#CharactersTell Side Character Week - Interview with Thompson Kross

We start up another week in this first month of summer with a new interview! As always, the third week is dedicated to Side Characters, and for tonight we have quite the intriguing guest. I have to admit, I didn't have the pleasure to speak with a full-bloodied knight yet, and this was a pleasant first!

Tonight's guest is Thompson Kross, a Knight of the Kingdom of Erdoria and Lord of Karkoss, who's sworn to protect Princess Amarette - who seems to have put him in a bit of a problem, despite being a lovely woman.

Quite the intense gaze too!

He comes from Charlotte Ducharme's fantasy novel "The Last Dragon Rider" - Charlotte is a lovely woman who seems to have a very interesting, fantastical world to give us access to through her writing!

You can find her on Twitter following this link (where you should totally follow her!) https://twitter.com/Charleywriting

She also has a blog where she covers a number of aspects of writing - not only technical, but emotional as well, as for example some suggestions to get over self-doubt. You can check it out following this link! https://charleywritesblog.wordpress.com/

But let's get to know Thompson, shall we?

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And here we are at the third week of June! Damn, the time seems to fly during the summer… but that ain’t stopping us! We’re back to the Side Characters as per usual, and tonight we have another interesting guest - would you please introduce yourself, your book and your author to our audience?

Alright, hello I am Thompson Kross, Lord of Karkross and I suppose a side character of The Last Dragon Rider, although last time I checked knights were often the main heroes… But I guess the hero is the beautiful Marvelle, who is a Dragon Rider so it is fitting. My author is Charlotte Ducharme.

Oh my, hello there! By the way you’re describing yourself and your world, I dare say we’re venturing into some unusual territory here - can you please tell us a bit more about the world you live in?

I have been told my world is different than yours. I come from a Kingdom called Erdoria that split apart in rebellion from our mother Kingdom, Khelan, centuries ago. We follow King Rohar and I serve his daughter, Princess Amarette, as her sworn knight and guard. It is not the only Kingdom though, there are many others, my ancestors from one called Eskar, but I have never left my Kingdom before.

The life of a knight seems pretty interesting there. How did you end up in that position? Is that something you always strived on? Or was this something you wouldn’t have expected?

I was actually born into the position as a Lord which gave me access to combat training. Through that I learned that my love was the sword, and I wanted to become the best knight that Erdoria had ever seen. I swore my vow to become a knight also to give my sister the proper title of Lady of Karkross, giving up my own birthright. She was far more suited for the role than me. But I suppose I always have wanted to be a knight.

I’m glad you found your life’s calling then. Is it all you expected it to be? Or are there some sides of it that you discovered you might not agree with? Sometimes we idealize or think about a position so much we can’t see its drawbacks after all…

It is far more complicated than I initially thought, especially when it comes to vows and honor. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what is the right thing to do, what is the honorable thing to do, and which path I should follow… I love what I do, I love protecting the Princess, but such questions can keep me up at night.

Have you ever found yourself disobeying or ‘forgetting’ your vows for something you found morally more righteous? For example turning a blind eye as a starving kid ‘borrows’ some bread, or something along those lines.

… Sometimes it can be hard to decide on what I should do in those situations. When one starts to pick and choose which rules to obey and which to break then what is the point of such rules anyway? I am only human however… Some rules are too strict, and in some cases it is higher justice to not allow a unjust punishment to take place… that is all I will say on the subject though, as to not dishonor my family.

Completely understandable, indeed. I imagine honor is one of the most important things for a knight. Let’s change the subject a bit - tell us about your protegee. You say you protect Princess Amarette, right? What sort of person is she?

Princess Amarette is… she is the jewel of our Kingdom. She is patient, and kind, although quiet. Personally she has always treated me with respect and she is someone that I would be glad to give my life for.

I’m definitely glad to hear that...it does sound like there’s something more underneath that response, but I won’t be prying too much. Is there anyone you really can’t stand, instead?

Her uncle, Prince Tirius. I would never say it to his face, but there is something about the man that bothers me, let alone that he hates me. He calls me a “vapid nobleman” I’ve heard. I don’t quite care enough to give him a response though.

Some people really don’t even deserve the time of day to respond to them. Tell us about the story - how did you get involved into it?

