#CharactersTell Main Character Week - Interview with Vipa

Aaaah! It's been quite some time since we had one of these, wasn't it?

But as you probably noticed, we had the #CharactersHell tag launched today, and it's what we worked upon for this month of silence!

And now that it is done, we're back to our regular schedule...

With it, today we reopen the #CharactersTell interviews with Vipa! She's a lively young lady who's out to hunt for the ultimate prey - a Guilty One, a God-like being in her world. She has a nice affinity with water, and is quite the handful!

She's the Main Character of "God's Forsaken", the fantasy novel from David Brevik!

You can find David on Twitter, following this link here: https://twitter.com/davidbrevik1

The novel is not a WIP! It's already out, and you should go give it a look! You can find it on Amazon through this link right here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC71ZQV

God's Forsaken is a very interesting read I had the chance of taking a look at, and it has a fascinating magitech/steampunk vibe to it!

But enough with introductions - let's get right to it, shall we?

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And after a month of hiatus to get the new hashtag game #CharactersHell going, here we are, back in full swing starting September with a new interview! Tonight we’ve got another lovely guest - would you please introduce yourself, your author and your book for us?

Hello world! The name is Vipa of the Cuga Isle and it nice to meet you all. Just came back from swimming when my ‘lazy’ author, David Brevik, called me here. I’m from the wonderful book

"God’s Forsaken", where you get to read about my grand adventures!

Well, hello Vipa! Glad to have you here tonight! So, you’re from Cuga? What sort of world is it? How does it differ from ours?

Well, Cuga is just the island I live on with my mother. It’s part of an island nation called the Barrol Alliance on the world of Herinono. I can tell you now it's far more exciting than than plain old Earth. Magic is everywhere, and just about anyone can use it. I myself can whip people about with waterbending. Though we also have steam power, gunpowder, and stuff like that. Oh, and don’t forget the mythical creatures I hang out with like angels, reptile humans, and gods. It can be a bit crazy sometimes.

That does indeed sound like quite the interesting world to live in. But we all know, the world is made of people - what’s your place in it? What do you do for a living?

Oh, I’m a bit of an oddball. While everyone else is a factory worker or a sailor, I’m a huntress.

Crash landing on an island with my family made us survivors, though I have learned other skills to survive in the ‘real’ world. Now-a-days, I hunt down the Guilty Ones- the five god-like beings that try to rebel against the gods and failed. Great fun, really.

Oh my, a life of adventures right from the beginning then! Let’s focus just a bit more about your world - now in September the season starts to change here, getting a bit more rainy, a bit colder… how’s the weather and how are the seasons there? I can imagine that for an archipelago it must be quite the important thing to keep track to allow safe travels.

Good news, our weather here is rather stable. We are mostly tropical islands that stay more or less the same. Some of our northern islands get snow because of the mountains, but that's about it. But you have to be careful of storms. Our seasons are pretty much if it rains more or less in a given year. I like rain, but it's a pain to be blown off course because of it.

Well, that at least does sound pleasant, even if it seems like tricky situations on the sea do still abound. Let’s get back to you - you said your family crash-landed on an island? Do you remember a lot about your childhood there?

I spent almost all of the first twelve years of my life on that island. Just me and Mom. I used to have a dad, but he died after saving me when I was a babe. Don’t remember him much, but he’s now a tree- we planted his body under one. Tree dads aren’t great talkers, but at least they won’t talk back! As for living on the island, we made do. Have to do all the killing, making clothes, shelter and farming by ourselves, but once you got a system going, it isn’t too bad.

I’m glad you managed, and I’m sorry for your loss. I imagine just you and Mom there shouldn’t have been easy. Here in our world, this is the time where school starts once more - from what you told us up to now, I can imagine you didn’t have a normal education: how did you learn what you know?

A lot of my survival skills came from Mama. She's a tough woman who doesn’t take crap from anything! She taught me the basics and sometime left me out in the woods to see how would I fare. Once I left the island, I took up some work as a carpenter, or sailor. Oh, and my manners come from my best friend Sainh. Being stuck on an island doesn’t make you a great… citizen of a nation.

