#CharactersTell Antagonist Week - Interview with Lizbeth

Here we are again for our interviews as promised!

I know some of you might think it as cheating, but hey...that would be totally in line with the sort of people we're talking about today!

I took the liberty of inviting to this interview one of my own antagonists - Lizbeth, in short Liz. She's a tough one, and honestly not very easy to work with - quick to anger, quick to violence, and what's worse, reveling in it. You don't learn her name in the book - but when you meet her, you most assuredly recognize her.

She comes from Tiogair, my newest published novel - it's a cyber-fantasy thriller with heavy erotica elements, and it's available for purchase on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions - and people with Kindle Unlimited can read it for free too!!

You can find Tiogair here: https://amzn.to/2NqGPjH

But - let's cut to the chase and get to know Liz...and hopefully not get killed.

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Well, hello there...it's been a while since we had a proper chat. Would you mind introducing yourself to our audience, please?

Was it now? As if you don't overwork me enough with all the questions on that social media of yours, Twitter... A girl has some things to tend to, you know? I still haven't finished playing with the new toy I got gifted with in your book. Anyway - hello lovelies. I'm Liz! I'm a nice person, whatever he might try to tell you. You can say that up to recently I ran a pretty well managed operation in a difficult part of town.

You can say that again... what she's trying to say, is that she was involved in an Oldtown illegal pleasure house as the manager.

Oh, please, you make it sound so dirty when you say that in such a tone. I wasn't doing anything that a lot of other people do in our condition. You know very well that the living conditions in Oldtown aren't really the best. You have to get by with what you have.

You...do have a point. I guess. Not a justification, but a point. But I highly doubt this was always your life... Or was it?

My my, if even my author doesn't know if this was always my life I'm in really good hands, ain't I? Honestly, I am quite worried. Might need to look into that. But far from me from letting such a nice segue. No, it definitely wasn't always my life. I had a very nice life back in the day. Then things went to shit.

I'm sorry to hear that. How was your life before this? This month we're themed on education - what sort of schools did you go to?

I was a...pretty lackluster child, to be perfectly honest. I was born in a small family, a late and only child, and I went to public primary and secondary school. I was from Minnesota. It was all pretty uneventful...well, until university, that is. There things got a lot more interesting.

Interesting? Do you mean in a good or in a bad way?

Definitely a good way, trust me. I went to med school. I had some pretty good grades, and I always liked biology, so that was pretty much a good pick...my parents, bless them, did their best to support me. Then a car accident took them away from me. I finished paying the studies with the inheritance and I graduated...and in the middle of all that, I met Ian.

Huh...That...is quite the different side of you. You were a medic? I'm sorry, but honestly... that kinda clashes with what we see you do.

Does it really? Being a medic is only a term. I've come to the realization that things like oaths, or society, or anything else for that matter, hold very little sway on what things really are. I have medical training. I was a doctor. That training comes in handy. The oath is worthless.

I have to admit, that does sound a bit weird. If you went to medical school, I'm sure you held a very different view than that - what brought you to such a cynical view of the world?

The Gatecrash. Plain and simple. My life was good - we moved in a house here in Colorado Springs just a couple years before everything happened. We both worked at one of the hospitals. Then...the Gatecrash, the chaos...I lost everything. My eyes, too. My dignity, my honor, my safety...you...don't even know what the people that captured me did to me. That's when I figured out, if society really is just this kept together by laws and societal norms...then it's tantamount to nothing.

But you're here - and your eyes are fine. I mean...they're obviously cybernetics, but it clearly means you got out of there.

Sure you don't want to keep it for another story, Mr. Writer? Spilling those guts all over like this? You kinda remind me of Stripes. Do say hi to her from me, will you? I bet she misses me.

Ahem...just be vague.

You're the boss, and I am currently unemployed...I killed my captors. All of them. I stumbled into Oldtown as it was being formed...But the damage was already there. I already became who I am now. I died, and was reborn.

Did you need any other training for your new position?

Hah! Hah...Oh...that's a nice one. There's only one training in there, and it's the sort of 'school' that either kills you or makes you stronger and more powerful. I ain't dead and I was in quite the position of power - so...

Point taken...I'm afraid our time for tonight is near an end though. Anything you'd like to tell our audience?

Oh, sure, I'm certain you're so sorry that we have to cut our time together now...but I'll see you soon. I'm sure of it.

