Or, I Ask Hero Connor Beckett A Few Questions
*This character interview appeared at Author’s Secrets in March 2018.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink, a chocolate chip cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about The Shopgirl’s Prophecy! Please introduce us to your guests.
Anna Abner: This handsome guy standing next to me is Connor Beckett and the late arrival is Alina Rusenko, the heroine of The Shopgirl’s Prophecy.
Q: Okay, lets start with Connor. What event in your past has left the most indelible impression on you?
Connor Beckett: I don’t want to talk about my dad leaving, okay? But if you want something that screwed me up, when my prophecy came out, my whole life got tipped upside down. I went from a mediocre engineering student to a giant disappointment. People who’ve never met me hate me now.
Q: What do you most value?
CB: I don’t really have anything that belongs to me anymore. I live in a hotel. Everything I have was bought by our investors. But if you’re asking what means the most to me, then it’s the memories I have growing up with my grandpa. He was a great man who taught me about respect, hard work, and honor, and I can never repay him.
Q: What is the type of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with?
CB: I’m a little distracted right now with the end of the human race, though I will say I’m partial to blonde cheerleader types.
Q: What do you consider most important in life?
CB: There’s nothing more important than family, and sometimes the family you create is even more important than the family you were born into.
Q: What is your biggest secret?
CB: Well, it wouldn’t be much of a secret if I told everyone who asked. But most people wouldn’t know by looking at me that my bank account is bulging at the seams. That’s all I’m going to say.
Q: Alina Rusenko, who are you really?
AR: Why? What have you heard?
Q: Who were the biggest role models in your life?
AR: My father taught me a lot. Everything I am came from him. I think my mom could have been a big role model for me, but I wasn’t lucky enough to have her growing up.
Q: What kind of man do you want to spend the rest of your life with? (or if you don’t want romance – Why not?)
AR: Romance just isn’t in my future. I’m happy being single, really. It’s safer that way, for everyone.
Q: What kind of man would you never choose?
AR: I’ve had bad experiences with popular jocks. I definitely will never waste time on one of those beefy jerks.
Q: What is most important to you in life?
AR: I value my privacy, as well as peace and quiet.
Q: What is your biggest fear?
AR: There are things I must keep secret, for everyone’s safety. It’s why I live such a secluded life in London.
Q: Anna, tell us a little about writing this story. Was it fun or difficult? Do your characters always act as you expect? Are you a plotter, or fly (write) by the seat of your pants?
AA: Shopgirl’s Prophecy is the beginning of a paranormal series I’ve been obsessed with for over ten years. I’ve always loved this story, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Writing it wasn’t difficult at all! It was a joy to create each character, each setting, and each turning point. That’s not to say the novel didn’t go through several iterations. In one, Oleksander had a mother more vicious than he is. In another, the entire novel takes place in the Ukrainian countryside. But I’m very happy with the final version, and I love the way it turned out.
When I started Shopgirl’s Prophecy, I was a pantser, writing in whichever direction the wind blew. Over time, though, I learned to embrace organization and planning. Currently, before I write a novel, I complete a pre-writing packet and use it as a blueprint for plot and characters. It helps me feel more in control of my work.
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<3 Anna
