Wednesday, March 23, 2016

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Creena Brightstar from the Star Trails Saga

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

My name is Creena Brightstar and I'm currently living on Cyraria, a planet around one of the stars in the constellation Earth knows as Scorpio.  I'm 17 years old, but was 14 when the biggest adventure of my life began.  I'm average height, athletic, have dark hair and eyes, and a nose I don't like.  I love science and am learning everything I can about it so I can help my father engineer this planet into a more comfortable place to live.  (BTW, that's me on the cover of "Beyond the Hidden Sky" and "Refractions of Frozen Time."  I'm in all four books, though.)


What do you like to do in your spare time?

I'm fascinated by the mysteries of the Universe.  There are so many things that we are just beginning to understand, like the relationship between matter, our minds and psychic abilities.  The cristobalite and devenite crystals we found on this planet magnify these abilities, so I spend all the time I can experimenting with them.

What is your favorite color and why?

Any color but orange.  That was the color of my uniform on Mira III and I hated it.  I think that my favorite color is probably purple, since that's the color of devenite, which was so important in bringing our family back together.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

I love all Earth food!  When I was staying with the Bensons in Cache Valley they had a big garden that was so incredible.  The other kids hated weeding and harvesting the veggies, but I loved it, as well as everything it produced.  I guess my very favorite is strawberry pie, not only because it's so yummy, but it's so pretty, too.  Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

What would you say is your biggest quirk?

Hahaha, you should probably ask my older brother, Dirck.  We're getting along pretty well now, but we used to fight all the time.  It drives him crazy that I'm what he considers illogical.  As my 'troid, Aggie, explained it, I'm right-brained and he's left-brained, so we see things differently.  Most of Mira III was left-brained so everyone thought I was pretty weird.  I also asked too many questions and always got in trouble for it.  Not any more!

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? Share a line in the book where this irk is manifested.

Dirck drove me crazy because he was so critical and made me feel like an idiot.  The Mira III Academy was strict about the rules.  If you broke one, you were given a Noncompliance Report, or NCR, and your name was displayed on a giant, digital board for all to see.  Here's a scene from 

"Beyond the Hidden Sky" (changed to first person) to show what I mean:

It was outside the Academy's galarium, where our paths always crossed between zones four and five.  Students streamed past, a rainbow of organized codes, my Code Orange and Dirck's Code Blue parallel, our common name placing us side by side.
"What's the matter with you?" he'd said, voice angry enough to rise above the zonebreak din.  "Why can't you just be compliant?  What's so hard?"
"I can't help it," I replied, emotions swelling like a cresting wave.  "What's it to you, anyway?"  My steps fell out of synch with the others and a soft alarm went off at my waist.  I skipped back quickly, hoping Dirck hadn't noticed.  He had.
"You’re such an embarrassment!" he muttered.
"So what?" I snapped.  "Just pretend I don't exist.  Then it won't bother you anymore."
He gave me that look that made my nerves stand on end. "Only you could think it's that simple.  You're my sister and everyone knows it.  Besides, when you're on the NCR board someone always thinks it's me because all they see is 'Brightstar.'  It's humiliating."
I almost lost step again but caught it in time.  "Well, it isn't you, so what's the big deal?" I said.
"I'll tell you what the big deal is!  You're an embarrassment to the entire family!  I get tired of everyone reaming me out because my little sister is a constant on the Board!"

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

I didn't realize in the beginning how much I loved my family.  Then, when we were separated, I mean REALLY separated, like on other sides of the galaxy, I came to realize how important they were.  It didn't take long before I was willing to take any risk necessary to get back to them, which wasn't exactly easy.

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

When I was on Earth, I really had a giant crush on Allen Benson.  I still think about him a lot and wonder if we'll ever see each other again.

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

Dirck really knew how to push my buttons and I should have learned to ignore him and not get so upset.  Everything would have been entirely different if I hadn't let him upset me so much that I tried to hide in that escape pod. 

A question for me:

Ask me any question. I've always wanted to know what a character thinks about writers like myself. I'll answer the question at the end of this interview.

Do your characters ever surprise you with what they say or do?

Always. Always. Always. I think the best writing comes when you just let them have their say instead of expecting them to be a certain way. Of course they need to be in 'character' but they need the freedom to speak and do without being hindered by their creator.

***

Thanks, Creena!

Learn more about Creena and her creator:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/marcha-fox/86/440/326/                     


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