From the Books: Character Interview with Jackie Wolf!

So, I’ve noticed that posts about my own personal WIPs have been getting a lot of attention, so from now on there will be a “From The Books” post every week, featuring cool stuff from my WIPs! And today, I will be doing a character interview with the protagonist of my current WIP.

Jackie Wolf is sixteen years old, and lives in Liberty City with her parents, Jack and Melody, and her five-year-old brother William.

Author: Hello, Jackie. I’m glad you could come.

Jackie: I didn’t have much of a choice. You dragged me here.

Author: Ah, well, I guess that is true. But you’re being cooperative about it and I promise you can go back home when you’re done.

Jackie: All right. What sort of questions do you have?

A: What is your favorite childhood memory?

J: Well, that’s easy. The time my Dad took all of us to the beach, and we went snorkeling. Then afterwards we got frozen yogurt and watched a movie. It was just an entire day that we spent as a family, without worrying about the emperor, or the risks he and Mom were taking.

A: What’s your favorite color?

J: Easy. Purple.

A: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life (regardless of nutritional value) what would it be?

J: Mint chip ice cream. Best flavor in the world.

A: What are some of your hobbies?

J: I like to draw, although I’m not very good at it. I used to crochet when I was younger. I mostly read a lot of books, or do puzzles. I play with William a lot too. He likes his Duplos.

A: If you could have any wish granted, what would it be?

J: Hmm… that my family would always stay safe, and that we wouldn’t have to worry about Mom and Dad getting taken away. Mostly for peace, for my family and my country, that Breiltas would return to the God who led their founding.

A: What is your biggest weakness?

J: Uh… why do you want to know that?

A: It doesn’t matter! Just answer the question.

J: Okay… I guess it would come between my pride and my loyalty. I like being able to do it by myself, to not need help. It’s really hard for me to ask for help when I start something because it feels like weakness. And with my loyalty… it’s my greatest gift and greatest weakness. My loyalty can cause me to be blinded to a bad decision and that can get me in trouble.

A: Who is your closest friend?

J: William. I’ve been homeschooled for most of my life and in a place like Liberty City, it means you don’t have any friends. And these *points to blue eyes* get me in enough trouble as it is.

A: If you could own any kind of animal, extinct or living, what would it be?

J: Hmm… definitely a horse, because both of my parents are part of the Patroda Raida… but outside of that, I would like a dog. A big dog. They don’t allow dogs bigger than Jack Russells within the city limits. A cat too. Actually I’d like to have a farm.

A: You mentioned the Patroda Raida. Could you explain who they are, and how they’re connected to your family?

J: Sure. The Patroda Raida were the original founders of this country, a group of God-fearing equestrians who had strange powers of being able to control the elements. They found the Myarta, the wild horses native to the region, and discovered that not only could the steeds turn invisible, they could also channel their powers and merge into them. So they tamed them and created a new, free country. But then evil men began to creep into their society and slowly turned the people against the Raidas. They were banished and forced to leave the city, and haven’t been seen since. My dad grew up in the hidden Raida camp as a Myarta cowboy– it was his family’s job to take care of the breeding herd, to notify the camp when a new foal was born, because a new foal meant that another Raida was ready to go into training. My mother is a bit of a legend– she never knew her parents, was kidnapped from them when she was six. She was a slave under the Emperor until she was fourteen, and then she ran away to the desert. She would have died if it wasn’t for a stray blue roan Myarta filly she named Whisper. She and Whisper lived in the desert for another year, then ended up in the jungle. They were attacked by the creatures called Kobagindos, giant lizards with toxic saliva, and my dad found them when he was looking for stray Myartas. Mom was accepted into the camp and given the name Melody. She later gained the title of “Storm Melody”, because she and Whisper would ride out to check on the Myarta herd in storms.

A: Okay, we have one last question before you go. What is your favorite day of the year?

J: Christmas. We celebrate it a little differently in my house than the rest of Brieltas. They’ve turned it into a… what’s that one holiday you have in your country?

A: Black Friday.

J: Yeah it’s like that. Everybody’s out buying stuff and the streets are so crowded you can barely walk. In my house, in the twenty-four days leading up to Christmas we read the book of Luke from the Bible, and then we read all of the accounts of Jesus’s birth and resurrection on Christmas. Since the stores are so crowded, we buy crafting supplies a month in advance and make homemade gifts. Occasionally Mom and Dad would get a store-bought gift for me and William to share. Mom always makes hot chocolate and we open our stockings on Christmas Eve, which usually has our favorite fruit and things like toothbrushes or stickers– little things. It’s my favorite day because we never talk about the things that worry us, or what’s going on with the government, or the fact that Mom and Dad could be arrested that very minute. We’re just… there, in the moment. We used to go to church, when I was little, but they don’t have any more churches in Liberty City. It’s not illegal to be a Christian, just frowned upon. And usually the government begins to keep a closer eye on you. We just do home church on Sundays and watch recordings that Dad makes on his burner computer of American pastors. You guys really have no idea how lucky you are.

A: Indeed. Well, thank you for talking with us, Jackie.

J: Like I said before, you didn’t give me a choice. But you’re welcome.

***

Did you enjoy this interview? Have another question for Jackie? Just comment your questions below!