Elinor Bennett
October Character Interview
Patricia Parrington ~ October 15, 2026
Hello my lovely readers and fellow booklovers! For those of you new here, I, your bookish host Patricia Parrington, have the pleasure of interviewing characters from books all over the world.
Today, Elinor Bennett is here with us from the young adult contemporary Christian romance Not So Very Sensible by Carolyn Miller. Carolyn lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, and LM Montgomery, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives.
Meet Elinor
Welcome to Fable Features!
Thank you for having me!
[Patricia settles onto an orange suede couch across from her guest.]
I’d love to hear first about your name. Why were you given that name? Do you go by any nicknames?
My name is Elinor Bennett. I was named after Elinor Dashwood by my mum, who is a huge Jane Austen fan and named her four daughters after her favorite Austen characters. I sometimes get called Ellie by my family.
I love that! I’m a big Jane Austen fan myself. So, Elinor. What are you passionate about? What fires you up?
I get passionate when people treat others in a patronizing way, like they think they are dumb because they live in a country town or don’t have as much money as them. I’ve experienced that in my life, and it really annoys me when people don’t treat others the way they want to be treated.
[Ellie flicks a chunk of blue hair behind her ear.]
[Patricia nods in agreement.]
It’s not okay to mistreat others and I admire that you don’t let stuff like that just sit.
[She tilts her head, green eyes curious.]
When was a time you stood up to someone treating another person in a patronizing way?
I had to speak to someone recently who had made my sister’s life miserable, so I told him what he’d done was unacceptable and that he needed to stay out of her life. He hasn’t bothered us since.
That’s great to hear he listened! And kudos to you for standing up for your sister.
[Patricia smiles and leans back against the couch cushions.]
What would you say is the best thing in your life right now?
[Ellie smiles.]
I recently became very good friends with a lawyer who is from Sydney. He’s also been through a lot of challenges lately, especially family pressure for him to do certain things that he just didn’t feel was what God wanted him to do, so it’s been good to encourage each other to keep pressing on with the road we feel God has for us to follow, not just what others think is a good idea.
Oh that is hard. I love that you’re able to encourage each other in that way.
[Patricia’s eyes sparkle and she leans forward with a grin.]
Veeery good friends, hmm? How’d you guys first meet?
We first met at a Murder Mystery party in the Blue Mountains. I was dressed in a beautiful peacock-inspired dress, and we were seated next to each other at the same table. We ended up getting on so well we talked for half the night.
Oh how fun! I’ve always wanted to go to one of those kinds of parties.
[Patricia scratches her chin.]
What’s a lie you’ve had to combat?
I’ve had people tell me I’m too sensible, which basically sounds like they think I’m boring. It’s partly why I dye my hair because I don’t want people to box me up into a stereotype. And sure, I’m never going to be a loud party girl like you might see on certain teen movies, but I know I have a lot of qualities that might be underrated but are valuable. Like, who is actually going to listen to you and give solid advice when your boyfriend has broken up with you? Exactly.
Makes sense to me. I love the color of your hair by the way! Maybe I’ll dye mine that color next.
[Patricia plays with a lock of her green hair.]
What’s the nicest gift you’ve ever received?
I’m a huge Studio Ghibli fan, and my very good friend I mentioned before has bought me this amazing collection of books that show the artwork and background to the animation of the films. I’m hoping to go visit the theme park in Japan one day—I think that would be awesome!
[Patricia’s eyes widen.]
That is SO cool. I hope you do get to visit the theme park. I’m sure it would be an amazing time!
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be?
I would like to be braver and take more risks. I love my family, and I know they love me, but sometimes I wonder if I play things a little too safe just to keep them happy. My older sisters have both managed to do extraordinary things. My eldest sister, Livvie, lives in England in an old manor house and is married to her own Mr. Darcy, while my other older sister, Emma-Jane, created a dating app used by Christians around the world, so it can be done. I guess I’d like to be braver and step out into the unknown and trust that my life has purpose and push those expectations of what others have of me.
It can be so hard to take that step of bravery and take risks. Is there a certain risk you’d like to take if you did end up gaining some more bravery?
I’d like to eventually own and run my own graphic design business, but it’s a big risk as it would take some time to earn enough income. But there’s something exciting about stepping out to do the things that we feel God has created us to do, isn’t there? I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.
There definitely is. Sometimes those risks are very worth it.
[Patricia flashes a cheeky grin.]
Maybe Mr. Very Good Friend will be able to help encourage you to take those types of risks.
[Patricia glances at a notecard and laughs.]
Well this is a fun question. If someone handed you a flamingo and walked away, what would you do?
Hmm, great question! I would say thank you and train it as a pet. I imagine that flamingoes would be excellent at reaching high things in tall cupboards and could be useful in lots of ways.
[Patricia laughs.]
That would be useful, wouldn’t it?
On a more serious note, let’s wrap up with this question: What advice would you give your younger self?
It doesn’t matter what others think of you, remember what God says about you—that you are loved, forgiven, called, and have purpose—and be true to the person God made you to be. The rest is noise.
Beautifully said.
[Patricia smiles warmly.]
Thank you so much for coming here today, Elinor. It was lovely getting to meet you!
Thanks so much for having me today—this has been fun!
End of interview.
Want to Read More?
Elinor’s author, Carolyn Miller, can be found on Instagram and her website, www.carolynmillerauthor.com. You can purchase Not So Very Sensible here.
See Ya Next Time
Aaand that's all the time we have today. Thank you, readers, for coming. And thank you, Elinor, for letting us get to know you! See y'all next time.
If you would like to submit a character to be interviewed for a future issue of Fable Features, please send an email to linnae.writer@gmail.com with the subject line: Fable Features.
Please note that erotica and content with excessive vulgar language will not be accepted.
If you have questions you'd like Patricia Parrington to ask in a future interview, please submit them to linnae.writer@gmail.com with the subject line: Interview Questions.
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