What happened was that the Princess was set to be married to Prince Corrad of our mother Kingdom, Khelan. Although she “disappeared”, most thinking she was kidnapped. I went with the Lord of the Valley of the Dragons Marc Lavelle to go and look for her in the Draconic Forest, only to find that the Princess was in his castle with his sister, they had run away with the help of another girl and were in hiding to escape the marriage… I had taken vows to protect the Princess, which is how they got me looped into their foolish plans.

Wow. That does sound like quite the complicated situations to be in. But… vows aside, do you agree with her? Do you think she’d be happier with someone else than with Prince Corrad?

It is not for me to say. My Eskarian culture puts different emphasis on different matters. We find it important to let a lady choose who she wants to marry. Things are not the same in Erdoria. If the rumors are true and Prince Corrad is as dangerous as some say, then I do not think that she should be forced to marry him. But… I am not the King, and so it is not my decision to make. All I can say is that I would not let my own sister marry him.

I think that definitely says a lot… since we’re speaking about love, by the way. I don’t know if you’re aware, but we’re currently in Pride month. How does your world fare in that respect? Is there acceptance for different kinds of relationships?

As with most things, it does depend on the culture. I have heard in the culture of the Islands they are alright with it, my friend Tario says that his family accepts it fine with his brother. In Eskar where my culture is rooted it is not something we speak about often, although it isn’t shunned as far as I know. In Erdoria it seems to be much the same way, no one truly speaks of it, although I do not see such relationships often.

I understand completely. And I can definitely imagine how, in a culture where succession to power seems to be coming through bloodlines, things might be a bit more complicated as well. Are you aware of any instances when that happened? We swear we won’t tell you told.

Not in our Kingdom, although there is another Kingdom called Ilnya with a famous tale of two Lords who ruled together. It was said that their love was strong. One of the Lords fathered a bastard and the two named that child their successor. So it is not unheard of. But as you said it would be very complicated. Such matters are already complicated. But that Kingdom seemed to make it work without issue, if the story was a true one.

That’s very nice to hear, that they managed to make it work! And what about you? Are you interested in someone? And...have you ever had interest for someone of your own gender?

I have never had true interest in my own gender as I have with women, although there are many fine looking men around me. But no, at the moment the most beautiful person I can see is Marvelle Lavelle. My heart is hers if she wishes.

My my~ And by someone who takes vows and their word as seriously as you, that might make for quite the intriguing story! Anyway… unfortunately we’re getting out of time for tonight - is there anything you wish to say to our audience? Anything at all!

Hm… Well I suppose all I would say to them is to enjoy their lives. Life is meant to be lived and we were created to enjoy the world we live in. Perhaps that was too deep and you were looking for something more common. I’m not sure, I am not used to being interviewed!

Who knows, perhaps this will become more common in the future~ But that was a wonderful message. Thank you so much for coming tonight! It was a pleasure having you!

Thank you for giving me the time to speak! You are a wonderful interviewer, this was pleasant.

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And that does it for this week's blog interview! I have to say, talking with him was quite the interesting experience, and it's always nice to see someone who takes values like honor and duty so seriously.

As always, a reminder that YOU can have YOUR characters interviewed on this blog too! Just send me a message on Twitter! You can find my profile on the sidebar, or follow this link: https://twitter.com/m_arbanassi

Thank you all for coming around! Come back next week to meet a new Background Character!

Toodles~

#CharactersTell Background Characters Week - Interview with Lauren

May is closer and closer to end, and now we approach the last full week of the month before the three days of the bonus round! As always, this week is reserved to the characters we don't see much of in any book - the faceless masses, the ones we mention in passing, that we glimpse like the blinking light of ships in an unending night (yes, I'm feeling poetic today): the background characters!

Our guest for tonight is Lauren - a very young, but very driven and determined lady, who is gonna tell us a bit more about her life in school, with her family and her dreams.

She comes from Twisted Fate, the upcoming novel from K.A. Grayson. She's a lovely author who's working on a number of titles, of which Twisted Fate is just one of them! She has the fuel to go on forever!

You can find her on Twitter, of course, using this link right here. She has a Facebook page too, which you should totally go and like, and she has a blog as well, that is reachable through this link!

But, with that being said - let's get to know Lauren!

