“Oh, wow, there are a lot of cobwebs in here.” Ashley
Vaandere meanders out onto the Interview Saturday stage and looks around before
brushing some dust from the interviewer’s armchair. Though the stage wasn’t
visibly moved, the sounds of seawater crashing against the shore can be heard. “This
just won’t do at all.” Blinking her blue eyes and shooting the audience a grin,
she throws her arm out and spins in a circle.
A swath of flame bursts over the stage, brushing over
everything and scorching away the dust and cobwebs, all without burning
anything (or anyone). Once the stage is nice and shiny again, the flames
vanish, and Ashley rubs her hands together. “Much better! Alrighty – I’m Ashley
Vaandere, your host, and here today I’m pleased to welcome Princess Liliavaine
Wyle of The Surrogate Sea by Danielle
E. Shipley!”
A massive seawater wave crashes
onto the stage, its retreat revealing a tall, slender girl, her long flaxen
hair and fashionable blue riding coat miraculously non-soaked. She strides to
her seat with a smile for the audience and nod for her hostess. “My thanks for
the invitation, Ashley. And for moving your studio seaside! Dreadfully
considerate of you.”
“Our pleasure!” Ashley drops into a quick curtsy for the
princess before sitting down in her seat. “So, Lily – is it okay if I call you
that? – I’ve heard that you’re ramping things up in this new addition. In such
a way that you become a sea. Is that
for real? Is it fun?”
“Entirely real,” Lily laughs. “And
far more fun than not! Mind you, it wasn’t my original plan. But practically
everyone else in my family has had a magical adventure, and my sister got to marry
a king of the Sky, for goodness’ sake. So when the opportunity to take the
place of the Great Sea came my way, I was hardly going say ‘no’!”
“Heck yeah, I don’t blame you. Adventure received where
adventure is due!” Ashley empathizes. “Y’know, I thought controlling fire was
cool, and I’m not a fan of water, but being the ocean would be rad. Now, the
book blurb explains that you go to look for love in the most ‘fantastical of
places.’ What about your bestie, Chancewaine? Can we give the audience a bit
more background on the where and why for that?”
“Oh. Chance. Well.” Lily’s
expression vacillates between pleasure and discomfort. “We’ve known each other
forever. He’s like the brother-friend Laraspur has in Ionquin – (they’re my
elder sister and brother, you know) – but… well, that’s all very wonderful, but
it’s not for marrying, is it? So I have to look elsewhere, for something more.
Something – someone – to blow me away
with their exceptionality. And the natural world seems the place to look for
that. I mean, have you met the Sun?”
“That is very true. Someone you see as a best friend and
brother isn’t marriage material. Haha, I can’t say I’ve met the sun. I’ve met
someone who knows someone who represents
the sun, but not a personal meeting. And not your sun, either.” Ashley grins and crosses her legs at her ankles
as she leans back. “Your parents couldn’t have been happy with you deciding to,
well, become the Sea on them. Were you planning to tell them what happened?
What about Ionquin or your sisters?”
“I’m going to tell them,” Lily
protests. “…Eventually. But it isn’t as simple as— what is it modern people in
your world do? Text and tweet? Not an option in my society. Nor did I have a
courier on hand to take down a letter and run it back to my family, first thing.
And one of the few limitations on the Great Sea is her inability to travel far
beyond her borders. Besides…” She squirms. “If I told them straightaway, and word
reached the Moon, he might make me go right back to being human. Where’s the
adventure in that?”
“Talk about restrictions,” Ashley comments. “I get where
you’re coming from. One person hears the wrong thing, and it’s game over for
your journey. Man…it’s so hard to get adventure nowadays!” She thinks about her
next question.
“Erring on the serious side here, but being the Sea and
all…sorry, I can’t seem to get over that.” Ashley grins sheepishly, scratching
the back of her neck. “Is it all fun, or is there more work involved than you’d
think? Do you feel it when people are sailing on the water? What about if
they’re swimming?” Questions continue to pour out of her mouth without a
filter. “Does it tickle? What about all the fish and other ocean life? Do you
get to talk to them? Does it get lonely, on that note? Do you still sleep? Eat?
Do you-”
Laughing, Liliavaine holds up a hand.
“Slow your stream, Ashley! Let me see if I can recall even half of your hundred
questions. Can I feel ships upon me and creatures within me? Yes, if I’m paying
attention. My waters are so vast, and those things so small, it’s like the
touch of a gnat; it might go unnoticed. Talk to fish and such? I could, the
same as the air could talk humanity – that is, the living air can; the winds. But they won’t generally bother because,
frankly, they see it as beneath them. And in fairness, what isn’t beneath the Sky? As for loneliness,”
she snorts lightly, “who even has the chance? The South Wind won’t leave the
Sea in peace for more than a day.”
“That is so
cool,” Ashley informs her. “Being able to feel everything. Hm, I don’t know;
maybe fish would know more than you expect! I guess I understand though.” She
laughs quietly. “Ah, a pesky admirer, then. Hm… So what did you think of this
Muirigan, who you traded places with?” Ashley queries, leaning back in her
chair and folding her arms behind her head. “It’s kind of weird that she’s
competing for the love of someone you’re really close to, isn’t it?”
