Topic: Character Interviews
I ran this particular interview back in August, but Nigel Taiman was feeling a bit put out that he wasn't part of this book tour--so I told him I'd allow him to talk with your wonderful readers. Take it away, Nigel!
1. Can you tell us your name and the title of the book you live in?
I'm Nigel Taiman and I live in Onweald in the novels Choices Meant for Gods and Choices Meant for Kings by Sandy Lender, and in the anthology What Choices We Made by Sandy Lender. Currently.
2. Describe to our readers what your role in the book is.
Oh my. I have several roles. My first priority, in my eyes, is to help Amanda Chariss, who has come to my family's home for protection. I also run my family's estate and school. I've been offered a position of leadership that my father coveted, and I believe I'll be better able to help 'Manda if I accept it. Wait a minute...my author is yelling something at us. Oh. Chariss. I'll be better able to help Chariss if I accept it. Sandy doesn't want me to call my bride Amanda when I'm out marketing like this.
3. How did you convince your author to put you in this book? For example did you visit in a dream or make yourself known some other way?
Sandy didn't really have much say in the matter. The evil Lord Drake showed Chariss to Sandy many many years ago, I think because he wanted her to rewrite the tale to his liking, and Sandy just couldn't look away from the story. Chariss and her guardian and some of the other players have told it over the years and introduced me when the time was right. So I sort of met Sandy through Chariss.
4. Is your author easy to work with or controlling?
You know, that depends on when you approach her. If you can wake her at 2 or 3 a.m., her thoughts are really malleable. But she has this idea that she knows how to end the trilogy, you see. I'd like to influence that...
5. Would you tell us about one of your favorite friends from this book?
I'm going to have to pick Henry Bakerson. He was a friend of mine when we were young boys sneaking cookies out of his father's bakery and when we were stupid youths drinking every tavern in Arcana City dry. We're lucky we didn't get killed in some stupid, meaningless brawl. When we started getting our lives straightened out with military training, my father stepped in and screwed up my part of the plan. Henry ended up with a real career, though, which is surprising considering he remained a ruffian and a rogue. I can't imagine the number of children he must have scattered about Onweald and Bellan - and the number of angry fathers ready to hang him for ruining their daughters. But he's such a fast talker that I guess he can get out of the noose often enough. I thought I'd never see him again when he went off to sea with his shipping business a few years back, but, he surprised me and showed up during the summer festival in 7220 and tried to sweep Amanda, I mean Chariss, off her feet. Old rogue. She's a sly one, too, you know, and ended up getting him to work for us in helping The Master Rothahn. Turns out Henry's got a responsible streak in him. It's buried in there, of course, but Chariss knew it was there. Henry can still drink a tavern dry...
6. Do you plan on appearing in another book or are you happy to be where you are?
Well, if I can keep Sandy from killing me off in a fit of rage - you really ought to see her when she gets frustrated with my suggestions - I'm going to pen a sort of epilogue novel to the Choices trilogy. She announced that to a group at a convention where she did a reading back in May and the ladies around her got very excited, so I think she's got a reason right there to keep me alive.
7. What would you like our readers to know about you?
I'm nothing without Chariss.
8. Did you learn anything during your adventure in this book?
By the gods, yes. Hrazon and Chariss showed up and it's as if a new world dawned at my family's estate. My mother always demonstrated unconditional love for me, but these two...these two are the epitome of love and devotion. Their relationship is a testament to what love is supposed to be. And then they've both been training me in the use of my geasa, which is a power you'd have to read the book to understand fully. My father would never let me develop my geasa so I never understood the responsibilities behind it, but Hrazon and Chariss have opened that world to me. I could go on and on but Sandy's fussing at me.
9. Can you tell us what you think is the most exciting thing that happened to you in your book?
Exciting is a word loaded with meaning. The good exciting thing was falling in love with Chariss the moment I set eyes on her. There were several not-so-good exciting things that I dread coming between us.
10. Is there anything in your story you wish you had not done? Why?
No. All my actions are justified.
11. What was your main motivation?
Protecting my family and Chariss is my motivation for everything now.
12. Introduce us to your main adversary.
The main one? That's a toss-up. My main adversary is Julette, The Dragon, The Betrayer. She is more to me than I realized, and she has partnered with Chariss's nemesis to threaten not only Chariss, but Chariss's charge, The Master Rothahn. It's become a huge mess for us. Julette is problematic for a number of reasons, the main being she's an ancient goddess who turned evil about five thousand years ago. So she's had quite some time to perfect being bad.
13. Is there anything you would like to have done but your author stopped you?
I may have to keep quiet on this one. You know. To protect Chariss's honor.
14. Here's your chance to speak your mind. What do you want to tell everybody?
Oh, I'll get censored for sure. Sandy's paying attention, you know. Something not directly related to Chariss's story that I'd like to tell everybody is that I've started to actually enjoy this marketing business out here in your society. Learning how to use a computer, how to post to a blog, how to answer e-mails...it's all new to me, but very interesting. And even though I started doing it because Sandy threatened me into it, I continue now because I enjoy it. I run a blog where she lets me make fun of her at http://sandylender.blogspot.com/, but I'm at a point where I don't really want to make fun of her unless she's in on it. She has a pretty good sense of humor, which I think she got from Chariss.
15. Please tell everyone where they can find out more about your story and where they can purchase it.
Sandy keeps a blog of her own where she puts updates about the books from time to time. It's at http://www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/. What's frustrating is she's also marketing other books she's worked on there, so you hear about other characters besides Chariss. If you want to get the books, they're available at Amazon (well, Choices Meant for Kings isn't available until November and her anthology What Choices We Made isn't available until late October), but you can get the first novel in the trilogy, Choices Meant for Gods, at the publisher's site http://www.archebooks.com/ or at Amazon. Or you can go to a bookstore and see if it's still on the shelf. Special ordering it is expensive, so you might want to go straight to her publisher's site. There's a discount there. Click on: http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/Fantasy/CMG/CMGDesc.htm
Thank you for the opportunity to talk about Sandy, Choices Meant for Gods, and, of course, my lovely Chariss. It's been a pleasure.