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With this, we’re concluding the month, and as always we do that by taking a look at some of the characters overlooked by the authors in their books - the Background Characters! And to do this tonight, we have our new guest here! Would you please introduce yourself, your writer and the book you’re from?

Hey, I’m Lauren… I usually go by Elle. I’m a senior in high school, looking forward to graduating in May. My writer is K.A. Grayson and I guess I’m from their book The Kendrick Chronicles: Book One - Twisted Fate.

Welcome Lauren! Mh, I’m not entirely up to speed with the US scholastic system. You say you’re a senior in HS, so that makes you...how old? Do you feel your age? Are you more mature or less mature than your peers?

I’m 17 currently, 18 in July. Always felt older though and definitely more mature than the guys I go to school with. *laughs* Well, the girls too for that matter. I don’t know, I guess I’m the quiet, overly-serious one in my little group of friends, even though we all get into trouble. *shrugs*

That’s quite interesting. It’s a good thing to have your head on your shoulders at that age, but what made you this serious? Do you have any siblings? How’s life at home?

Funny you should ask that and then follow it with do I have siblings. *laughs uncomfortably* Well, I have an older brother. Seven years older and he and my dad don’t get on well. Dad’s got a shop… fixes cars. It’s been in our family for like… four or five generations. Wanted my brother to take it over, but he booked it to Philly so… that left me here at home. Dad’s serious. I’m supposed to be… I try. *laughs* Uhm, but he’s gonna be mad when I graduate because cars… ugh, I’m a girl for heaven’s sake. I don’t want dirt and grease under my nails, ya know?

I can completely understand that point of view. Do you ever feel like you had to be more mature and serious for your age due to the strained relationship between your dad and your older brother? You know, a sort of ‘there’s already too much on the plate for me to add more weight to it’.

Oh yes, definitely. And he’s not the kind of guy you can just have a normal conversation with. Maybe he was a bit more laid back when my brother was still at home, but I was too little to remember. All I know is that I can’t talk to him about what I REALLY want to do. Mom knows, but Dad… I don’t dare tell him until I have that tassel swished over on my graduation cap if you know what I mean. He’s scary when he’s mad.

You seem to have some very specific plans about your future, though. What sort of career are you going to pursuit? You said your mother knows, so you seem pretty bent on that choice if you risked them talking about it. Or… well, are your parents not really the ‘speak to each other’ kind?

They’ve been married… *thinks for a moment* twenty years? I think?  Anyway, Mom works for the newspaper in a different town so she’s got long hours and they don’t talk much when she is home. But when I do catch her, we talk about my plans. She’s all for it. Actually told me to keep my lips buttoned about it until I’m done with school. *smiles happily* I’m going to be a Vet!

Ohhh! A vet! As an animal lover myself, I don’t have anything against that sort of choice! When did you find out about your love for animals? Do you have any favorite?

Oh I LOVE animals! I kind of… and don’t let my Dad know this… I’ve had a make-shift animal rescue that I’ve kept hidden from him since I was six years old. He thinks I’m just overly sentimental about it all when he catches me checking out roadkill on the side of the road. *laughs* But if it’s alive I’m MAKING him pull over so I can see if I can help. Mom’s a bit better about it, let me rescue a momma turtle that got hit once. Cringed the whole time, but I got it in the back seat. *smiles*

That’s indeed very sweet of you, and hey, it’s all good work experience for your plans. But...well, you’re old enough to know it’s not all rose and flowers and saved animals. Do you think you’ll have trouble adapting to the...harsher realities of the job?

I hope so. My friend, Dee… she tells me that even though I’ll have to dissect animals in school… and learn how to euthanize them too, that I’m ultimately helping. I really hope I can do that part ‘cause this is all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was little, ya know?

I get what you mean. And I’m sure you’ll be able to pull it off, even if it’s not going to be easy. And you do have quite a lot of studying ahead of you. I suspect you already know that chemistry and biology will be quite important...have you ever experimented? Did it ever go badly?

I don’t think I’d call it ‘experimenting’, but there have been animals I haven’t been able to save. I’ll admit, I cry when that happens. Mom tries to assure me that having a big heart is okay and not everyone will be cut out for this line of work. But I’m determined and it’s a good thing I like chem and bio. *smiles* I actually help tutor for both of those already so I’m sure I’ll do fine in college.

