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The Protagonist Speaks

Interviews with the characters of your favourite books

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April 2016

Bane Shaw (of Closer to Home by Regan O’Leary)

Closer to Home - Regan OLearyDear readers, tonight with me is a Scottish musician, now living and working in Hollywood South (that’s the south Louisiana film industry, for those not in the know).

He will tell us of his move, and of some dark secrets from his past that haunted him across the Atlantic.

 

It’s rumored that you drink a lot of whisky, is that true?

Aye, well I suppose the answer depends on your definition of “a lot.” Let’s just say I enjoy whisky like the true Scotsman I am.

What is the story behind your nickname ‘Bane’?

(Wry laugh.) Well, it means ‘Bone’. The week I turned eighteen I got a job at the public house of the Hill’s Hotel. I worked as a barman. But, bartending at night at The Rigg sometimes required breaking up fights, especially during football matches between the Rangers and Celtics. The rivalry is as old as Glasgow itself and has more to do with religious bigotry than football so things often got intense inside the pub. My manager gave me the nickname, “Bane,” because, more times than not, anyone I had to throw out of the pub left with a broken bone. Continue reading “Bane Shaw (of Closer to Home by Regan O’Leary)” →

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Josie Tucker (of The Bride Wore Dead by EM Kaplan)

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Dear readers, tonight with me is the renowned food-blogger and critic Josie Tucker. She is here to tell us about some of the hair-raising, Agatha Christie adventure – only vaguely related to food – which she had recently. 

 

Where did you grow up? When did you decide to become a food critic, despite your digestive issues?

I spent some formative years growing up in Tucson, Arizona—partly in high school, the rest in what you might call the school of hard knocks. I’m not bragging or anything—sometimes I think I’m lucky I’m still here. Those chollas, man, can eat you alive. Do not mess with teenage girls of the Latina variety. Though one of them saved my butt. More than once.

And my job…Like a lot of jobs, I fell into being a food critic accidentally. I mean, my mother used to have a restaurant, so I have a blue collar knowledge of the food industry first hand. But when I applied as an intern to the now-defunct newspaper that was my first job, I was just supposed to be a human interest researcher. You know, follow up on names and places and dates. Get a few pictures if no one else was around to do it. Long story short, I ended up ghostwriting the food column for the psycho-columnist-in-residence. By the time the psycho imploded and they found out I didn’t have any formal training—no degree from the Cordon Bleu or the Culinary Institute, nothing like that—my readership had increased enough that I was safe from being fired. The people had spoken and they liked me, for whatever reason. Luckily.

As for the digestive issues, no one knows about that, so I’d appreciate it if you keep that off the record. I’m in denial myself. Continue reading “Josie Tucker (of The Bride Wore Dead by EM Kaplan)” →

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Max Villalobos (of The Galapagos Agenda by Leonardo Wild)

Leonado Wild - Galapagox AgedaDear readers, tonight with us is someone who we might mistake for a playboy. This son of a billionaire however, found himself embroiled in an international intrigue involving nations.

 

 

What was is like growing up as the son of a billionaire?

You mean, was I happy? Worry-free. The answer to that is a big “No.”

When everybody wants something from your father—including kidnapping him, or taking his life—then you wish you weren’t the son of a billionaire. Especially when you begin to realize that maybe they have good reason.

That’s not something you’re very much aware of when you grow up, not until you begin to realize that … well, that you don’t like your father much.

Oh yes, indeed, there are perks, perks that for many years seemed not only normal to me, but a given. But then one day I realized my father wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if he could gain something from it. Continue reading “Max Villalobos (of The Galapagos Agenda by Leonardo Wild)” →

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Jamie Kendrick (of Bad Decisions by EM Smith)

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Dear readers, tonight with me is a man who managed to break free of his white-trash background littered with bad decisions, and is now a valued members of a special black-ops unit in the army.

What is it like to wear an ankle bracelet?

It sucks. It rubs all the hair off that spot, you have to bag the monitor up whenever you take a shower, and if it’s a drug monitoring bracelet like mine, you can’t even use mouthwash or it will spike your alcohol measurement and set the damn thing off, then BOOM, jail time. Also, you got to pay for the delight of wearing it out of your own pocket. You can’t go swimming or wading or hand fishing, either, which used to be my favorite ways to waste time with my brother.

What was the scariest situation you’ve been in?

I guess I probably oughta say something like “getting shot at by human traffickers,” but the truth is that wasn’t near as scary as standing on the ground, watching the helicopter of one of those sex traffickers lift off with my nieces in the cockpit. I still have nightmares about that. Continue reading “Jamie Kendrick (of Bad Decisions by EM Smith)” →

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Jonas Black (of Black Fall by DJ Bodden)

Black Fall - D. J. boddenDear readers, tonight on the interview couch is a young man who had recently discovered some dark secrets in his family history. He is here to tell us about his personal journey in learning to deal with who he really is.

 

When did you first realise that you and your family are different from other people?

I guess I always knew we were different. My parents had – well, I thought they had – porphyria cutanea tarda. That’s PCT for short. It’s a disease that makes people super sensitive to sunlight, so we had to have heavy black curtains on all the windows and they only left the house at night. I grew up with nannies; I spent years explaining that to people… turns out it was all BS. I felt pretty stupid when I found out. Could we talk about something else? Continue reading “Jonas Black (of Black Fall by DJ Bodden)” →

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