July VIP Character Interview
Patricia Parrington ~ July 21, 2024
Hello my lovely readers and fellow book-lovers! For those of you who are new here, I, your fantastic host, Patricia Parrington, have the pleasure of interviewing characters from books all over the world.
Today we have here with us VIP guest Kailyn Moran from the book Darkness Calls the Tiger by Janyre Tromp. Janyre is an award-winning, best-selling author who writes heart-wrenching, hope-filled historical novels with a healthy dose of suspense. But she’s also a mom, award-winning editor, and wrangler of all things.
Meet Kailyn
[Patricia plops onto an orange suede couch and motions for her guest to sit as well. She brushes back some hair out of her face and smiles.]
Welcome to Fable Features! It’s nice to meet you. So where did you grow up?
[Kai nods at Patricia but stands to keep a wary eye on the door as she pulls a tiger pelt closer over her shoulders.]
I grew up in Tingrabum. It’s a small Kachin village in the Himalayan mountains of Burma. My father was the missionary there. He and my mother walked in with a water buffalo and tools and convinced the Kachin people to let them stay. My mother died giving birth to my brother, and my Aunt Nang Lu took me in and watched out for me.
I’m sorry to hear about your mother.
[Patricia’s eyes lower for a moment, then she clears her throat and glances back up at her guest.]
What’s “home” for you now?
I don’t . . .
[Kai’s grip tightens on the hilt of the wicked-looking jungle knife hanging across her chest.]
Home is a luxury for other people and other times. I’ve learned to do without and it’s better that way. No one depends on me, and I don’t have to be disappointed by anyone else.
Sounds like you’ve had a hard life. It is difficult when people keep letting you down. Do you think you would ever start looking for something—or someone—to call home?
I thought I’d be able to stay in Tingrabum my whole life. You know? If I couldn’t teach in the mission school, maybe I could open an orphanage for kids like Tu Lum. My Aunt Nang Lu would’ve helped. But the village is gone now. I have to survive the war first before I can think about anything else really.
Opening an orphanage would be wonderful! I’m sorry to hear that your village is gone.
[Patricia’s eyes lower for a moment. Then she straightens and redirects her gaze back to Kailyn.]
What’s a favorite piece of clothing you own?
Your assumption is that I have options. I have a longyi (which is basically a tube of material we fold into a skirt), bits and pieces of a US military uniform that I’ve borrowed from my compatriots, some wool leggings that were my mother’s before she died, and a tiger pelt. I suppose the tiger pelt is what I’m most known for.
The tiger pelt is what gives me the most protection. I earned it as a child. It’s what confirmed me as an outcast . . . not that the daughter of a missionary needs much help being shunned. Still, only tigers can kill tigers. And if the mountain people and the Japanese soldiers wish to believe I am one of the legendary tiger-people come to life, then so be it. Perhaps the one I hunt will cower in fear knowing that I am coming for him.
[Patricia leans forward a bit as she admires the pelt Kailyn clings to.]
Tigers truly do inspire awe and fear, don’t they? Tell me more about these tiger-people. Are they real? Have you met them?
All the mountain people tell the story, or maybe a legend, that speaks of a time so dark, the sun will turn his back on the mountains and swallow the moon. It is then that the sharaw, the tiger-people, would come to exact revenge on the darkness. Some people say that a tiger becomes a person or that a person becomes a tiger.
Whether the legend is true or not, it’s useful to me now.
When I was a girl, the jaiwa, the storyteller I guess you’d say, told me I would become the sharaw. My parents insisted he was just poking at the foreigners, but most of the village never looked at me the same again. Now, the name Sharaw strikes fear into the enemy and makes my allies just wary enough not to look too closely at me.
Wow, what a chilling legend!
[Patricia leans back.]
What is something you thought would be a great idea but was terrible when you actually did it?