You seem to put yourself on the line quite a lot. And we all know High School is not exactly the kindest place on Earth when it comes to certain behaviours. Did this eagerness and this way of pursuing your interest ever bitten you in the rear in your social life?

Yeah, I learned early on not to talk about my love for animals around certain people. The guys on the football team for one. They’re super mean and tease you relentlessly if you show any kind of ‘weakness’.  Didn’t know wanting to help animals was a ‘weakness’ but whatever. I just smile, shake my pom poms at their games and try to ignore everything else. I won’t date a jock, that’s for sure. Have my eye on a musician anyway. *winks*

A cheerleader too, huh? I can imagine that might bring you closer to musicians than jocks, considering how rhythm is important in that. How about your cheerleading companions? Did they ever give you any trouble?

The girls? Noooo, they’re all great. I mean, they tease me because I have THE BIGGEST crush on Dee’s brother. *sighs* He’s a guitarist and I could just listen to him play all day, but I don’t exist to him really. Dee’s trying to wear him down though. Wish me luck! *laughs*

Attacks on both fronts, I like it. Good strategical thinking. Lower his defenses then go in for the kill. And well, did you already have experiences in terms of sentimental life? Or is he the first boy you’ve had a crush on?

I’ve had a crush on him since grade school. What is WRONG with me? *laughs* He flirts every now and then, but then… I think he flirts with lots of girls. Wants to be a rockstar. Thinks he’s all that… but I know what he’s like beneath it all. Spent a lot of time at their house hanging out with Dee, ya know? Behind-the-scenes Chris is a whole lot different that he is in public. He’s almost… awkwardly sweet. And I kind of like that quality. *smiles*

There’s nothing wrong with you, that’s for sure! And I can imagine that might be the case, behind the rockstar front...Anyway, I’m afraid we’re almost out of time for tonight’s interview. Is there anything you’d like to tell to our audience? Whatever you want!

Hmmm, well… I guess something a little inspirational? Just follow your heart and your passion where it leads you and hopefully the right people will be there at just the right time. *smiles*

That’s a lovely message! Thanks again for your time tonight, Lauren, it’s been an absolute pleasure to meet you. And I hope the best for you and your dreams! Can’t wait to see more about your world in Twisted Fate!

Thanks for having me! This was a lot of fun!

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Before our goodbyes today, a little announcement! If you don't have enough of interviews, you might want to take a look at Interviews From The Void, from the amazing Arthur Macabe! This week interview is with yours truly, where we talk about the importance of characters, the experience as an author not being a native english speaker, and other amazing things! It was an absolute blast to be in this interview and you guys should absolutely give them a shot, they go very in depth in writing techniques and other important aspects of the process!

With that being said, this concludes our interviews for May! But the summer isn't gonna stop us - we'll be back the first of June to interview a new interesting Main Character, so be sure to stay tuned! Of course, as always, YOU can have YOUR characters interviewed on this blog by sending me a direct message on Twitter - from there I'll sort you out!

See ya around, gorgeous people!

#CharactersTell Main Character Week - Interview with Tweety

And here we are again with a new month! It's May, it's International Workers' Day, and for such an occasion we have an interesting character to interview!

Lovely lady as well as gorgeous!

Today's guest is Tweety, from the Red Letter Series a Women's Fiction New Adult work with romantic undertones. She's an upbeat, fiery redhead that works at the Soulful, this very interesting club that seems to be located in Jersey! She's surrounded by colorful (and sharpie-happy, in some cases) friends and co-workers, in an environment that definitely feels alive and intriguing!

Here's a rare glimpse of the author!

The book is penned by Nicole, who on Twitter goes by the name Ladyofmind (and where you should absolutely follow her using this link!) You can find her on Instagram as well, as usual following this handy link, and do keep an eye on her blog on Tumblr too! It's right here on this link!

So! Are we all ready for May? I surely hope you are, because here we go, starting again with this new interview! Enjoy!

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And here we are, back with another month! And of course this means getting back to our Main Characters, like our lovely guest of today! Can you please introduce yourself, your author and your book for us?

