Eden Raven

Sally's People are characters I invented for books, short stories and poems. Their creation spans the last three decades of the 20th Century and (so far) the first of the 21st.
Eden Raven is one of three main protagonists in "Shadowdancers", published in 1994 by HarperCollins Australia. She is the younger and, she feels, the less valuable of the Raven sisters, overshadowed by the brilliant, beautiful and wilful Pirimba. Eden has wiry, uncontrollable hair, heavy glasses and a stocky build. She compares herself unfavourably to Pirimba at every turn. She is aware of this tendency, partly because of her analytical friend Tiv's comments. "She's the beauty, so you decided to become the buffoon". Because Pirimba is wilful, athletic and graceful, Eden has become obedient, reliable, and stolid. A natural observer, she doesn't particularly mind her life in the shadows, but when Pirimba is hurt, and finally slips into a coma, Eden feels survivors' guilt. It is a long climb back to normality as her family disintegrates around her, but she finds solace in an unexpected friendship with the graceless Craig Day.

Eden and Pirimba were both named for places in New South Wales; but though Eden kept HER name, Pirimba was originally called Merimbula. For some reason, the editor disliked this name, so she became Merimba and then, pinally, Pirimba.

Eden appears only in "Shadowdancers", but Craig is a character in "Amy Amaryllis".