“I see Muirigan and I as being much
the same, in some respects,” Lily muses. “We both know what we want, and we’re
willing to go after it, never mind the lines drawn around us at our births. Her
romantic interests may not make perfect sense to me, but when you’ve spent your
whole life in the world of water, maybe a human prince ends up looking pretty
exotic.”
“Wow, not to mention the fact you two had similar circumstances
in the first place. Like you said, bound by lines drawn at birth, but once you
met you could break them. That’s awesome.” Ashley nods in understanding. “Right,
I can see the uniqueness of a human prince in that scenario. And what do you
think about Austeryn, the Wind you end up associating with?”
Lily’s lips screw sideways. “I
believe your world categorizes his kind as ‘creepers’. The other three winds
come across as so straightforward, but him? He’s a snake of a storm. And… complicated.
Though if nothing else, I suppose one could admire his persistence. He’s
determined to make me trust him.” She crosses her arms. “Best of luck with
that.”
Ashley has to take a minute to laugh at Lily’s
expression, as well as the reference to creepers. “Oh, man! That’s gotta be
something.” She snickers once more before calming down. “Yeah… And I wish the
best of luck to you to persist those advances. How about some more casual
questions?” Ashley looks around thoughtfully and back to Liliavaine. “What kind
of hobbies do you have? What are some of your likes and dislikes?”
“Well, Father got me into
horsemanship early; I do love a good gallop o’er the hills. Used to enjoy going
to balls more, too, before it all started to go a bit same-old, same-old. And
anytime Chanewaine would visit my kingdom, or vice versa, we could do any old
thing and have fun. Anything but sitting around, doing nothing. That’s no way
to live a life.”
“So. True,” Ashley agrees wholeheartedly. “You and I
need to go on an adventure together. I had once been intended to own a horse,
but then that idea changed down the road.” She shrugs. “Especially when some of
your balls don’t get the magical intrigue some others get, I bet it would get
boring! How about some self-perceived strengths and weaknesses?”
“As the Great Sea,” she says,
grinning, “the strengths are beyond measure. Simply as myself, though… boldness.
Audacity. A proactive spirit. These traits may have gotten me into an awkward
spot, a time or two, but I’d rather that than wait around, bored, for what I
want to come to me. Because there’s no guarantee that it will, is there? It’s either
risk having things happen to you, or risk having them not. I’ll take my chances
with the former, thank you.”
“Totally. Those who seek activity shall receive!” Ashley
responds. “No point in being passive. Life is too short.” She motions around
the stage. “Now, I had a light show just a bit ago. This stage is pretty
durable. If you’ve got the power, would you want to give a little show of what
you’re capable of?” She stands up and backs away from the main area of the
stage. “Although, being a bit of a fire-inclined person, maybe try not to
drench me, heh… Otherwise, have at it!”
Lily’s fingertips tap her chin. “My
entrance wave may be tough to top, this far onto the shore. Oh!” Her face
lights up. “But I can do this.” With
a smile, she closes her eyes and dissolves, her from gone in an instant from
solid and girl-shaped into clear water running down from her seat and off the
stage. After a few beats, she runs back in from the wings and stikes a pose.
“Ta-da! Sorry for the short delay,” she says, sitting again. “I had to rejoin with
my greater waters before I could resolidify my core. Elemental law. You know
how it is.”
Ashley rises from her seat in surprise as the princess
suddenly turns to liquid, and gasps as the water runs off the stage. “H-hey, we’re
not done,” she protests, just as Lily runs back in. “Oh! That was awesome!!” she exclaims, a huge grin on
her face. “Elemental law—yes, I definitely
know how it is.” She settles back into her seat as well.
“Final question, then! It was a bit of a coincidence
that you got to become the Sea. If you could turn into any being, however –
yourself, a different person, or Wilderhark, or the Sun or Moon… If you had
your choice, what would it be, and why?
“Ooh, anyone at all? High Goodness,
how to choose? I think… I might go
with a wind. After all, they can take on any shape they wish, so in a way it
would be like being one person and a million! If there’s no room for a fifth
wind, in addition to North, South, East, and West, I’d take the East.” She
flashes a grin. “He’s lord of the lightning.”
“Lord of the lightning—that would be fun,” Ashley muses,
looking thoughtful and nodding in agreement. “Well-thought answer!” She gets to
her feet again and smiles.
“That’s all the time we have for today.” Ashley steps
forward and bows to the audience once, and then to Princess Liliavaine. “It was
an honor to meet you, milady! And now, in the tradition of past interviews,
we’re gonna go have some lunch, on me. How about seafood?” Ashley can’t help a
snicker at her own ‘clever’ joke, and insists, “I was totally kidding.” Taking
Liliavaine’s hand, she waves farewell to the audience.
“Until next time on Interview Saturday! Liliavaine’s
journey can be read in The Surrogate Sea,
available for purchase on Amazon, Createspace, and Barnes&Noble. Also, the
links for the other stops on the blog tour today are just below. C’mon, Lily –
let’s go talk dancing with our powers!” Grinning, Ashley leaves the stage with
the Surrogate Sea.
*~*~*
Saturday, March 28th =
Flame Writer (Character Interview)
Four Thousand Words (Author Interview)
YA Chit Chat (Character Profile)
