Meet Aden, The First Unicorn

Today I wanted to tell you a little about Aden, The First Unicorn.

When a writer builds a story, one of the most important pieces is the character. Who are they? What is their name? What does that name mean? What do they look like? What is their personality like?

It can seem like a simple decision from the outside, but for authors it often becomes one of the most time-consuming parts of the entire process. Readers usually never see how much thought goes into something as small as a name, but it can shape the entire world of the story.

So today, I want to introduce you to Aden.

Aden the Unicorn… Why that name? To explain that, I actually need to start with the illustrations.

I’m a child of the ’80s: a very “girly girl” ’80s kid who absolutely adored unicorns, Rainbow Brite, She-Ra, My Little Pony, Care Bears, and anything pink, sparkly, and colorful. In my imagination, unicorns were always white with rainbow-colored hair. Heck even the Unicorn Academy went this way and I give them kudos for doing so. But I had to make sure I didn’t portray my unicorn in an light other than the light that was intended.

It was sad though… That version of unicorns felt joyful to me. Full of color, promise, and wonder. But in today’s world, the rainbow does not mean what I’d like for it to mean, and most parents are second guessing their decisions, so I had to shy away from my childhood color pallet and go for one color only. But which one?

Blue for boy, could go political. He wasn’t a girl, so not pink. Purple to meet in the middle didn’t feel right. I didn’t want black, brown, tan or blonde (everyone else uses those hair colors.)

The more I considered it, the more I realized how many associations people attach to something as basic as color. This was not an easy decision!

I found myself thinking carefully about how to visually represent Aden in a way that felt right for this world, in this time, and this story. I didn’t want him to feel ordinary, but I also didn’t want his design to distract from the heart of the story.

I would think through one option, and then realize it carried meanings or expectations I didn’t want unintentionally shaping the character. Then I would try another, and run into the same issue from a different angle. Even something as innocent as a design choice can sit in the middle of cultural, social, and personal interpretations.

What I wanted was something that felt unique to Aden without pulling the reader’s attention away from who he is at his core.

Eventually, I landed on red—not because it avoided all interpretation, but because it felt bold, clear, in a way that served the character rather than competing with him.

Red felt bold. Distinct. Uncommon enough to stand out, but still natural enough to belong in a living world. Even red hair in real life tends to lean more orange than true red, so this felt like a strong visual choice that made him unique without feeling artificial.

And for me, that choice also carried deeper symbolic meaning within the story. His red hair can be seen as pointing to the blood of Christ, his white fur as purity, and his golden horn as light. These were not random aesthetic choices, but layers that emerged as the character came into focus within the spiritual framework of the story.

Once that piece clicked, I began searching for a name.

Because I’m Irish, I naturally started with Irish baby names and Gaelic roots. That’s where I found “Aden,” meaning little fire. It immediately fit. The name carries associations of warmth, energy, and passion, which aligned beautifully with his character.

There’s also a connection some people make between Aden and “Eden,” as in the Garden of Eden, which felt meaningful in its own way within the larger story.

As the story continued, I reached some of the most challenging sections of the novel. I worked with a theologian and rewrote the final chapters several times until everything felt aligned with the heart of what I was trying to communicate. When it finally came together, it felt like the different threads of the story were connecting in a way I hadn’t fully expected when I began.

It also opened the door to new stories: The First Cardinal, The First Narwhal, The First Arctic Wolf. Those children’s picture books are still in development, and may take time as illustration is a detailed and costly process, but they are part of the world that is growing from this story.

And honestly, I’m in awe of how this creative journey has unfolded.

So in the meantime, I’d love to introduce you to Aden, The First Unicorn.

The award-winning children’s picture book and bedtime story has been available on Amazon for years, and the full-length novel has just been released.

If you’re curious, go take a look—and step into the story.