Alanna/Hooks

• Aristocracy -- She's intimately connected to English nobility; her grandfather Henry is the twenty-second Earl of Linden, as well as Viscount Westheath and Baron of Oxhill and Fenwick. Her father's family has been a prominent one since the 15th century. She went to the right schools and hobnobbed with anyone who's anyone when it comes to the aristocracy. Alanna, however, had the dreadfully bad judgment to be born female, which means that all of the above titles will (someday) go to her younger half-brother, and not to her.

• Automobiles -- The Grey-Woodville family has a history of enthusiasm for automobiles and racing, and this is one of the few things Alanna shares with the rest of them. She wrecked several of her grandfather's collection of irreplaceable classic cars before he banned her from driving them, so now she mostly sticks to German and Japanese exotics that might as well be purpose-built to make anyone with old-fashioned tastes angry.

• Music -- Her grandfather wanted her to learn to play the piano, so she learned how to play the guitar instead. She isn't all that good, really -- not a natural performer and not dedicated enough to make up for it -- but she's rich and good-looking, so there's a certain type of band that will give her unchallenging rhythm parts as an excuse to have her pay for transport or equipment and then stand on stage looking hot.

• Revelry -- In her teens and early twenties Alanna was notorious for the sort of antics that earn coverage in the tabloids, enough so that unflattering comparisons were drawn to her equally infamous father's youthful indiscretions. Ever since the fire that destroyed Westheath House, she's been much more restrained, but she still loves to drink, dance, and enjoy herself, often in the company of one of a succession of older gentlemen.