Hello there, Tweety here! I’m from the Red Letters series from the author behind the ladyofmind twitter account. Spoilers you know? But I can say that the first book is nearly ready, going by Red Letters, Sinful Sunrise. All about how I got my start in this lovely bar business!

Oh, that does tie pretty perfectly with the theme for this week! Today is the International Work and Workers day. So, how did you come across this job at the bar? What sort of bar it is? And what were you doing before being employed there?

“Is it really? I suppose that means drinks are on me for the night.” Loud cheering distracts her a moment. “I’m sorry? Oh, Soulful is my nightclub and bar now. Lots of music and parties, fun patrons, crazy staff. Funny enough, we all started at this place called Sinful, but well, it was time for a change.”

That’s a very evocative name. And with a name like that, I can imagine it having quite the colorful crowd. I know a couple of people who’d be attracted by it…What city is it based in?

A moment of giggling before Tweety dared to answer this. “You know those places that you either know about them or you don’t? That’s us. Many have guessed, many show up to different clubs thinking it’s us. Copycatting is good business. But the real party stays closer to Jersey if one must give a hint.”

That’s a pretty interesting hint! How is Jersey this time of the year? The weather is getting warmer, and we’re approaching the hot season. Do you enjoy it?

“Oh us girls love it! Soul finally built a pool area out back, so we can fit more people and stretch the crazy. Right now the weather’s fine, about to come up on some big things, like Martini man and his label party. Also planning a Double Trouble birthday bash. So it will be nice to get outside again, if only to close the sliding doors and ignore the streakers, and man thongs.”

Wouldn’t being outside near a pool expose people more to man thongs? And a Double Trouble Birthday Bash? I’ll need at least some explanation on that one. I think it’s the first time I heard that term.

“Yes deary, when the man thongs come out, Miss Tweety tends to go back inside. Depends of course on who’s in the thong, but I do have a bar to run, so someone has to be responsible.” A wicked little smile only grows at discussing this birthday bash. “You must be new to my club if you don’t know about Double or Triple Trouble girls. In that case, my apologies. It’s coming up on my birthday, and Bebe shares the same exact day, so we throw a big bash. I’m thinking we need to get that woman a mechanical bull so she stops riding Nira around. But I am worried what she might do for me in return. Bebe’s gotten into this habit of tagging men, and we all know about her whipped cream fascination...”

...Well, now I really want to get a lot more familiar with your bar. And you definitely seem like you’re having quite a bit of fun working there. Have you ever envisioned this as being the direction your life was going to take?

“It’s fun because I make it fun, we’ve made such a better atmosphere here, getting rid of all the bad vibes from that first place. Soulful is the place to let loose and be you, no matter your fascinating quirks. You will earn a nickname, but that’s all love. As for your other question? Never in a million years. Who knew walking into a bar would turn into a business, family, a home and a decent life that helped us all figure out who we are?”

Hey, nicknames are good. No issue being given a nickname here. And, while I absolutely appreciate how well you seem to go along with the others and your attitude...work still tends to be work. What are the most stressful things there? Or is there some of your duties you really don’t appreciate?

“We were smart, splitting the duties, Nira is in charge of the back end of the business, I run the front. I have a much higher tolerance, and tend not to show my stress as easily. It’s actually become a game of sorts, with pranks and all, to see who can make me crack. Why it’s an honor to get yelled at by me, I don’t know. But there are people here, staff included, who enjoy teasing me. Sometimes it’s strange, like the couple of geniuses who tried to turn the pool into a giant jello mold. Other times it hits closer than I like to admit.” Nods over to a jumping energetic woman. “Bebe tops everyone anyway. Streaks, double entendres, makes me blush as red as my hair, you name it, that girl does it. After all, it’s not really Trouble as a nickname if your not up to something.”

I can imagine in a place like this it might take sometime to you know, get a feel for the limits of someone new. And Bebe does sound like quite fun to be around...even if it might be too much sometimes. Do you go along this well with all your coworkers or is there someone you really can’t stand?

“I’ve built my business on my kind demeanor. Of course people have rubbed me the wrong way, I mean… there is all this drama from past places. But that has been handled, I think, and we have moved on since then. Either those people are out of my life, or the more aggressive sorts of patrons make friends with my bouncer friends. I really don’t know who’s scarier. Bebe, or Frost with the whole giant Scot don’t-make-fun-of-my-kilt approach. Maybe it’s Malta, the Cockney waitress, dancing tornado, third member of Triple Trouble, who frequently tries to drink the Scot under the table. It’s nice having odd friends, they can scare off more people than I could possibly charm, if they really tried.”