Well, yes, I can imagine that, that sort of life probably doesn’t suit well to readjusting to society. You mentioned Waterbending before - is it one of the things you learnt from your Mom?

Yep! She is so cool when she does it. Trust me, she can make most people look like fools in moment. My magic is natural magic, meaning I can naturally use the magic in my body, to control water. After years of training, I can handle myself well. Still, there are some things I need to practice on, like making ice.

Seems like a very valuable skill for an hunter, especially one that is living in the middle of the sea! Were there any lessons you didn’t like when you were young? Anything you’d do whatever you could to escape from?

Oh god… Give me a moment to collect myself. Remember when I said mom is tough. Well, when I was younger, I needed to learn how to swim and read books. I didn’t like reading too much. Much rather listen to stories. Well, my mom decided that if I didn’t read a number of chapters in a day, she would throw me out into the ocean. When I didn’t even know how to do a doggy paddle. She never let me drown, but you quickly learn how to swim. When I learned to swim faster than reading, she threw me out in the ocean and caused a riptide for me to swim against. I learned how to read soon after.

My. An unorthodox, but clearly quite effective method… not one I would recommend by any stretch, but at least it worked. You said you’re on the hunt for the Guilty Ones: what put you on this track?

Yeah, I like to say something heroic like ‘For justice and truth,’ and that junk. Yet when my mother told me stories of the Guilty Ones, they clashed with the stories I heard in the real world. I became more and more curious until I wanted to learn why it all happened. I started to feel sorry for them, for the only way for a Guilty One to die is to kill them. So I decided it was my goal to help them out. Oh, and because it would be a thrill to hunt down god-like creatures! So there's that.

Along with #CharactersTell, this month we start #CharactersHell as well… so tell me - how arduous is this journey you embarked on? And how much suffering do you think it might cause you?

Let see, I have to first track down a Guilty One that is always on the move. Then I need to somehow not get vaporized when I approach it. Aw, and there's also this lagoon I need to get to and I need to pass a ritual of rites to do so. It includes burning and freezing yourself at the same time. I swear I’m not a masochist. I just like challenges.

If you like challenges, it sounds like you have your work cut out for you… And who accompanies you in these adventures? Or are you hunting alone?

Oh! Oh! I have the best friend in the world, Sainh. She's rather clam, and sometimes a party pooper, who can control gravity. I can’t beat her in a match without there being water to hide in. There's Orszebet, our captain. A bit grouchy, but he's great with metal crafting. There’s my sweet Truffle the cat, and finally…. There’s Michel. He’s a new member I ‘recruited’ to our mission. Cold guy, who kills for a living as well. I tricked him into a spell that forced him to find Tragun. Feels a bit bad for it, but he sort of deserves it, considering his occupation.

At least you seem to be in good company! But… I’m afraid our time for tonight is coming to an end. Do you want to say anything to our audience? Whatever you want!

Hm… If you’re tired of same old epic fantasy and need something refreshing to read, come and read me! I can take on just about another story out there. Oh, and I do hope you guys a good day!

Awh, thank you! I hope a good day and a good adventure to you too Vipa! Thanks again for taking your time to talk with us tonight! We’ll see you in God’s Forsaken!

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And this is it for today's interview! I have to admit she's quite the interesting person, and I can't wait to finish reading her adventures!

As usual, a couple reminders: the #CharactersHell daily game started today! You can find the board and the daily cards in my co-host @LadyOfMind721 on Twitter

(Link here: https://twitter.com/ladyofmind721 )

You can book your interview with one of your characters at the #CharactersTell Twitter account by sending a DM, or on characterstell@gmail.com !

With that, I bid you all good night! Thanks for coming and see you next week with a new, intriguing Antag!

#CharactersTell Antagonist Week - Interview with Count Cadarn

July is rolling on and our camping theme is still going strong! With the second week, of course, we get to know our antagonists a bit better - then again, we're the ones calling them antagonists due to our knowledges, but some of them have a vision and an ideal. And one such character is the one we're interviewing tonight!