As for the rest of you...Not every monster is born a monster. Sometimes it takes just the right amount of bad to push anyone over the edge.

Isn't it right, Stripes? I know you're looking. How far were you from the edge that day?

Liz...

What? You asked me if I had anything to tell your audience. I'm sure she's there, if I'm here. Your fault for the words you use.

Right...Thanks for coming tonight. It's been...enlightening, at the very least. And if you all want, you can search for her in Tiogair. I can promise she's...just as lovely there too.

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Wow...ok, that was...surprisingly difficult. But hopefully fun for you all! But, this is unfortunately the time we have for tonight!

As always, a reminder that you can reserve YOUR spot on #CharactersTell blog interviews by writing to characterstell@gmail.com ! Reserve your slot now!!

And with that, I bid you goodnight~

Ta-ta!

#CharactersHell - Week 3: The Long Wait

Even if the watchful eye doesn't always slide over there, the pits of #CharactersHell never stop burning! Especially with the devilish co-hosting of @LadyofMind!

And in theme with the hell, one of the reasons we had to skip a week were the storms that kinda sorta made yours truly lose his step a bit, and end up having to miss a post... hopefully that won't happen anymore.

But! With that being said, let's delve into #CharactersHell, shall we?

COPYRIGHT HELL

We start this week's showcase of #CharactersHell with author A.S. McGowan, who brings us in a world where it seems that cocky rich people got away with their trademarking! What a horrible place to live! Katrine 5.0, her character, shows us some of the problems her world faces now...

#CharactersHell Kathryn 5.0 here and I am ticked. A moron trademarked the word baby. Now my daughter is called a little human. Another moron just trademarked the word heart. Have you ever tried to declare your love and having to replace the word heart with blood pumping organ? pic.twitter.com/Ld8igEgZh4

— A.S. McGowan (@authorASMcGowan) June 3, 2018

The ominous Trademark Commission is hot on her tail though....

Exaxtly our point. She is organizing marches claiming the trademarking of common words is unfair and the law is killing our language. We give people alternative words to use to replace the trademarked words. Just plain ungrateful - Trademark Commission

— A.S. McGowan (@authorASMcGowan) June 10, 2018

UNIONIZED HELL

As it seems, some characters had enough of their personal hells, and they decided to put up a union and start a strike!

In a heated discussion about their authors, some of the characters became fed up, and a certain villainous woman from a certain cyber-fantasy book, proposed to union to sort their grievances! Does her heinous ways know no bounds??

Liz: Know what? Strikes *do* sound like a good plan.
We really need a union.

— Manuel Arbanassi (@m_arbanassi) June 13, 2018

An idea that seemed to take on as bourbon kept being poured, enjoyed even  by ancient, supernatural beings. After all, it's not a good strike without bourbon.

Celeste: I don't know if it's strictly possible for me to strike, but this seems amusing, snd there's plenty of disgusting little beverages to try. I suppose you have my support too.

— Martyn Currill (@Maliceunchained) June 14, 2018

And tactics are getting discussed!

Tim- "How do we go about that union talk? I tend to follow a different sort of organization. More strikes, better story lines, less danger... I suppose that sounds good to some characters... #CharactersHell union local..." *Drinks* "IDK reporting for duty."

— Ladyofmind (@ladyofmind721) June 13, 2018

GRATEFUL DEVILS

We finish tonight's showcase dedicating some of our thoughts to our fathers - the authors' and the characters' both. If it wasn't for them, a lot of us wouldn't be around, and a lot of characters wouldn't exist so... Happy Father's Day people!

We just want to say Happy #FathersDay,

Whether you're the supportive sort, or the other kinds, if it wasn't for you #dads, we wouldn't have been motivated the way we have been. A special thanks to the fatherly figures that guided some of us too!

-Us #CharactersHell types pic.twitter.com/XfsZgDerJ7

— Ladyofmind (@ladyofmind721) June 17, 2018

And with that, we conclude this week's showcase! And remember, go follow the devilish co-host LadyOfMind to keep visiting our #CharactersHell !

Stay tuned for more!

#CharactersTell Background Character Week - Interview with Amanda Levi

And we're back for another week, and another #CharactersTell interview!

