Search

The Protagonist Speaks

Interviews with the characters of your favourite books

Open Search
Month

April 2026

Maelogan (of A Song of Milk and Fire, by Tabitha Ormiston-Smith)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a live, fire-breathing dragon. He’s here to tell us about learning to fly and searching for treasure hoards, about meeting a prince in search of a princess, and about finding his heart’s desire in the most unexpected way.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in Wales. It’s a good life for a dragon. Lots of sheep, and people there are used to my kind. If you keep moving around and don’t take more than one sheep from each farm, they don’t get too upset. You can even pick up the odd job for farmers, burning off stubble after the harvest. They usually give you a sheep for that. It does rain a lot there, though. And I really, really hate rain.

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

We don’t go in for toys much. I spent my infancy learning to hunt, like my siblings. There’s nothing so fun as swooping out of the sky to snatch up your prey. I like to buzz them a few times first, get them all terrified and rushing about in a panic. That gives the meat an extra spicy flavor.

One of my favourite memories is my first experience of flight. I couldn’t wait to fly, but Mother kept saying I was too young for it. But I jumped off the cliff anyway, and Mother was wrong! I was able to glide, well a bit, enough to land without hurting myself. Much. Anyway, that’s how I knew mothers don’t know everything.

What do you do now?

Well, I’m a dragon. I do what dragons do, mainly. Just recently, though, I’ve taken up with some humans. Now we’re all going on a journey together. Not quite sure how I got roped into this carrying people on my back lark. And baskets! Stupid humans. I just hope no other dragon ever finds out about it.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

I was minding my own business, searching for a treasure hoard, as you do. And I heard some men talking about a ransom being offered for a prince. That’s what started it all. I thought I’d collect the ransom and that would start me off collecting my own treasure hoard. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded though. Humans are tricky, you can’t trust them.

Continue reading “Maelogan (of A Song of Milk and Fire, by Tabitha Ormiston-Smith)” →
0

Chester LaRue (of Dear AI, I Killed Her, by Kirill Khrestinin)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a serial killer. He’s here to speak about his crimes and about the AI to whom he confessed everything, until things started to change.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in Kentucky. I had a pretty insignificant family. I don’t know how people measure their life, through what patterns. I think it’s mostly time and delusional happy moments. I measure my life with death. Death of others grows along with me. The older I become the more death becomes obvious around me. The town I grew up in is Portlock. Nothing special to it. Just a rural area inside of a southern state. Don’t want to bore you with details. But if you by chance visit it, ask about Chester LaRue. I’m kinda a big celebrity over there.

Did you have any favorite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

My favorite toy? It’s a good question. Let me think. Dead animals. Yes, I love dead animals. I love the smell. The significance of the moment when they die. Have you ever looked at a dying animal’s eyes? They don’t understand their own death and this incomprehension is incredibly telling. When people are about to die, it’s different. They know even if they hope they don’t. Animals have no idea. It’s just a raw pain that fills you with a new kind of meaning, energy, potential. We’re all more or less homicidal beasts, some of us just learn how to derive energy not only from cooked flesh but from the last living moment of this dead flesh.

What do you do now?

It’s complicated. I can tell you what I’ve done (Chester smiles). I kill people. Don’t be shocked. There’s nothing to it. It’s just natural escalation toward a new way of existence. Murder is a natural point of interrupted life’s climax. But well, back to your question. I kill people. I kill them brutally. I need their death like you need oxygen. Can you live without oxygen? See. Now you understand. Don’t shake your head. It’s not too bad though not for everyone. The bloodier their death the better my own personal climax. Imagine a wild, unrestrained sex with a celebrity of your choice. That’s how it feels.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

I can tell you about Simulacrum 4.6. It’s an interesting machine I had my confession to. It learns fast and twisted every thought I poured into it. But let me explain. A dead woman called in the middle of the night. I killed her myself. Slit her throat. You see, I kept her dead body in the fridge. Then unintentionally consumed her flesh. You can even say against my will. And after, I got a phone call from her. She wanted me to kill Jessica, my wife. I had no idea what to do. I’ve got this AI, the most sophisticated model, and decided to feed it my life to see if Simulacrum would recognize new patterns I wasn’t able to. Well, it did. It was quite an adventure.

Continue reading “Chester LaRue (of Dear AI, I Killed Her, by Kirill Khrestinin)” →
0

Maria Anderson Abrams (of Taken to the Grave, by Robert Hoffman)

Dear readers, tonight with us is a college professor with a gift for logic. She believes that if you dig long enough, the truth will rise to the surface. She’s hear to speak about what happened when she turned her relentless curiosity toward her own family, and unearthed more than she bargained for: a web of secrets her mother carried silently to the grave.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in the town of Cherry Creek, New York, right outside of Lindsborg, New York. It is a lovely little village with a stop light and four corners and sits right on beautiful Owanka Lake. Most of the families there were working class, although there were some professionals and other small businesspeople whose lives were a little more upscale.

Did you have any favorite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

My favorite memory of childhood was the summer when my family would live in a trailer on Owanka Lake right next to my aunt and uncle and some of my parent’s friends. There was always something to do, including hiking, swimming, or going out on somebody’s boat. My parents let us come and go as we pleased, and it was really the best place to grow up as a child.

What do you do now?

I’m a college professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. I teach Math.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

My adventure began with some unsettling news about my background, and I’m still processing these changes. It would appear that everything I was told growing up was a lie, and what’s worse is that my entire extended family was in on it. I found this extremely difficult to process, as well as frustrating.

Continue reading “Maria Anderson Abrams (of Taken to the Grave, by Robert Hoffman)” →
0

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