Our guest for tonight's interview is Count Cadarn. He's a nobleman, but more than that he has noble ideals - a man who's after bringing a strong change to his country and the way of life of his people, to enlighten them to a better tomorrow...despite what others might think of his plans. He's a well spoken idealist, who was gracious enough to give us a bit of an insight to his life and his vision.

The lovely author! Look at that smile!

He comes from Jamie Marchant's current work in progress, "The Shattered Throne". This is the third book of her ongoing series, the Kronicles of Korthlundia. Already a prolific author, the other two books of the series can be found on amazon, through these links here:

I-The Goddess's Choice

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071RQ786T/

II - The Soul Stone

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y26WHZN/

Along with that, Jamie is active both on 

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jamieofkorthlundia/) and on 

Twitter (https://twitter.com/JamieMarchantSF) and she's quite the amazing woman all together, so go follow her!

Finally, her personal website can be found 

here: http://jamie-marchant.com/

But enough about this! Let's get to know the Count, shall we?

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Our camping adventures continue with this week interview! Last week we had a main character, and as always, the second week is all about the antagonist! This is who we have as our guest tonight - can you please introduce yourself, your book and your author?

I’m count Cadarn, but you seem confused. I am the hero, not the antagonist of this book. The book is called The Shattered Throne because I shattered it to do away with the outdated and oppressive political system. My author’s name is Jamie Marchant. She seems confused as well, as she keeps writing about me on the antagonist week of #CharactersTell. I repeated again. I am not the antagonist. I am the hero, as Annagret was before me. Some day my statue will be in the city square as he is in Svirza.

A lot of people tend to be misunderstood, especially when they hold positions of power. You introduced yourself as a Count. Can you tell us a bit more about your land? Were you born in nobility?

I was born noble, but don’t hold that against me. It isn’t as if I had a choice in the matter. I have modest holdings in the south of Korthlundia, but I was able to get a seat on the Royal Council. I will not be a count much longer though because when my revolution succeeds, there will no longer be a noble class. All of Sulis’s children will be equal, as the goddess intended they be. A man will be judged on his own actions, not his bloodline.

Oh, there’s no judging here, don’t worry. Your world does sound very different from ours, between those names and the worship of a different divine figure… What else is different between our world and yours? Is magic part of it? Are there any different races and cultures?

Your world is ruled by the voice of the people, as should be true everywhere. We are ruled by a queen, who merely inherited the title. Sulis is the mother of us all, so I don’t know what divine figure you could possibly be referring to. There is some magic in my world, but magic requires the mixture of blood between parents of different cultures. Korthlundia is a small, isolated country with little diversity because of that there is little magic. The king, whose mother was foreign, was a very powerful sorcerer, but fortunately, he was blown up when he destroyed the Soul Stone in the previous novel, which is conveniently titled The Soul Stone. If he weren’t gone, my revolution would have no chance of succeeding, but the queen has no magic and is only 20 years old. It shouldn’t be too hard to overthrow her.

Let’s talk about your revolution for a moment. You seem to garner quite the antipathy for the current ruling of your country - how did you end up starting this movement? What gave you the push to champion for the people and go against the same nobility you were born into?

My father was a progressive man and sent me to university in Svirza, which is ruled by the voice of the people. I became enamored with how peaceful and prosperous Svirza is. At the university I was taught how this marvelous system came about. In the city square are the statues of the heroes of the Svirzan revolution--Annagret and Dritan. My friend Nisse and I frequently hung out with these statues, and I vowed at merely 19 years of age that some day I would bring about the same kind of government to my homeland. I would be Annagret, and Nisse would be my Dritan. I had to bide my time waiting for the old king to die, but the time is finally ripe. The queen is young and inexperienced. She just gave birth to a baby. Nisse, who is Svirzan by the way, is now the captain of a company of mercenaries. As everyone knows, Svirza is noted for their mercenaries. With his help, Korthlundia will finally join the few free countries of my world.

That sounds like a very inspiring tale...it must have been hard to bide your time to put your plans into motion. But at the same time, have you ever noticed malcontent in your people when you came back home from Svirza? Were there already talks of revolution when you left?

