Character Interviews: A Whole New Chapter.

I want you to close your eyes. 

I want you to clear your mind. 

Use your imagination for this next post.

You ready?

Good.

Open your eyes. 

Before you sits a small set, backed against walls covered in pink, yellow, and blue striped wallpaper. In front of these walls are two red armchairs. In one of those armchairs, is a medium-sized cheetah you recognize. Their fur is brushed and they are uncharacteristically dressed like they're going to a red carpet showing of a movie based off of a book that still has yet to be written. Clad in slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a bedazzled vest, the cheetah stands from the chair on the right. 

"Hello!" Scribbles smiles warmly, like he's smiling directly at you. "Welcome back to character interviews!"

He slowly sits back down in his chair and taps the cards in one paw against the other. "It has been way too long since I have down one of these! And I figured since I had been planning to bring it back anyway, I'd give it a bit of an upgrade! We have a set, we have a new format, and most important..." Scribbles raises a paw to the air. "New characters to interview!"

You hear an obviously pre-recorded audience clap from behind you, which is confusing because... This is all in your head. Right?

"Now, let's refresh ourselves on the purpose of these interviews." Scribbles lifts one of his legs up and crosses it over the other. "I started these four or so years back so we could all get to know the characters I have created better. And it was a fun process! I would present a character to my readers, and my readers would send me questions in return! I would then conduct an interview of sorts with the character! Things were crazy, but it didn't matter to me. It was a fun practice and that is why I am bringing it back!"

"Things will be a bit different this time, though. I will still be interviewing characters, new ones and ones who have already been through this."

The cat let out a chuckle.  "Now why would I repeat interviews? Is this just a ploy to get more views and interaction? These are both fair questions. So yes. I am obviously starving for attention! Let's just get that out of the way. But some of these original interviews happened four or so years ago. These characters are in my head and all of them have grown more over time. Some of them have had big changes made to them. And their stories deserve to be told, even outside of the work they are featured in."

"One main thing that will change, is that I am not going to solely rely on you all to send in every single question I use. And the timeframe between the interviews will change as well. These changes go hand and hand almost. While I will be using any questions my readers have for these interviews, I will also be throwing in some of my own questions to spice things up. I want to reveal who my characters are outside of the story they are in." 

"With me today, I have my first ever guest for a character interview ever. She is here to help me demonstrate the new format." Scribbles snuck a peek from the cards. "She is one of the primary antagonists of one of my favorite works in progress, Penned to Kill: A Jackson Pacer Mystery. Readers of my blog will remember her as a thorn in young writer, Jackson Pacer's, side. Beauty queen, head cheerleader -- and again I add-- Antagonist..." Scribbles shoots a toothy grin towards the occupant of the other chair. "Shelby Keener!"

The seat across from where Scribbles is sitting is occupied by a teenage girl. She is 5'll, blonde, and sitting with perfect posture despite the sour grimace on her face. She is wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt and blue jeans. "Somehow, that intro was meaner than the one you gave last time." She looked away from Scribbles. "Let it be known, I did not want to do this!"

Scribbles giggled mischievously and looked down at the cards in his paws. "Wonderful to see you back here, Shelby. I thought it would be good to give you a proper interview whilst not being a jerk. Just because I hate you, doesn't mean my audience will too."

"Yeah... I do not trust this at all."

"Perfect!" Scribbles looks up from the cue cards. "I asked you this during the last interview when you weren't prepared. Here's your chance to form a better answer." Scribbles pauses, reaches for a glass of water on the table between the two chairs, takes a sip, then returns the glass to it's spot on the table. "Shelby. You are the head cheerleader at your high school. How much cheerleading experience do you have?"

Shelby clears her throat. "I have been put through rigorous training for a majority of my life, to be honest. Between that and pageantry, both are difficult, but the endurance it took to become a cheerleader was far harder for me. And I had been involved in the sport since I was seven."

Scribbles nodded, "Of course. Both fields must be insanely competitive. The pressure and stress that must put on someone..."

Shelby shifted in her seat a bit. "Let's just say it's hard staying on the top."

"I can understand that. And you really like staying on the top, don't you?" Scribbles narrows his eyes. 

Shelby coughs and looks away. 

"Moving on!" He flips to the next card. "Here's a fun one!" Scribbles turns to you, the viewer. "Here's an example of a question someone might send in!" He turned back to face Shelby. "If I were going to buy you a coffee for your birthday, what kind of coffee should I get?"

"Hmm... That is a good one."

"Came up with it myself!"

"Oh..." Shelby rested her head on her palm and bit her lip. "I'd have to go with a Trenta iced coffee with cream, four pumps of raspberry, and four pumps of white mocha. I also love putting a dash of cinnamon on the top."

Scribbles' face scrunched up in disgust. "I do not understand how you drink that."

"Shut up! It is my drink, dammit!" 

Scribbles turned back to look at you again. "Then the third type of question I might throw in for fun is one to poke into their brain a bit. For example..." He turned back to Shelby. "Final question for this interview... What is it about Jackson Pacer that upsets you so much?"

Shelby didn't say anything for about a minute. Scribbles looked at his watch, then at the wall while he waited for her to think of an answer.

"I hate you."

Scribbles shrugged, "Not surprised, with the plot I have planned for you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Listen, Jackson Pacer is a... He's scary! He doesn't talk, he's pale like he's the Grim Reaper or some crazy *BEEP* like that! He doesn't leave his house except for school and when I do interact with him he's cold. He talks to me like I am an annoyance to him and, like, I kind of hate him. I just started being rude to him because he freaks me the *BEEP* out and I don't like the energy he gives off. Of course, my brother Mikey loves him. Can't get enough of the guy. It pisses me off that he's still a feature in my life."

Scribbles puts the cue cards down on the table beside them. "Truly an honest answer... Have you considered that you might just not like him?"

"I just said that."

Scribbles blinks. "Oh! Sorry."

Shelby crossed her arms. "This is why I didn't want to come."

Scribbles smiles. "Well! That wraps up this character interview! Thank you, Shelby, for coming despite my obvious dislike for you! If any of you readers want to learn more about Shelby Keener, I will be posting some links to chapters of Penned to Kill that you can find her featured in! Don't forget to answer the poll on the sidebar! Would you want to see Shelby Keener included when Heroes Collide possibly returns? Or do you think I should just finish the darn book first!"

"Next character interview will be in this same format so please, on the form I am going to be linking, make sure to leave your thoughts on things I can do to improve, along with questions for my next interview subject!"

"Zombies Hate Theater Crashers is the story of a zombie who just wants to watch a movie without it being spoiled. Too bad even the apocalypse has rude people. Maggie is just a simple zombie, but really she is so much more. Check out the full story over on my Wattpad! Then come back and submit any questions you might have for Maggie!