Bringing the new missionary, Ryan, on a hunt with Tu Lum and I . . . although that was more Tu Lum’s idea than mine. My father is sending me away to America, and I’ve no choice. It doesn’t matter that I’m more knowledgeable and trained than Ryan. Because of him, I am ancillary to the mission. What is a single woman to do in the mountains?
Hmm, you make a good point. You do seem quite knowledgeable!
If you could combine traits of two animals into one, what animals would you choose?
[Kai merely nods at the tiger pelt on her shoulder].
If you believe the whispers, I’ve already combined two animals.
[Patricia’s eyebrows raise.]
So it’s true then? The legend you mentioned? That’s quite a feat. How do you feel about it—being part tiger, part human?
Perhaps it’s true. At least it’s as true as the rumors of Kachin Spirit Men. When you live in the jungle as long as we have, you know where to go, what to do. There are enough tigers in our mountains to make even the bravest enemy warrior tremble. No one would willingly choose to attack an animal that even Western rifles cannot bring down.
Very good point. I wouldn’t want to face a tiger either.
[Patricia shakes her head.]
If you could choose to be famous for something, what would it be?
The only reasons I care about notoriety is so that Utagawa knows I am coming and will quake in his hobnail shoes and so that the Americans allow me to go where I wish.
So, for creating fear then?
[Patricia nods slowly and absently tugs at her long, green hair.]
I could see you accomplishing that. You seem to be quite the ferocious woman.
What are your thoughts on lying?
Should I not lie to protect myself? If the Imperial Japanese soldiers knew I was a woman, would they fear me as they do? If the American soldiers thought I was anything but the boy they call Sharaw, would they allow me in their camps? Ryan seems to think so. But he is wrong. It is better that they think I am a lost orphan boy. Quiet, smart, and equal parts submissive and deadly.
This is true. Pretending to be a lost orphan boy would grant you a bit more freedom to do as you like.
You speak of being deadly and being like a tiger—perhaps even one with the tiger. Do you hunt at all, like tigers do?
I protect my people . . . whatever that entails.
Fair enough.
[Patricia cocks her head.]
Is there a place you would like to visit someday?
Visit?
I am tiger’s youngest sister, born of fire, birthed of midnight and brilliant flame. Man and beast bound together, darkness and light tormented forever. I am the one who will stalk the darkness, seek prowling revenge for my people. I will roar for justice and leave seething destruction behind me. I will rage. My ashes will cover the jungle. It is my sacrifice that will bring revenge for what Utagawa and his people have done. There will be nothing for me after that.
Ahh, revenge.
[Patricia stares into space for a moment.]
I’ve known a few who sought what you seek.
[She offers Kailyn a sad, bittersweet smile.]
Great hurt can push us to such goals, can’t it?
Well, we have time for one last question, so here it is: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?
[Kai clenches her jaw and pushes away from the wall.]
There is not a single moment of my life that has been easy. Every breath is conquered, wrestled from this world. Papa says that God will come, but I’ve yet to see it. Even Aunt Nang Lu says he is there in the stars. Ryan is the only one who seems to understand, but even he can only do so much.
I’m truly sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.
[Patricia stands.]
Thank you for coming out today! I appreciate your vulnerability and allowing me to get to know a bit about you.
I hope you find peace someday.
Ryan would wish peace for me as well. And I wish the same for you. For all the people. Perhaps someday . . . someday.
End of interview.
Want to Read More?
Kailyn’s author, Janyre Tromp, can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub. Pop over to www.JanyreTromp.com to sign up for the free Books & Beautiful-Ugly Journal and receive a free novella as a thanks! The book Kailyn appears in, Darkness Calls the Tiger, can be purchased here.
"Evocative and transportive, filled with nuance . . . " - Tosca Lee
Main character, Kailyn Moran
Author Janyre Tromp
See Ya Next Time
Aaand that's all the time we have today. Thank you, readers, for coming. And thank you, Kailyn, for letting us get to know you! See y'all next time.
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.
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