The common people don’t know any better. How could they when they’ve never heard of Svirza’s marvelous system? The old king was extremely popular. He was able to unite the joined kingdoms and keep them at peace for 50 years. In 50 years, my people have known no war. He didn’t have an heir until he was in his 70s, and when the princess was finally born, they celebrated. And she is still quite well loved by the ignorant commoners. But since she is a woman and so young, other members of the nobility have been plotting against her, but they seek power for themselves, not for the people. They don’t know this, but I’m using them to not just overthrow the queen, but the entire system itself. The people will come over to my side when they see how good the new system is.

Don’t you fear this might backfire horribly? Once they figure out that your first rule of order is gonna be destroy the nobility and radically change the government system, there are bound to be some revolts or assassination attempts...then again, you seem to know your way and have a strong ally with Nisse’s company.

There you go with your doom and gloom, just like Nisse. He says my plan to kidnap the baby crown princess and use her to force the queen to surrender is excellent. Few people will have to die in my plot, but ever the doubter, Nisse insists that the few plans survive the first battle and that things might turn much bloodier. But I assure you, as I have assured him, that my plan is foolproof. The noble system will be overthrown. The people will reign supreme, and none of the atrocities that took place in the Svirzan revolution will be necessary. So stop your nay-saying and welcome Korthlundia’s freedom.

Well, I definitely hope you’re right, and I do have to say you have all the best intentions. Anyway, let’s lighten up the mood a bit - tell us a bit more about you outside of these plans: what are your interest? This month the theme revolves around camping...do you enjoy it?

Yes, I love the outdoors. Being out in nature brings me closer to the goddess. When I was at university, Nisse and I would frequently take a few days to escape to the countryside, fish at the rivers and lakes, and spend the night staring up at the stars. Plotting a revolution takes quite a bit of time, so I haven’t been able to camp recently, but once my country is free, I hope to return to such innocent pastimes. But mostly, I’m a scholar. I love to read and analyze all the governments of my world so that I can build the best system for my own nation.

A scholar, then? That’s quite intriguing. Is there any sort of odd fact about your world that you came across in your studies of the other countries’ government?

The oddest thing I’ve discovered is that dragons aren’t merely a myth. In the south seas, there are islands where they actually exist. Can you believe that, dragons? Since I was merely a child, I’ve wanted to ride a dragon like they do in the stories, but of course, no one does that. Despite how friendly the stories show them to be, dragons are dangerous beasts. They’ll eat you long before they’d consent to give you a ride. The island nations are positive terrified by these beasts. It’s truly a good thing that they don’t like the cold, so Korthlundia isn’t troubled by them. Still, it’s fun to think about, isn’t it?

Definitely! And hey, never say never - you might always be in a diplomatic expedition and manage to ride one, eventually. Before we have to call it a night...what are your thoughts about your adversaries? Considering your misunderstood position in the book, I guess you know this is gonna take some effort against certain someones…

One can always dream, can’t one? Yes, it will take effort. The common people are ignorant. Queen Samantha isn’t exactly a bad person. I’m willing to accept that she thinks she’s doing the right thing, and her consort King Robrek did destroy the Soul Stone, which was draining all life from the land. People want to call him a hero because of that, and I guess he was.The people feel sorry for the queen because she lost him. Theirs was truly a love for the legends. But she is too young, and besides, she’s a woman. The system is rotten to begin with, and with a young woman in charge, they are bound to go rapidly downhill. Progress can’t be stopped by sentimentality. It may take a short time, but the people will come to see the wisdom of what I’m bringing about.

That’s an interesting take on the situation...and I’m not sure everyone would agree with you on certain points. Anyway...I’m afraid we’re running out of time for tonight! Is there anything you’d like to say to our audience?

Thank you for having me, and all I ask is that you correct this misconception that I am a villain. I am the hero of this book. Can you be sure my author knows this, or who knows what she might do?

I’ll do my best to do it! Thank you for your time, Count! And best of luck on your endeavors! We’ll be sure to check how they unfold in “The Shattered Throne”!

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And there we go! As the old saying goes, everyone is the hero of their own story, and it's always nice to see an antagonist with a noble ideal!