And as with every fourth week of the month, we're focusing on the background characters - the sort of people that live into your worlds, but that us, as readers, don't get to know much about: one of the faces in the crowds, one of the bodies hidden from sight in the houses of your books cities and villages, one of the drivers in the cars of that high-octane speed chase that just end up caught in the crossfire. They deserve some love too!

That's me! Some time ago...

Tonight we're hosting Amanda Levi. She's a woman, a wife and a mother coming from Cerulean Springs. A well mannered person, that tries to keep her neighborhood orderly along with her husband.

She comes from Tiogair, my recently released book now available on Kindle and Amazon - You can find the blogpost with the pitch, my experience writing it and all the links to get it following this link.
Of course, you can find me on Twitter (where you can follow me on this page). And if you wanna know more about me, there's the handy about section!


But! Let's get to it, shall we?

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Well, good evening there! Welcome to the blog! Would you please introduce yourself, your author and the book you're from, please?

Why yes. Good evening. I'm Amanda Levi, wife of Arnold Levi. I'm an housewife, and I tend to our child, Leonard. He's such a nice boy, he's ten now. We live in Cerulean Springs, ex Colorado Springs, in the Evergreen Boulevard gated community. I mean, at least we still have that. Even if things went...a bit downhill since the Gatecrash. I'm from Manuel Arbanassi's Tiogair, his newest novel. He called it a cyberfantasy thriller with erotica elements.

Can't say I really approve of his choice of Main Character, though.

Aren't we off to a great start... Interesting. Why don't you approve of that choice?

Well, it's simple, really. It's glorifying what can be considered a disease. I really can't understand how people can't see it. Not to mention, me and my husband have seen this woman and honestly? She's not a good role model. She's violent. Foul mouthed. Last time my husband spoke to her, she even threatened him, can you believe that? Just because he went to talk to that...damn orc woman that lives on the other side of the street. It wasn't enough that her gardening almost got us attacked, now she stubbornly keeps living in this area. It's just wrong, what will the children think? They'll think it's normal! Do you know she's not even from here? She came from Wales or something.

You do sound pretty opinionated on the manner. Some would even say... a bit on the extremist side? I know for a fact there is quite a bit of backlash against this point of view in your world.

Oh, please. Don't tell me you are one of those blind people as well? You all should listen to the morning broadcasts on Springtime radio with Tatiana Fairwater. That woman is a genius. She knows what's up. Everyone seems to hide behind the shield of us being 'racist' or some other awful epithet when we're just trying to look after humanity and the future generations. Tell me, did you know Gatecrashers are a lot less compatible with implantation technology? Human technology? Doesn't it sound strange to you?

Then again, you're barking against something that mutated a lot of the population. Between a quarter and a fifth. It's not something that has an easy solution, especially due to the fact society still does need people to function.

This is such a trite argument. I could understand it three years ago, after the riots - God, it was such a terrible time, we were locked in our houses for days! - But now? Now we need to face reality. We need to do something about the Gatecrashers, and Ether and all this...this weirdness! This is not a safe environment for us or our children!

Is this what puts your family into conflict with the Orc woman? By all accounts, she sounds like a lovely lady.

For the love of- Listen. Please. It's not that we didn't like July. She was a lovely woman, and we all know that, but since the Gatecrash we really can't let all these weird stuff spill over into our little community. We managed to be all spared by the Gatecrash except July, and what does that do for our kids? How-How do we explain this? We already have to send him to school with other weird kids, and it's all so normalized. We're not saying we hate Gatecrashers and Ether, but we need to face facts, as Tatiana says. We need to realize they're not *normal*. They're victims, but, again, as she said in her article she posted earlier this month, if they really had the best interest of our community in their mind, they'd take steps *themselves* to be studied and hopefully cured.

Who says they need a cure, though? I mean, there's plenty of Gatecrashers and Ether users that are perfectly integrated in all aspects of society. Doesn't that invalidate your point?

That's just anti-humanist propaganda. For every good example you can give me, there's plenty of others that completely disprove your points. For every doctor that uses Corpus Magic to do good, there's someone who suffers from C.D.E.D, Corpus Dis...basically, they become monsters. For every good application of alchemy, there's another weird, poisonous substance on the market. For every adjusted member of society there's some sort of new racist, anti-human Gatecrasher society. It's time to put a stop to this.

Well...I guess that's an interesting rebuttal. Anyway, I'm afraid we're kinda out of time for tonight. Anything you'd like to say?

