Mrs. Ruth first appeared in my 1989 novel, Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light, as avatar of the Crone. She's cranky and pragmatic and gave voice to one my favourite bits of dialogue. In answer to an Adept of the Light telling a frightened young man, "Your scar is a Warrior's mark. Wear it proudly." Mrs. Ruth replied, "What bloody help is that? Prompt medical attention and it may not scar at all."
I kind of love Mrs. Ruth a lot. When invited into an anthology called Maiden, Matron, Crone (I have no idea why they chose to use Matron not Mother), I promptly pulled Mrs. Ruth out of retirement.
The year I wrote this story, a child was abducted out of her home in the Annex in the middle of the night by someone who broke in and drugged her to keep her quiet. Years later, I can't remember how things ended for the child, but I have a niggling sense it wasn't good. At the time, this was the only thing I could do about it...