But witht his, our time together for tonight is coming to an end - as always, let me remind you that if YOU want YOUR characters interviewed, the only thing you need to do is send me a message on Twitter! You can find it on the right-hand side of this blog!

And tomorrow we've got the next WIPchat/CharactersTell crossover, so make sure to bring your antagonists to Hollie's WIPchat!!

See you around people!

#CharactersTell Main Character Week - Interview with Erina Darklight

We're in July! The summer heat is getting stronger, but that just makes us here at #CharactersTell want to go on even more!

With the occasional stop by the seaside to cool off. But that's no excuse! Last week a number of things robbed us of our Background Character Interview, but never fear! We're here with a brand new interview with a character from a returning author!

Our exploring heroine!

Tonight's interview is with Erina Darklight. She's a lovely woman (albeit a bit on the reluctant side, when it comes of talking about herself...but when she gets going she goes on well!) telling us about her life and how she got marooned in an unknown zone of her planet - in the titular High Fyelds of her novel!

The dragon wrangler comes back!

The novel is written by our good friend Mae McKinnon, our dragon wrangler that we met some time ago in a side character interview with Kaheiron, from her novel 'The Damsel and the Dragon' (you can find the interview here!)

You can find Mae on Twitter through this link: https://twitter.com/mae_mckinnon

The book from which Erina comes, High Fyelds, is available on Amazon as well! Go get your copy through this link! https://amzn.to/2NgMGVJ

And finally, she has a website as well, which you can find through this handy link here!

https://dragonquillpublishing.wordpress.com/

But enough with the introductions - let's get to know Erina!

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The heat is rising up, people are preparing to go on vacation (and some to go camping!) but we’re still here and running! For this week’s Main Character interview, we have another amazing guest, from a returning author! Can you please introduce yourself, your book and your author to us?

Do I have to? Oh, alright then *grumbles* Some people call me Erina. Some people call me other things - a lot less flattering things. I’m living over in “High Fyelds” at the moment since my author Mae Mckinnon is evil and decided to maroon me there (I was perfectly happy where I was thank you very much).

Damn! That does sound like some extreme form of camping, being just marooned somewhere… Can you tell us where you were before? What was your life before this book?

Oh, I’ve done this and that. You know. But my last little posting was onboard a ship called the “Random Star”. Not big. Not small. Far too many people for my taste. Imagine a large spacehopper leaping between planets - except very slowly - and you’ve got the right idea. Though I had a lot more fun than most...you know, the kind where you do secret things in secret places - sometimes involving secret papers and other times sharp blades and a lot of running away.

It sounds like even before getting marooned in High Fyelds you had quite the adventurous life. How did you end up in that line of work? I suppose finding work on a ship flying between planets, as a…’secret services provider’, doesn’t come easily.

*shrugs* I got bored. Figured I’d see some stars - ok, planets - nothing more. It wasn’t hard. Of course, most people holding down that job didn’t take quite such an … ahem … personal approach to it - I’ve heard.

Personal approach? That makes it sound like you have quite the story to how you handled it… So, now you’re moored. Can you tell us a bit more about the planet you’ve been plopped into?

Not sure I’d call hitting an asteroid “plopped” but each to their own I guess. It’s actually the main planet in the system - it’s just that for some infernal *** reason the bit I landed … err crashed … into doesn’t exist, according to the survey maps anyway. But the rest of the planet is lovely - nice mountains, oceans, a few scattered cities and settlements. Hmm, very space-agey really, the few places that have been developed.

Ohhh! Exploring new lands! Does that excite you, even just a bit? I mean, think about it, you might even end up making this new area take your name! Isn’t that how it works?

I’d be a lot happier if my weapons were working. What use is a blaster if it has no power? Suppose you’re meant to hit the local thingies with huge teeth over the head with it. But with good backup - it would be fun. Always nice seeing new things. And I didn’t name this strange place Darklight for no reason *grins* What’s the point of a name if you don’t use it?

That’s a very good point! Let’s talk about the local population of your involuntary vacation spot… How did they take to you? You mentioned there are few places that are actually developed to the point of space-age, did you have troubles dealing with the locals? Did you manage to interact with them or is there a language barrier?