I can see how it is. Let me tell you. You won't be able to deny us for much longer. People are starting to see the truth, and luckily I'm married to an amazing man who is still trying to do his best for the community. We'll see who's right or wrong when that happens. We just want the best.

I'm sure you do. Thank you for your time, Amanda. Have a nice evening.

Thank you for having me, I guess. Not for much else. Goodbye. I'll leave you the links to the morning broadcasts, please do listen to them.

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This concludes our brief (albeit intense) interview for tonight! I wonder what is it with characters from my book treating me badly...

But remember! You can have YOUR characters interviewed on this blog by sending me a direct message on Twitter! You can find the link to do so on the right-hand side of the page!

See you soon! Toodles!

TIOGAIR

Book pitch:

It's 2067. 

It's been 3 years since the Gatecrash, the cataclysmic event that mutated a quarter of the human population.
Magic - known as Ether - returned to the world, and monsters roam again in the wilderness, crossing the portals opening to unknown worlds that appear throughout the globe. 

As a constant reminder of this event stands the azure sphere of chaotic energy, glowing in the hills northeast of ex-Colorado Springs, now rebaptized Cerulean Springs due to that unending glimmer: a city that changed its face just as quickly as its name, becoming an enormous metropolis with its own dark sides in the span of a few decades.

These sudden, worldwide changes caused chaos at first - but, with the 'humanitarian' support of the corporations, the flash-fire riots were quelled, and the population settled - the rise in power and standing of the corps being just a side effect, of course.

Society evolved, assimilated the new and adapted: from fear to unease, from unease to new business venues and research fields, just as it did in the last decades with the blindingly fast development of technology and the discovery of the almost mystical Essences. After all, what's a new weirdness in a world where mechanical implants are common and the body is nothing but a canvas to change and adapt to one's wishes?

Despite all this, certain things never change: there's still the need for shadowy figures able to do things that others wouldn't.
Zoe is one of them: a mutated human - a Gatecrasher - and a combat mage by trade, introduced into the life of an underground mercenary after the Gatecrash riots.

She's minding her own business between jobs, when the disappearance of a woman working in her favorite Pleasure House pushes her to go on the hunt to uncover the dancer's fate - free of charge.

Once on the trail, though, she will quickly realize she might have bitten more than she can chew: what started as a simple investigation will bring her to uncover darker and more dangerous secrets, forcing the Irish mage to use all her tricks and delve into the dirtiest parts of Cerulean Springs to keep her word, while trying to keep sane indulging in the pleasure of the flesh.

One of the ways she keeps her mind busy from the painful memories of a past she's still trying to cope with.

My experience writing it

This is my second novel!

And...it's been quite a surprise, really. Last year I was working on Elemental 2 and I was starting to get a tad burned out (I was coming out of translating, formatting, etc Elemental 1, and the whole publishing thing, which can be somewhat stressful), so I decided to write a short just for the heck of it.

Just for kicks, I decided to make it an erotic short.

In the meantime I was continuing to promote Elemental on Twitter, where I've seen some erotic books being promoted.

And that was pretty much the moment I decided I wanted to try my hand writing something that still had erotic contents, but had a serious story and well rounded characters into it.

I had the Cerulean Springs setting in mind for quite a long time now, and I always had an intention to write in that universe. And I thought to myself "Why not now?"

Soooo... I did!

I wrote the first draft in about a month or so. I was completely engrossed in the story, and in the end I got this missing person thriller going, with some spicy elements to it - elements being the keyword since in the end the erotic parts are more tied to character fleshing out and development than the story itself. It's a story about someone who's extremely sexual, but the driving plot is actually something much darker and 'detached' from sex, to the point that in one specific pitch (which I still hold dear to this day!) I've been told the naughty bits took too much of a backseat to the story for that house. And that was the most brilliant and helpful rejection letter I received, one that I still am thankful for.

This experience helped me cement my views on sexuality in fiction, which I talked about in detail in this blog post.

And in the end, Tiogair had its big launch party during #MCchat on Twitter last week!

There are a lot of projects I'm tying to this universe as well - one that I'm currently working on a Tabletop Roleplaying Game based in it, still in the works - and I do intend to write more stories in this setting, along with Elemental 2.

Where can you find it?

