November Character Interview
Patricia Parrington ~ November 1, 2023
Hello my lovely readers and fellow book-lovers! For those of you who are new here, I, your frog-collecting host, Patricia Parrington, have the pleasure of interviewing characters from books all over the world.
Today we have here with us Jaden from the Zoboros Series by Michael Ciccarelli-Walsh. Michael is a writer based in Florida with a passion for transporting readers to fantastical worlds filled with mystery, conflict, and, of course, crazy space aliens.
Meet Jaden
[Patricia picks up either an unconscious or dead frog, throws it in a nearby waste bin, then sits on an orange suede couch.]
Welcome to Fable Features! Please excuse the frogs. My dragon, Scribblemore, has recently become obsessed with leaving me, ah, gifts everywhere.
So, tell me, what’s a day in your life like?
Jeez, my days have really been blending together lately. Usually they start early with the emergency sirens blaring, which has been killing my beauty sleep. Most exciting part of the day is finding out who’s attacking us: government forces, space gangs, the galaxy’s wealthiest family (we’re a really popular group, if you couldn’t tell). Once we escape, we usually have a mission on some planet. I don’t get to see the planets that much, I’m more the guy in the chair. Very important job, not enough people respect it . . . I mean, anyone (with powers) can blow stuff up; it takes real talent to tell them exactly what to blow up and how. Anyway, I finish my day with some rations from the cargo hold and knock out in my bunk until the sirens inevitably wake me again.
Oh wow! Sounds like that could get stressful. And you say some people have powers? Do you have any powers?
I like to think my intelligence counts as a superpower, but if we wanna get technical then no, I’m not Zoboros (that’s what we call people with powers). About half our team doesn’t have powers, but we each contribute something useful. That’s what makes our team unique.
That sounds very cool, and I love that you all contribute even if you don’t have powers.
Do you have any hobbies? Or a hobby you wish you had time for?
I’m a bit of a history buff, which is only fun when you’re around other history buffs. The rest of the team usually tunes me out whenever I talk about the Poterian War, but that’s their loss!
[Patricia laughs]
Yes, exactly! Definitely their loss.
So I find I’m always trying new foods. What’s your comfort food?
Smoked aivin. Most delicious bird in the galaxy. It’s similar to an eagle on your planet, but much less patriotic.
Hmm, I’d love to try it sometime! I’m not very picky, so I’m sure I would enjoy it.
Speaking of my planet’s food, would you rather eat pizza or tacos?
Tacos. I’m cultural that way.
[Patricia nods, satisfied]
I love that. Tacos all the way! Alright, I’ll stop talking about food. Do you have any close friends? What are they like?
My two best buds are Makoto and Kano. They’re brothers (adopted), but they couldn’t be more different. Makoto’s always down for whatever my latest scheme is, plus he’s Nurrano, so he’s much better at all the running and jumping stuff that I don’t want to do anyway. A perfect partnership.
Kano, on the other hand, can be a real buzzkill. But he has his moments. Definitely the most loyal person I know. And the most secretive. I don’t blame him though; you kinda have to be good at keeping secrets when you have superpowers, otherwise you end up on the run from government forces and space gangs and have sirens waking you up every morning, but I digress . . .
Sounds like you guys make a great team!
[Patricia leans forward, curiosity widening her green eyes.]
What kind of missions do you guys do? Is there an ultimate goal?
I can’t give away our ultimate goal for security reasons, but what I can tell you is that our missions usually involve freeing Zoboros. The galaxy isn’t kind to people with powers; many of them end up in illegal fight rings or imprisoned by the government. You would think life with superpowers should be easy, but in most places it’s practically a death sentence. Our team is trying to change that.
[Patricia’s eyes darken.]
Yeah, there’s a lot of that mistreatment out there. It makes me happy to hear someone is doing something about it.
Here’s a deep question for ya: what does perfect happiness look like to you?
All-you-can-drink at my family’s beachside resort. Still miffed they cut me off.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! Can I ask why they cut you off?
Some BS about me hacking into my parents’ accounts and exposing their less than legal activity to major news outlets . . . you know, typical family stuff. I don’t regret it, I just wish they would see that they were in the wrong, not me. Pigs would sooner fly though, so I’m not holding my breath.
Ahh, that makes sense. Maybe one day they’ll come to their senses.
Do you have any tattoos, scars, or birthmarks?
No, but back when I was in the military (long story, we ended up going AWOL and blowing up their ship) they cut off all my hair and the recovery process has been trying.
[Patricia subconsciously brushes a hand through her own hair.]
I’ll bet. I feel like hair can be a very close and personal thing—sacred, even.
Let’s swerve away from the bad memories for now. What’s your favorite memory?
You’re not publishing this anywhere, are you? Cuz the team would laugh . . . but if I had to pick, dinners with Makoto and Kano’s family. It was just . . . normal. And after ditching my family, normal was nice.
But I give a close second to launching a firework into Junior’s face from the back of a speeder bike. Classic.
After hearing about the craziness of your everyday life, “normal” certainly does sound great!
Okay, I gotta ask—do you have any embarrassing moments?
Kano is usually the one getting himself embarrassed, but if we have to nitpick . . . I once got in a drinking contest with a girl at the bar, but that girl turned out to be a government agent who allegedly interrogated sensitive information out of me. I don’t remember that part, though. Just the part when I woke up at the police station…
Worst part was she wasn’t even finishing her drinks. What a cheat!
Wow, how rude of her! She should’ve at least finished the drinks.
[Patricia shakes her head with a small grin.]
Looks like we have time for one last question, so here it is: What’s something you would have a super hard time turning down if it were offered to you?
Honestly, my inheritance. I know my family would be giving me dirty money, but it would be money I could use to build something . . . something better than they ever built. Something I could be proud of.
Plus, it could buy me some aivin on the beach, and that’s never a bad thing.
Haha, true!
[Patricia stands.]
Well thank you so much for coming out tonight. Best of luck to you and your team with your mission!
End of interview.
Want to Read More?
Jaden’s author, Michael Ciccarelli-Walsh, can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Threads at @ciccarelliwalsh. His books can be purchased here.
See Ya Next Month
Aaaand that's all the time we have today. Thank you, readers, for coming. And thank you, Jaden, for letting us get to know you. See y'all next month, and until then, stay outta trouble and keep writing!
If you would like to submit a character to be interviewed for a future issue of Fable Features, please send an email to linnaekconkel@gmail.com with the subject line: Fable Features.
Please note that erotica and content with excessive vulgar language will not be accepted.
If you have questions you'd like Patricia Parrington to ask in a future interview, please submit them to linnaekconkel@gmail.com with the subject line: Interview Questions.
Comments