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The Protagonist Speaks

Interviews with the characters of your favourite books

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Romance

Lia (of The Veiled Soul by Abbie Chandler)

the-veiled-soul-abbie-chandler
Dear readers, tonight with me is a woman doomed to pay for crimes she doesn’t remember committing. As a grim reaper, the split of time between life and death is the only chance she gets to feel anything real.

She is here to tell us about the ephemeral transition between life and death, and of what binds her to the mortal world.

 

 

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

I have absolutely no idea where I grew up. As a grim reaper, my memories of my life (and the crime that got me here) have been wiped clean, and I’m stripped of my soul. The only life I’ve ever known is the reaper realm. It occupies the same space as the physical world. Same buildings, same things, but there are no people. There is no color. I leave ghostly footprints. I could be crashing is your guest bedroom or stealing your coffee. I can’t stick around in the same place very long, so I bounce around from houses to hotel rooms. The only thing I’m meant to do is reap souls, but residual urges drive me. I eat. I sleep. I run. I have sex. It’s muted and emotionless, but I guess it’s the only way I can connect to what I used to be.

How did you get here?

As a reaper, I’m unable to connect any living being. They’re not supposed to be able to see me. Just before I was ripped out of the reaper realm and thrust back into the physical world, I was supposed to reap the soul of a murdered young girl. The only problem is that the killer was there, and he could SEE me, and he seemed to know me. Then, instead of killing the girl, he tried to kill me. It’s not even possible to kill a reaper, but in that moment, my whole world shifted, and I was in the middle of a parking lot, bleeding to death. So now I’m trying to piece together how I got out, why a human could see a reaper, and what I did in the past to be a reaper to begin with. To make matters worse, I feel a constant pull to kill. I have no soul. I feel a bit like a monster.

But it’s nothing like him. They call him the Phoenix. Before he tried to murder me, I felt his soul. It was solid. Pure evil. Continue reading “Lia (of The Veiled Soul by Abbie Chandler)”

Sheshamun (of Behind Palace Walls by Erin Chase)

Erin Chase - Behind Palace Walls Book coverDear readers, tonight with us is a woman elevated to the highest order – the Pharaoh’s own court, and then rudely ejected by rivals within. She is here to tell us about life in Ancient Egypt.

 

 

What were your first few days in the palace’s harem like?

My first few days in the palace’s harem were very overwhelming! It is the complete opposite of a peasant’s life. I mean the food… goodness! Succulent duck and quail, honey drizzled on everything, fragrant wine, and the sweetmeats… oh the sweetmeats!

Sorry, what was the question again? Oh right, my introduction to the concubine lifestyle. Well on the plus side, I met my great friend Serera in the harem, as well as Manon, the Keeper of the Harem. I loved lounging by the water, playing Senet or Dogs and Jackals, and sharing my intimate secrets with Serera.

However, when it came to dealing with a couple of the other, more established concubines, life was tough! Senra and her partner in crime from the Far East, Tokahiru, sure knew how to make my life a living hell. Continue reading “Sheshamun (of Behind Palace Walls by Erin Chase)”

Thea (of Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn)

Mistress of Rome - Kate QuinnDear readers, tonight with me is a woman who came to us as a Judaean slave girl, only to catch the eye of our divine emperor. she is here to tell us of her remarkable journey, and about the highest echelons of Roman society.

 

 

What were your first impressions of Rome, after being sold to slavery in Judea?

I survived the suicide massacre of Masada when I was about four years old; one of seven survivors. The rest of my family died, and then I was enslaved and brought west. I don’t remember much of Judaea, but even so, Rome has never felt like home to me. It’s hot, teeming, raucous, and quite frequently cruel.

Is Emperor Domitian as bad in person as the senate makes him out to be?

It depends which side of him you see, and he has as many sides as a set of dice. To his soldiers he is blunt, honest, brave–they worship him. To the Senate he is arrogant, overbearing, dismissive–they despise him. To his family is he capricious, fearful, fickle–they quiver before him. To me . . . well. I fascinate him because he doesn’t frighten me. He likes to test that, and it’s kept me alive so far. Continue reading “Thea (of Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn)”

Kate of (Awakening by Janet Forster)

Awakening - The Last Anakim - Janet ForsterDear readers, tonight with me is a young woman, born to become an angel. In a world on the verge of destruction, Kate is here to tell us of fallen angels and the struggles of love.

 

 

What was your childhood like?

Mmm, let’s see. I was packed up, my life in a bag, and shunted off to boarding school because my parents’ relationship was all over the place. They were together one minute, separated the next and then back together again. Even Noodle, our already anxious Labradoodle, was considering an extended vacation! I was the ‘peace-maker’ in the family, but it was stressful always being the one to try and get Mum and Dad to kiss and make up. I turned to music … literally drowned myself in the magical world of sound I discovered.

My best times were spent with Nanny. I used to stay at her home at the beach a lot, sometimes for the whole holiday. We’d eat fish and chips and jam donuts for lunch and I was always barefoot and sunburned. She was my very first piano teacher. I remember the brandy and water she sipped swaying in a small crystal tumbler on top of her old upright piano as I played Für Elise and the smell of lavender as she reached across me to turn the pages. Continue reading “Kate of (Awakening by Janet Forster)”

Jackie Moretti (of Love’s Illusions by Jolene Cazzola)

Jolene Cazzola - Love's IllusionsDear readers, relationships have always been complicated. Tonight on the guest couch with me is a young woman, trying to navigate the complexities of relationships in the age of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.

 

 

 

Tell us about where you grew up. Did you have a favourite toy or memory?

I grew up in a middle class suburb of Boston, Weymouth, Massachusetts. Since I was born in 1951, it was pretty much like you saw on Ozzie & Harriet, in other words, dull, boring; the kind of place where all the neighbors would stop to make their purchase whenever one of the kids on the street set up a Lemonade Stand. My parents also had a hunting and fishing lodge in northern New England that was pretty cool. You can read more about it in The BackStory. It’s FREE at www.jolenecazzola.com.

I didn’t really have a favorite toy – I played with my animals, mostly cats, a German Shepard named Satchamo, a couple rabbits and some baby chickens I hatched for a school project. Eventually my parents talked me into letting a local farmer take the rabbits and chickens so they would have more room to roam around. He promised he wouldn’t eat them! And I grew worms to sell to the fishermen – do they count as pets? Continue reading “Jackie Moretti (of Love’s Illusions by Jolene Cazzola)”

Lydia Bell (of One Fling to Rule Them All by Deanna Dee)

One Fling To Rule Them All - Deanna DeeDear reader, tonight on the interview couch with us in a young woman, an avid role-playing gamer who found love in the most unexpected and unusual of circumstances.

 

 

What was your childhood like? Any favourite toys or memories?

It was pretty awesome, actually. I had a decent spread of toys, but I mostly enjoyed taking my mom’s electronics apart and putting them back together. She wasn’t too thrilled when I’d do this, but it’s evolved into a computer science major. So there’s that, at least.

Does Craig share your love of Tolkien? Does Scott?

Craig has a general geeky respect for Tolkien. Scott, on the other hand, is as in love with it as I am. It makes for some awesome moments. Continue reading “Lydia Bell (of One Fling to Rule Them All by Deanna Dee)”

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