First, a warning: Tiogair contains mature themes that place it in the 'adult only' category (graphic sex and violence, use of substances, foul language). With that out of the way you can find it through these links:

English Versions:

- Tiogair - Kindle eBook

- Tiogair - POD Paperback on Amazon

Italian Versions:

- Tiogair - Kindle eBook

- Tiogair - POD Paperback su Amazon

Goodreads:

- Tiogair page (all editions available)

The Heart's Delight

Foreword: In preparation for tomorrow's #MCchat on Twitter and the launch of Tiogair, here's a little story to know where the chat is taking place - The Heart's Delight, Cerulean Springs most prominent Pleasure House, for the night made into a normal nightclub for all the characters to meet up.

Needless to say, this is an 'alternate universe', non-canon with Tiogair, since it requires quite a bit of dimension hopping and time-space continuum breaking. Enjoy!

And remember: #MCchat is tomorrow, and along with Zoe, the other guest bartenders are gonna be:

-Thierry Adler, the smart-ass warlock from Avrin Kelly's 'Trigram' novel and

-Hayden Howell, the tough Charleston homicide detective from Hollie Hausenfluck  Deja Vu!

And you can see them both in the upcoming novella Coup De Grăce

Come one come all, let's get our characters together!

------

There was still a bright daylight when the tigress walked towards the short corridor at the corner of the three story building. With the lights still on, she couldn’t see well the neon lights of the Pleasure House’s insigna: hanging over the corner entrance, it was a big red heart with the ‘Heart’s Delight’ stylized logo inside it. It was hugged by a buxomy pink feminine shape and a blue, buff, sultry shape, outlined in neon.

With her Augmented Reality vision on, the tigress spent just a second to admire the animated figures in that virtual layer, sensually hugging and caressing the motionless neon outlines, with their hands under the heart doing unspeakable things.

The tigress opened in a grin, shaking her head and heading inside. The corridor was dark, the spotlights on the floor that would usually give some atmospheric, warm glow unlit.

The small nook for the bouncer was empty, since the place was still closed to the public.

She sent a short message to the people inside, trying not to spend too much time outside and give people the wrong idea, and the sturdy, big wooden doors were opened from the inside by a muscular man dressed in a black shirt and jeans. The most prominent feature of his bald head the mechanical third eye in the middle of his forehead, scanning her mercilessly as always.

“Still no chrome, housecat?”

“Oh, feis ort Ludwig. It’s way too early for me to answer that question.” she greeted the head bouncer, shaking her head and moving inside.

“I’m just saying. Lots of redecoration to do for tomorrow. You could have used the boost in strength.”

“I can bloody move shit with my mind. I don’t need implants for that.” she replied in a showily annoyed tone. It was a typical conversation opener for them, the man trying his best to convert people to mechanical prosthetics - of which he already had quite a few.

“Bah. Suit yourself, housecat. If you’re looking for Paula, she’s in her office, sorting the invitations and the organization for tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” the tigress replied, taking off her jacket and remaining in her hoodie and cargo trousers. Considering she was going to help with the redecoration, at least she wanted to be comfortable.

Holding her jacket, she took a moment to appreciate the place. Despite being a regular, it was always a pleasure to be in the nightclub - the tall ceiling had soft, moody lights, giving the dark red decor of the walls, interrupted by tall windows capable of obscuring at a simple command to give a fumé effect. The ground floor was peppered with circular tables and comfortable chairs, surrounding the various pole-dance stages where the entertainers would present themselves. The AR integration was still showing the night before’s schedule and ratings to have some private ‘fun’ with them in the upper floor rooms, accessed from the stairs on the far right corner of the spacious floor. A longer catwalk and circular, bigger stage was dead center in the far side of the room, with the DJ booth closeby, used for main events.

On the lefthand side of the room there was the long, old-style wooden counter, with a glass countertop. A vast array of liquors was standing on the shelves mounted in front of a mirror.

Avoiding the various stools, the tigress waved at the other workers still redecorating for the big event night, the buxomy demoness making sure the access to the upper floor was closed. It was a somewhat clean event after all.

Zoe moved behind the counter, opening the door to the office - the difference was stark. Where the public space was atmospheric and geared towards entertainment and sensuality, the office was brightly lit and functional. Behind the glass desk there was the bulky shape of Paula, her muscular body relaxed on the comfortable office chair and her mechanical arm tapping its finger on the desk surface. A small icon in AR over her head indicated she was in a call, so the tigress took the time to check the protection seal she traced some time ago.