After all, surrounding yourself with the right people is almost an art, and for a business like a pub is a downright necessity. Anyway! I’m afraid the time for tonight is almost up! Do you want to say anything to our audience?

Giggles erupt, as Tweet grabs a napkin and a pen. “You don’t know the half of it! First, I should warn you that Bebe has her sights on you. Guessing you’ve made her work while monopolizing my time.” Writing quick notes about “#16” before Tweety smiles and waves. “Please don’t hesitate to visit Soulful, anytime… I would love to meet you all!”

Riiiight. Giggles and now I have a big ‘16’ drawn on my arm. She is a quick one with that sharpie, isn’t she? That’s… unusual. Then again, from what you told me I might not find it unpleasant. It’s been an absolute pleasure Tweety! Can’t wait to read more about you and Soulful in the Red Letter books! Thank you for your time!

...And do put a good word with Bebe. This interviews are for a good cause. Actually, what’s with the 16? Any idea what I might have to expect?

“Anytime deary, and I could try, but I don’t quite know why you’ve tickled her fancy. It’s only sharpie, and you’re lucky it’s your arm. Last one needed new pants… Good luck?”

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Well, that was... interesting. I'm kinda worried, but with all we came to learn about the place, I do have to admit I'm excited as well. I think it's the streaking mention.

But! With that, our weekly interview is concluded! As always do remember that you can have YOUR characters interviewed on this blog! Just send me a Direct Message on Twitter (you can find the link on the right hand side bar!) and I'll get you sorted!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go make sure the sharpie isn't permanent...

#CharactersTell Side Character Week - Interview with Gerard Collins

And we're back for another week of #CharactersTell, as always! And luckily we're getting closer to the good season, because our guest for today is brought from a story that has plenty to do with the water, the ocean and mermaids!

Our guest tonight is Gerard Collins, a young Irish man working at the market for the moment, in a world similar but so very much different from ours. He's one of the secondary characters in J.Avis's Aquaria Oceana, her fantasy set in an alternate version of our 1925. Gerard seems like a very pleasant person, eager to help Gemma and Kelley, and helping the former make sure her secrets are safe.

Bright sun and brighter smile!

J.Avis is a lovely person, who you can find on Twitter (and where you should totally follow her through this link!) She's fond of the ocean and has...quite the interesting focus on mermaids, which shows in her work! Speaking of which: you can find the prequel for Aquaria Oceana on her Wattpad,  in its own miniseries!

She has a Spotify as well, which you can find here and a Pinterest, which is easily reached with this link.

But enough with the intros! Let's get to know Gerard, shall we?

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And we’re back with another week of #CharactersTell, and with it, we’re back with one of the most important elements of a book - sidecharacters! The ones helping driving the plot forward, giving interesting external insights and so on. So! Would you please introduce yourself, the book your in and your author, please?

Gerard: I’m Gerard Collins, I live in Clew Bay Ireland, i’m from the Aquaria Oceana series, J. Avis is recording our story for us. It’s mostly about Gemma (her real name is Aquaria) and Kelley. We’re just here to help them.

Oh my! Another Irish! There’s more than I expected, along with Zoe. So, how’s life there in Clew Bay? Is it where you grew up? Or did you move there? And what do you do for a living?

I’ve been here my whole life, my whole family lives here. I grew up with Kelley and Lucy in Clew. I work in one of the markets in town, I tried working at the docks like Kelley, but that

kind of life wasn’t what I want. I prefer to be close to home and get home every night to Lucy.

My, do I sense a romance? Are you and this Lucy…? When did that happen? Was it something you always thought would happen since you grew up together, or is it something that dawned on you both later along the line?

Lucy is my fiance, and Kelley’s little sister. We have had an interesting relationship over the years. It took us about 4 years to actually get together. I wanted to date her for as long as I can remember, but her best friend at the time, always told her she didn’t have a chance with me. I hate Lyla for that.

