it takes to open yourself up after being hurt.
And yes, she’s also about making inappropriate jokes in stressful situations. We contain multitudes.
Writing the Sophie Feegle series taught me that heroines don’t have to be fearless or perfect. They can be scared, cynical, and deeply flawed, and still be the hero of their story. Still find love. Still save the day.
Usually while complaining about it.
Get to Know Sophie
If you haven’t met Sophie yet, Sophie and The Odd Ones is where it all begins. Five books later, she’s still the same snarky autopsy assistant who stumbled into the supernatural; just with a found family, a reluctant romance, and a lot more experience with the weird and wonderful.
She’d probably tell you not to get attached. Ignore her. Get attached anyway.