Rose and Coal is a short story in my upcoming novel of short stories set in the world of Kingdom. It is about three good friends struggling to understand their feelings for each other.

Rose and Coal

A buddy comedy of errors, this lighter entry in the series offsets the first two stories and shows the playfulness side of Kingdom.

The Importance of Friendship in Literature

From Damon and Pythias to Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin, friendships in books are often overlooked in favor of romantic relationships. Some romances start as friendships (Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley) then progresses to “eros” end of the scale, but something immensely satisfying results from a novel that ends with a solid friendship.

I am undeservedly blessed with good friends in my own life, so I’m biased when I read about people who form lifelong bonds of philia love. I’m often confused by stories where good friends turn on each other (only one ever satisfied me, That was Then, This is Now by S. E. Hinton). From the kids in Harry Potter to Holmes and Watson to The Three Musketeers, friendships are as varied as character personalities.

In Rose and Coal, the story starts off with two best friends coming together after Coal’s mother abuses her. Rose, the more strong-willed of the two, despises her best friend’s mother but is helpless to do something until she dreams up a clever way to save Coal. The only problem is the entire premise of her plan doesn’t work.

Rose and Coal are two characters from my novels, both taking a significant role in the first and slightly lesser in the second. In my books, I wasn’t able to explore their friendship as much as I did in this short story. I hoped for female equivalents of Damon and Pythias. In the book, they are about fifteen, but these two girls would die protecting each other. Their friendship strengthens in each book (wait until book three!), and while I depict many friendships in my novels, Rose and Coal remains unique because they grew up together. They are my gold standard of lifelong friends.

If you would like to read other stories of friendship between Kingdom characters, may I suggest The Pinnipedian Edict on this blog.