All well what ends well though, right? What about this Lyla? Is she still trying to mess around with your life together? From the way you phrased that, you seem to think she had ulterior motives to keep Lucy away from you…

Ugh. Lyla is pretty bad. She has tried to keep us apart for years, she still tries, and stopped talking to Lucy because of it. Her motives are shady, I know what they are, Lucy doesn’t. I intend to keep it that way until someone else allows me to tell her. Not my secret to tell. Lyla also knew that I wanted to be with Lucy for years, but enjoys manipulation and making Lucy miserable.

Ouch. Yeah, she seems like a pretty bad actor in your lives. Luckily she stopped talking with Lucy after you two got together. So! What do you like to do in your free time? And, what sort of job did you apply to at the docks? I mean, there are some positions that don’t require you to go out at sea.

When I’m not with Lucy, usually training, Kelley whooped my ass this past year in the ring, and every time we are at the underground. How jobs work at our age is a little weird. While you are in your last year of school, you are sent to work half the day somewhere in town. They let you try out different ones for a week or so. You are given a position and you take what you are given. We were just extra hands at the docks. Helping the merchants, fishermen & pirates, load and unload their hauls. I like working in the shops, the docks, you always have to be armed, and Lucy couldn’t visit me on my lunch breaks. She does now that I work at the market.

Oh dear, that does bring up some interesting questions! First… what sort of shop are you working in? But most importantly, when is this story taking place? By how you’re describing it, it doesn’t seem like it’s anywhere close to our times.

I just work in the market, mostly groceries are there, other small things as well. We also have a small cafe in the back of the shop. Its 1925 when the first book takes place. But our world is different than yours, a few hundred years ago, Poseidon helped the pirates take over all the rulers on land, they have an accord on how things are run. Poseidon is King of everything and everywhere, Pirates run the land under his control. It works well. His children are in control of different regions of the sea. That little change made things different here than most other worlds.

My my! Very interesting! Is it how you got involved into the plot of this book? How did you get in touch with Gemma? What are your thoughts about her and Kelley?

Well, Kelley has been my best friend since we were five. We had gotten into a fight a couple of months before the book takes place, so I’m not in the very beginning when Gemma arrives. Gemma lives with Kelley’s family right now, and will be there for the next four years, until her wedding. I want her to be with Kelley, they are perfect together. They even each other out, and make sure that they are happy when together, even though its completely illegal. Merpeople and Humans are not supposed to be together unless they are set in this damn arrangement that Poseidon made with the Pirates in that accord. I want them to run away together, but it’s hard to accomplish that with Poseidon as her father.

I mean, considering what you told me about Poseidon, and how all the land seems to be under his control as well, I can imagine that being quite the difficult undertaking. You do work in a market, in a world full of pirates though...is that what makes you helpful in this book? Smuggling must be still alive and well, just for some other party.

I’m not in the smuggling business, I don’t want those consequences on me. My job is just temporary, I’ll be moving up to the bank in about a year or two. I’m set to take my father’s job. He is one of the town leaders, and gets to choose his successor. He wants me to take his position, so that will be more helpful than working at the market. The most interaction I have with the pirates is delivering supplies to their ships, and helping Kelley and Gemma fight them off when they try to take advantage of Gemma. She has to keep her powers on lock to keep her identity a secret.

Sounds like a dangerous balance you have to keep to make sure things turn out ok… And quite the interesting read as well. And I’m sure a position in leadership will be very helpful to your cause! Unfortunately, I’m afraid we’re running out of time for tonight - is there anything you’d like to tell to our readers? You have the stage, whatever you want!

That was faster than I thought it would be. Once J finishes editing everything, readers should keep an eye out for it. It’s a great story, Gemma & Kelley have a rough experience, but everything happens for a reason, right? Those experiences are what make us into the people we are, or in Gemma’s case mermaid. Thanks for having me, hopefully we will talk soon.

Thank you for coming! It’s been an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to see more of your stories! Goodnight!

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And there you have it! Such a nice, upstanding lad, even in such a weird world like the one he lives in! And hey, gotta love some Irish representation, right?

Anyway, for today this is all! As always, do keep in mind that YOU can have YOUR characters interviewed on these slots! Just message me on Twitter (link is in the right-hand sidebar!) to get yourself sorted in one of the slots!

See you soon!!