Luckily, the potted plant wasn’t there anymore, so she simply checked the runeset for any smirch or imperfection.

Satisfied, she simply waited for Paula to finish her call.

“I told you I need the catering by tomorrow, and if you know what’s good for you, you better get it. I swear, I paid good money for it, you don’t want to screw this up. Clear? Good.”

With a huff, the bodybuilder-built woman closed the call, readjusting her neon pink hair flowing down the right side of her head, the left side partially shaven in a stylistic haircut.

“Fucking unprofessional people. Speaking of which. Hey Tiogair.”

Zoe gave her a deadpan stare. “Haha. Hey. So, getting everything ready?” she asked, settling the jacket on the coathanger and sitting on the guest chair in front of the desk.

“Girls and boys have their couple days off, catering is gonna come through even if I have to go kick their ass personally and I arranged transportation for those guest bartenders...Thierry Adler and Hayden Howell. They seem nice. You three are gonna go along well.”

“I still can’t believe ISSTAR managed to pull this stuff off. We’re talking full dimensional hopping here.”

“I guess someone up there really wants to showcase their tech. And hey, this means more people will get to know our stories, doesn’t it?”

“Well yes, that’s true. Gonna bet on me on the next popularity polls?”

“I wouldn’t be caught dead doing that after last time. Sorry, Tio.”

“Bitch.”

Paula chuckled, and gave her a long stare, with a creepy smile on her lips. Zoe frowned.

She didn’t like that expression.

“You know” the Pleasure House owner started. “Funny thing you should say that now. ‘Cause I was just about to say that tomorrow you have the first two hours shift behind the counter at the event.”

The tigress laughed heartily, shaking her head. “Hah! Right, and there I was getting worried. Good one.”

“I’m not kidding, Tio.”

“...what.”

“You know” Paula continued “interesting byproduct of ISSTAR doing this whole thing? I saw that interview you had on...Twitter? That’s what’s called, right? That social media. That stool isn’t going to pay itself…”

“B-But it’s the big night!” Protested Zoe, taken aback by those news.

“I know. And I thought, what better way to have people like you and get to know you than you actually serving some drinks. And in the meantime repaying my stool.”

“It wasn’t my fault, that asshole was harassing me!”

“And that is why I have security staff. You broke the no violence rule, and you destroyed property. You’re covering first shift.”

The tigress tried to find some other point to counteract. She suddenly widened her eyes. “I can’t mix a drink to save my life!”

“Nice try, but no. You’re gonna log on the AR assistant. It’s gonna be easy as pie.” before the tigress could rebuke, Paula rose her mechanical hand with her index up. “Or, I tell Aisha about it.”

That last threat made it. With a defeated huff, the tigress slumped back on the chair. “Aight. Boss. Just this time, though.”

“Good girl.” Paula chided with a satisfied grin.

Zoe sighed. And smiled herself, shaking her head. At least it would be an interesting night.

#CharactersTell ! Its present and future and...

 Why hello there!

 I know, I said 'tomorrow' a couple days ago, but between the exhaustion for that last post I made and the side effects of developing my psychic powers, things got a tad hectic and I kinda missed the deadline. Sorry.

I'm really trying to explode things with my mind. The migraine is only a byproduct of that.

 But hey, we're here now and that's all that matters!

 And with quite the topic to talk about, too!

 If you guys arrived here on Twitter, you probably are aware that I'm the host of a writing #game called #CharactersTell. And today we're going to cover that - what it is, how it came to be, and what are the plans for the future.

The story so far:

 As I think I mentioned just a couple of times in this blog already, probably in a very subtle way, I'm quite a fan of characters. I think they're the true meat of a story, the way a reader can experience the world they're projected upon, experience drama, interactions and tension, all that fun stuff.

In picture: my level of subtlety on the subject

 So I created this #game on Twitter (you can find it on the sidebar) where not only we explore and get to know the main characters, but the antagonist, the side characters and even people in the setting that us readers wouldn't even know about thanks to the background characters week.

 Admittedly, I'm not the only one in this concept - the amazing #CharacterTherapy from Vivyan Lynne follows a similar concept on a weekly chat, and if you like #CharactersTell you should totally check that out too.

 But, after two months and a growing following, I thought it's time to think about the future.