Haha!! Don’t think I’m gonna have any trouble with the locals - unless they happen to be ghosts. The planet is the same one as the one I used to live on before - it’s just that this particular bit of it doesn’t exist as far as they’re all concerned. They can’t see it. They avoid it, but they can’t see it.

Oh! So it’s a return home for you? Was there some...reason for you to want to avoid it so much that it took a crash landing to come back?

Not at all. The Star stops by regularly - at the civilized, science obeying, sensible places. I just think it’s a bit boring, that’s all.

You did mention a number of very interesting specimens of local fauna with very big teeth and a penchant to do things that require a blaster stock right on the nose. That doesn’t sound very boring - can you tell us a bit about these creatures?

You got that right. The Valley isn’t boring. It’s strange. Strange, but not boring. Now, I’ve got no trouble with dragons - sensible people, but these snarlies. Well, do you know what a warg is? Take that, make them live in a swamp and give them plenty of spines, extra teeth, armoured coats and you’re about half-way there. But we also seem to have lots of strange deer, horses, boars, fish (very tasty fish at that) and rabbits. Blue rabbits. As I said. Strange.

Think about all the fame and fortune you can get by exposing these new species to the more civilized part of your world! It must be incredibly exciting! Or are you not one for these sorts of endeavors? Do you prefer to just leave a discreet note somewhere and let someone else take care of it? Or perhaps you just want to let this place remain an untouched, exotic landscape?

Fortune? Is that some sort of gathering of what you used to call money? I read about that in the history books. Sounded messy, if you ask me. Curious concept, certainly. We’re not big on exploiting living beings if we don’t have to around here - well, not in that old “run in and shoot everything on sight that looks magnificent” style. So yeah, the Valley stays as it is - though I might want to find a more convenient way in and out before I ask anyone to visit. Unless it tries to eat me...

Interesting - so your society evolved to use another system instead of money? Can you tell us a bit about how your current economical system works?

Yikes. What do you think I am? A professor? You might as well ask me how a Q-DEM engine works. I just press the button to go, and it does. Hmm. Well. It works well.

Mmmh. Well, then again there must be a way for you to acquire what you need… or did you use to resort to those ‘sneaky’ ways before you started your voyage through the planets?

Oh - that’s what you mean. You can acquire most things if you’re sensible about it. A lot of things are manufactured by machines that create them from molecules and such, I think, so all your basic needs are catered for. What you choose to do with it, that’s up to you. Lots of folk like making things by hand just for the sake of it. You’re supposed to be “sensible” with resources. And I’m NOT sneaky.

Ahhhh yeah, ok, I get what you mean! And what about this new area in which you arrived? Did you find that same sort of tech, or do they resort to other kinds of trading?

They? They mostly go baaa, or eeep or grrrrr. They’re animals. Nice animals in some cases, but hardly what you’d call tool-using creatures. Hmm, maybe except for some of the birds, if you count twigs. And power doesn’t work here. Electricity doesn’t work here. Everything has to be done some ways so old-fashioned I’ve never even read about them, which is a bummer, seeing as I’m the only one here.

Well, I’m definitely interested in seeing how you handle such challenges! And if you’ll ever return back to tell people about the land of Darklight! But I’m afraid we’re running out of time for tonight’s interview - is there something you’d like to tell our audience?

Interesting is a good word to describe it. Guess we don’t always get to pick our own future. Hmm...how about “Don’t try this at home?” No? Ah, I’ve got it! “When the world throws you a loop, kick it somewhere painful. And if it has lots of teeth and you don’t, prepare to run away very fast afterwards.”

That’s a lovely message indeed! And a very good advice for someone who might be in your same situation… Thanks again for coming! It’s been a pleasure meeting you! Can’t wait to see more of you in High Fyelds!

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Well, that was certainly interesting! And as a reminder, this month, the 3rd of July, #CharactersTell will be back in collaboration with #WIPchat! So make sure to come along for the ride!

As always, YOU can have YOUR CHARACTERS interviewed on this blog! Just shoot me a message on Twitter and we'll sort out where to slot your interview!

And with that, I bid you all good day - and happy CampNano to who partecipates! We're all with you guys!!

#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~