Today I’ve decided to have a bit of fun and conduct a character interview between Shea Kelly, from my “Non-Compliance” series, and Jane Colt from “Artificial Absolutes” and “Synthetic Illusions” by Mary Fan. Self-Indulgent? Yes, but it’s my blog. So without further ado take it away ladies…
Shea: Thanks for joining me here in the Non-Compliant Sector, Jane. I apologize for the accommodations. The sector can be a bit of a hole. I’m not sure why my author didn’t write this interview up in space where you are. That would’ve been a hell of a lot more interesting. So tell me a bit about your first adventure in Artificial Absolutes.
Thanks for having me, Shea! And trust me, after the time I spent hiding out on the Fringe, this place looks perfectly lovely to me.
I used to be ordinary. Well, ordinary for the Silk Sector, at least. I was just another office drone, working at my dad’s banking company. Then, some sonuvabitch sent a machine to kidnap my best friend, Adam. I was there – saw everything. Even had to fight to keep that machine from taking me too. But no one but my big brother, Devin, would believe me. The next day, the police told me that my brother shot my father. But I wasn’t about to trust the authorities – not after what happened with Adam. So I lied and told them I didn’t know where he was, then went to find him. I managed to catch up to him just as he was taking off in his starship, and we set off to find who the real culprit behind Dad’s shooting was – and figure out what had become of Adam.
Shea: Sounds pretty awesome. I haven’t left the sector in years much less the planet. Tell me a bit about your follow on adventure. Do you get to see the galaxy again? More evil government plots?
Ugh, I don’t like thinking about it. So this might be a bit of a spoiler, but we found Adam. And… I discovered he was harboring a secret – something even he didn’t know he was hiding, and something he couldn’t change. And I thought, after we made it home in Artificial Absolutes, that we could just keep it a secret and move on with our lives.
But then a secretive government agency called ISARK – the Intelligent and Security Agency of the Republic of Kydera – found out about Adam and sent an operative to capture him. And not just any operative – Devin. I tell myself that he was just following orders, but it still felt like a betrayal.
Anyway, I couldn’t lose Adam – not again. So I took him and fled… and found myself fighting my own brother to keep him safe.
Shea: That Travan Float sounds a lot like the sector. What kinda folks have you met there? Anyone that surprised you at all?
Oh, Travan Float is home to a lot of characters. Most are anything but friendly. I barely stepped foot on that place before some sonuvabitch tried to buy me from my brother. Ew, right? But some aren’t so bad. I also met these two hackers who were perfectly willing to help a pretty girl who needed a peek at the float’s security system. I felt a little bad about playing them like I did, because they actually seemed like nice guys, just scraping by on whatever jobs they could get.
Then there’s the Lady with the Silver Armbands. I have no idea what her real name is – no one does. She’s a merc I bumped into. This pimp tried to force me to work for him, and I was kind of desperate, so I grabbed the first weapon I saw to make him back off. Turned out to belong to the Lady, and from what I’ve heard since, if I’d nicked any other merc’s weapon, I’d be dead. But the Lady actually helped me get out of that situation, which surprised me a lot. I didn’t expect to see her again – until she turned up at a place I’d gone to confront my brother in Synthetic Illusions.
Shea: I hear your author is kind of obsessed with bots. Mine is too. I’m not sure what’s up with these chicks. Anyway, how does artificial intelligence / bots play a big role in your books?
Can’t really talk too much about that without spoiling both, but I can say this: they changed my life. Things I used to think couldn’t be replicated turned out to be truer than the originals. And things I thought could never exist ended up haunting me. I used to think that machines were just machines, and that no matter how far technology advanced, they’d never be real. But then I discovered something that led me to wonder just what “real” was anyway. I mean, I’m no scientist, but from what I’ve heard, a good part of our behavior as humans is determined by genes and chemicals and whatnot. So who’s to say we’re not all programmed, in a way?
Shea: Your brother, Devin, seems to be a bit of the dark and brooding type like the pain-in-the ass in my life, I mean boyfriend. How do you deal with him?
Oh, Devin. I wish I knew why he’s always so…distressed. He’s been my hero for as long as I can remember, and he’s always looked out for me. And I always wanted to look out for him in return, but he never tells me what bothers him. So I do the only thing I know how: I let him know that I love him no matter what, and that nothing, nothing, can ever make me turn against him. I just wish he’d believe me.
Shea: Adam, your boyfriend, is a … little different (without giving spoilers). Was it hard to reconcile these differences?
No. If someone had told about these “differences,” as you call them, before I really knew him, then I probably would have been a horrible person and recoiled. But by the time I learned about them, I already knew him well enough any superficial… well, differences… didn’t matter. There are things that mean much more to me than what’s on the outside.
Shea: What’s the best thing about getting to jet around the galaxy?
Getting to see things I otherwise wouldn’t. The one good thing about being a fugitive is that things like interstellar border control and customs and whatnot aren’t really an issue. I love seeing new places, especially ones that are off the beaten path. I mean, Travan Float isn’t exactly a tourist destination, but I’m still glad I got to see it. And there was one planet I visited that’s renowned for its beauty, but that’s run by warlords and pretty dangerous. I’d always wanted to visit, but never got to until it became necessary to hide there.
Shea: We have a similar problem with The Man making our lives miserable. What’s your favorite way to stick to The Man?
Hitting back when the proverbial Man strikes at me – and hitting hard. I’m pretty sure the people who go up against me see just a helpless little Silk Sector princess and assume they can scare me off. Well, screw them! Anyone who messes with me or the people I care about is dead meat. And there’s nothing I like better than surprising them with just how much I can do.
Shea turns to gruff voice yelling for her.
Shea: Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Well, Jane, sounds like my man’s bellowing for me again. Anything else you’d like to tell us before you’re off in your ship? Let us know where we can cyberstalk your author and buy your book.
Visit my author’s website at http://www.MaryFan.com – if you go to the “Jane Colt” section under “Books”, you can learn all you want to know about the books I star in. And here are some links to where you can find my books:
ARTIFICIAL ABSOLUTES: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482320347/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
SYNTHETIC ILLUSIONS:
http://www.amazon.com/Synthetic-Illusions-Jane-Colt-Novel/dp/1940215234/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390660599&sr=1-2&keywords=synthetic+illusions
Shea: Thanks for stopping by. Maybe next time you can take me for a ride in your spaceship.
Come on down! Though I can’t guarantee it’ll be a nice ship…