So, what now?

 I could just explain what is gonna happen from now on, hopefully every week, but I think it's better if I show you instead. After all, 'Show Don't Tell' is pretty common critique among authors, innit?

 So, without further ado, please let me welcome Zoe, the Main Character of Tiogair my upcoming Cyberfantasy thriller with erotica elements.

--------

 Zoe:

 Wait, what. Uh.. Are we sure about this?

 You didn't say anything about a real interview. The hell?

Just roll with it. Tell us a bit more about you. Who are you, where are you from...

Zoe:

You're still paying me for this, right?

*shrugs*

Right, I'm Zoe, I'm a Scorpio, I'm a gatecrasher currently 

living in Cerulean Springs, in a pretty damn technologically advanced world...it was Colorado Springs, but things got fucked soo.

I'm a zoomorph, which is a cute way of saying I'm a big, human-shaped animal. A tiger, in my case.

I'm an apt alchemist, Materium Ether user, basically a mage with lightning bolts and shit, and...well...

You can tell us, it's not gonna bite you in the ass.

Alright...Well. I'm an underground mercenary. I'm hired as an operative for various...well, not really nice jobs.

Wanna tell us about the Gatecrash?

*Glares* Three years ago, something fucked up and the whole world changed. Magic came back, we call it Ether, and along with that a whole plethora of other fun things - people mutating like me, portals opening all over, monsters, ruins...you know, riots, people dying, all that delightful package.

Considering the world you live in... Still, you're not originary from this city, are you?

Hah! Nah mate. I'm Irish. Born and raised. And proud of it.

Speaking of which. Sometimes you use some words people might not understand, like 'Feis ort'. What does that mean?

*Bursts out laughing*

Pff. Really wanna know? Means 'fuck off'. Depending on what you're gonna ask, you might receive a couple yourself.

Oh, and to you out there, if I'm not saying that right, blame him, not me.

So, we're entering February...thoughts on the month of love?

More revenge setups contracts from morons with too much money to their name.

And what about you? You did come back in contact with Tai recentely...

You really don't wanna go down that route. Me and him are done.

Not to mention, I've got my eyes set on someone already.

Fair enough. Considering the post before this, we're gonna cut this a bit shorter, but...come on, tell our viewers a secret about you.

I've got a cock along with all the rest. And I'm not afraid to use it. *chuckles*

Really? It's not a secret, you know. What about your name? You know I know...

Then you know this is not a wise question.

Come on...

*Gets up* Aight. I've got things to do. Stuff to shoot. People to save, possibly. I'm gonna expect the payment on my bank account. And oh. Right. Feis ort. Ya fuck.

--------

 Well, I mean...that could have gone better. But yes. This was Zoe, ladies, gentlemen and others!

 Please give her an applause as she...angrily...storms out..muttering stuff about murdering me...

 Moving swiftly on, this is just the first of a series of interviews in which YOUR  characters can take part of! Planning to do this every week, in correlation with the various 'type' of characters week, next Monday I wanna host one of your antagonists to interview here!

 If you're interested in partecipating, please Direct Message me ON TWITTER (private messages or emails won't be taken into account) and we can sort out where to put the character you want to showcase!

 So come on! Let's get to know your imaginary people!

Short - Tryouts (NSFW)

 I don't remember exactly what made me write this short. I just remember that, shortly after I finished the first draft of Tiogair, I had someone talk about 'putting unicorns in the WIP' on Twitter, and so, considering my new book's setting is quite apt for that, I did.

 Set in the Heart's Delight, Cerulean Springs' best sex club, it depicts a 'normal' casting day for a new dancer. Meet Zoe, the MC of the new book, Paula, the owner, and Ian, the heavily-augmented DJ.

 And George, the unicorn.

“You think it’s real? I mean, it can’t be. It has to have had some work done, an implant or something.”

The tigress was sitting on the chair in front of the stage, her eyes completely fixed on the spectacle that was being presented. The slow, obvious, ridiculously sexual saxophone and bass accompanying the dance echoing in the empty club, soundwaves reflecting in the spacious room making them distort slightly.

Not that she cared. Or the other two people along with her. They were way too distracted.

“Mh. Dunno. If he had some work done, it doesn’t really show.” Paula replied, arching her eyebrow as she scuttled a bit on the chair to get more comfortable. “The coat is absolutely gorgeous, though.”

