The soup-thick moisture in the air gave the illusion of solidity, as if she could step off her perch and sink into a black feathered bed . . . . One false step, and she would break her neck. This narrow shelf was intended as decoration, not as a walkway for the Bond Street Burglar. So take a good, close look at how you present your characters. Write a scene where she rescues a dog from a gang of bullies or makes chicken soup for a bedridden neighbor.
All good books touch the reader on an emotional level.
And hopefully, in the process, readers will find themselves drawn into the story, unable to put the book down.