Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Usually right now I would be blathering on about some writing topic or entertaining you with a story I spewed out after a few glasses of wine. But today I have something different, something special. I\u2019ve managed to secure an interview with Jemma Behker. You may remember her from my 2011 NaNo novel. She\u2019s a lovely young lady from the Kingdom of Callador and\u2026 well, why don\u2019t we cut straight to the interview?<\/p>\n
Good morning, Jemma.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jemma:<\/strong> It\u2019s the middle of the night.<\/p>\n Technically, yes, but\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>I\u2019m not stupid. It\u2019s the middle of the night.<\/p>\n Right, right. Good evening then. Why don\u2019t you tell me a bit about yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Why?<\/p>\n Well, how about your family then?<\/strong><\/p>\n J:<\/strong> My parents run a bakery.<\/p>\n Behkers in a bakery?<\/strong><\/p>\n J:<\/strong> Are you mocking me? Because I\u2019ve been trained how to kill you, if you are.<\/p>\n Of course not, no need to be hasty. So, you won\u2019t be following in your parents footsteps, but what about your siblings?<\/strong><\/p>\n J:<\/strong> My older sister Danika is married and has a couple of babies already. I think she might be with child again, it\u2019s hard to keep up. My two older brothers are going to be bakers. I keep hoping that my parents will apprentice Taran and Devon to my Uncle Ben so that they can learn pottery, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to happen. Mama\u2019s too stubborn. As for Mikel and Caleb? Well they\u2019re just babies. I\u2019m sure that hasn’t stopped mama from planning their life out for them, though. I just hope they don\u2019t get sent to the Academy.<\/p>\n The Academy is the school you attend. Tell me more about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n J:<\/strong> I suppose I\u2019ve learned a lot here. It\u2019s definitely opened up more opportunities than I thought possible when I was a kid. I just hate how everything is structured around social class. It\u2019s not supposed to be. I got into the school on my own merits, just like everyone else. It shouldn\u2019t matter that my parents are commoners.<\/p>\n You said you earned your place at the Academy, what was the test like?<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>It wasn\u2019t anything spectacular. I met with one of the royal seers when I was seven and he used his sight to determine if I had what it took to be an Academy student. Apparently I did, so I was shipped off to school. Sometimes I wish I didn\u2019t, but that wasn\u2019t my decision to make. Having the talent means I\u2019m obligated to attend the Academy and serve my country after graduation.<\/p>\n You spend most of your time at a boarding school; do you miss your family?<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Sometimes, but it helps knowing that they\u2019re close by if I ever do need them. When my studies allow, I spend Sairday and Sunsday with them. It\u2019s hard to relate with them, though.<\/p>\n Why is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n J:\u00a0<\/strong>Going to the Academy is supposed to be prestigious. Mama thinks that I’m too good to help out with chores when I’m home for breaks. I miss helping her bake. Besides, I rarely see them anymore. My little brothers are practically strangers.<\/p>\n Do you have any friends at the Academy?<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Anna, Seth, and Dirk are amazing. I don\u2019t know how I would have made it through everything if Dirk hadn\u2019t made an effort to befriend me. Melisandra\u2019s not too bad either, for a noble.<\/p>\n Rumor has it that you\u2019re a favorite of Prince Reidon, can you tell me more about your relationship with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Relationship? Dagan\u2019s oven! I hate that spoiled, selfish, arrogant prince! Seriously, if any of those other girls want him, they can have him. The sooner he figures out I\u2019m not interested, the better. Some guys just don\u2019t listen.<\/p>\n What about Lord Kingston? It\u2019s been noted that you\u2019ve been spending quite a bit of time in his company, sometimes behind closed doors.<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Seriously? Alec\u2019s one of my instructors. And he\u2019s old. Like, really<\/em> old. At least a decade older than me. Don\u2019t be ridiculous. And stop listening to Reidon. He doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about. Alec\u2019s just being nice. Lord Alec, I mean. Father Sun blast it all, don\u2019t look at me like that. Alec\u2014Argh!!!\u2014Lord Kington\u2019s just my instructor. That\u2019s it<\/em>.<\/p>\n Who dances with you? Because\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n J: <\/strong>Yes<\/em>.<\/p>\n Jemma? Jemma, where are you going? I apologize everyone, it seems as if the interview is over. Jemma has stormed out of the building. Oh dear. I think we\u2019re going to have to replace that door. She really needs to learn how to control her temper.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Usually right now I would be blathering on about some writing topic or entertaining you with a story I spewed out after a few glasses of wine. But today I have something different, something special. I\u2019ve managed to secure an interview with Jemma Behker. 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