“Whiter than the snow in December~” the melodic tone of the dj chimed in. The metal plates forming his features were curled and contorted in a sly, appreciating smile.

The music picked up the pace as the tryout gyrated around the pole, well defined muscles bulging under the short, brisk fur and skin, the three spectators all letting out varied stupefied sounds as they saw the body contorting and hanging masterfully in mid air.

“Dìa, that is impressi- Cac naofa!” The tigress widened her eyes as she felt a swift Ether manipulation in the air surrounding them, and the bottom clothes of the tryout were ripped off by a magic surge in the middle of the rotations, revealing everything underneath.

Still stunned by the sudden discovery of the tryout having Ether talent, the tigress lost her chance to compete in the short-lived, one-sided battle ensuing, with Paula using her mechanical arm and bodybuilder physique to push the DJ away and catch the prize.

An electronic, disappointed hiss rose from the internal speakers of the scorned showman.

Finally stopping his swirls on the pole, the perspective dancer spreaded his legs, giving the back to the audience to show the chromed shaft slide across the perfect buttocks to a graceful halt kneeling on the stage floor.

The slightly equine-featured head tilted back, a seductive smile barely visible and, as the music stopped, he tapped the pole with the long, spiralled horn protruding from his forehead, his free hand holding a massive, hung shaft already hard and pointing, just to the side enough for his audience to notice the tip and the jet-black skin.

A very long silence weighed in the room as the three judges blinked, Paula still squeezing way too tightly onto the easily discardable trousers that were tossed their way.

George, the dancing unicorn trying out for the club, frowned. “Was...something wrong…?” he asked. “I’m still working on the Ether control, but-”

“I think” Paula interrupted “that you have talent, George, but you do know dancing is only part of what we offer here at the Heart’s Delight.”

Both Zoe and the DJ opened in a wide grin.

Paula ignored them both, clearing her throat and trying to hide at least part of her blushing cheeks with the cascade of now pink hair flowing on one side of her head. “As the owner of the club, I do think it is just fitting that I’m the one to put you through the rest of the tests to-”

“Oh, I disagree!” Zoe, outraged, interjected, her tail swiftly flapping from side to side, ready for battle. “As a representative of the general customer population, -and- with the capacity to judge from -both- sides of the spectrum, I’m clearly the most qualified person in this room, nay, in this entire -club- to judge his performance!”

A sneering, distorted hiss came from Ian’s speakers. “And with the sense of rhythm of a drunkard, hip-challenged middle aged man. I have the equipment to clearly analyze every aspect of his performance, and especially make sure it’s up to the standards not only of a sex club but of a dancing club as well. You know music does play a part on some of the play scenes upstairs too.”

“I am going to fry that goddamn metal face of yours, I can dance!”

“No you can’t.” Paula retorted.

“I so can! And besides, he needs to know how to fuck the brains out with style not only do it on a beat!”

“This is why I don’t invite you two to tryouts! I am the club owner, I get first dibs!”

“But come ooon, have you seen him!?” Ian pouted.

“Hands off, tincan! He needs to behave when he gets oral. Guess who doesn’t have a speaker in the way of our throats?” the tigress victoriously smirked, pointing at her and Paula. All under the confused looks of the poor aspiring dancer.

The three looked at each other angrily, still bickering on first dibs before Paula shushed them rising her hand.

Bopped on the nose with the flailing pants, the tigress scrunched her face, glaring at her.

“So. George. I know you didn’t write anything about it, but you do know we offer the option for group sex, right? How do you play with numbers?”

“Ah, I’m quite apt. Had my experiences.”

Immediately the bickering stopped, and all three opened in a wide grin, standing up in unison.

“Well then. If you care to follow us-”

“Wait!” the tigress moved to the unicorn, her eyes fixed unashamedly on a very specific spot, biting her lower lip. “So, before we do this, I need to ask. Is that real? Can I touch it?”

George chuckled, with a knowing smile and presented himself openly. With a childish grin, the tigress rose up on the tip of her toes and wrapped her hand around it, giving it a long stroke, gasping.

The spiraled curves of the horn felt so interesting under her palm, and the consistency was clearly natural. “Do you…”

“Yes.”

“In both-”

“Oh, yes. It’s a very common request.”

“RIGHT, PAULA, GET THE ROOM READY!”

//END//