INTERVIEW WITH ARNAUD

Happy Monday, dear Reader. I hope you had a lovely weekend. I sure did. I'm sorry about completely forgetting to post anything new on Friday, but that definitely didn't seem to keep anyone from swinging by! So thank you, for stopping by and catching up.

First, a special treat: my friend and fellow author, Kaycee Browning, invited Kamarie over to her blog for an interview on Friday, you can go read it HERE. And while you're there, you should really check out Kaycee's book, EMBER FLAME, because it's awesome!

As for today's post here on my own blog, I'm also continuing my character interviews surrounding the upcoming cover release for SECOND SON, which is very nearly finished! Since we've talked to Brant and Ky, I figured we might as well round it out with a chat with the other main character of the newest book: Arnaud.

Second Son is as much about Arnaud as it is about Brant and Ky. Even though we don't see him in the first half of the book, the second half revolves rather a lot around Arnaud, so I thought it was high time he got a little bit of well-deserved notoriety here on the blog.

I've always pictured Arnaud sort of looking like Sean Bean... so here's how I picture him in SECOND SON

Sean in his younger years, of course, as Arnaud is in his twenties in this book, and not yet a father of a teenager. :)

Well, let's get started. Good morning, Arnaud, thank you for agreeing to come be featured on the blog today.

You're welcome. I'm always happy to oblige my subjects.

You know I'm not one of your subjects, right?

Just a little royal humor. As a king, if you don't tell jokes from time to time, people start to think of you as not quite human. And I've always wanted my people to remember that I'm just like them. I was a farmer for the first twenty or so years of my life, after all, with no idea what was in store for me in the future.

Can you tell us a little bit about the events that brought you to the throne?

Well, King Jairem was the ruler when I was growing up. I had never seen him or even been into the city. We lived on the far side of the Aura Wood from the palace, close to the Mountains of Dusk. One day, two strangers came and visited us. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I found out later that it had been King Jairem and the Wizard Scelwhyn, coming to see whether or not I might be worthy to be Jairem's heir. I had no idea that I was related to Aom-igh's royalty, I was just a farmer.

So, finding out that you had been named as King Jairem's heir must have been rather a shock?

Yes. It was. I was perfectly content in my life, and had been all set to take over the farm when my uncle got too old to run it, but then my plans changed rather abruptly. I wasn't even given a choice, not really.

Do you regret being King?

Long pause. At one time, I might have said, "yes." But now, being able to look back, I think I was able to do a lot more good for far more people than I ever would have been able to do as a farmer. The job is stressful, and the work is hard, but in the end, growing a kingdom and caring for its people isn't really that much different than growing a farm and tending to your crops. They both need a lot of attention, hard work, and they both demand every drop of energy you have. So, do I regret being King? No, not at all.

Can you tell us a little bit about the first time you met Brant?

Smiles. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had been out for a walk along the border of the Harshlands (our farm wasn't very far from the Northern edge of that desolate desert), when I spotted something strange in the distance. I sort of kept an eye on it, and realized it was moving toward me. By the time I had realized that what I had been watching was a man stumbling towards me, he had collapsed. I knew how dangerous and unforgiving the Harshlands can be, so I ran over to the man and offered him water. I was shocked when I saw that it was a boy not much older than myself. And I have to admit I was impressed when he told me he had crossed the Harshlands all by himself. But I could see that he needed help and was near the end of his strength, so I invited him to come home with me. I knew my aunt and uncle wouldn't mind, they are the most generous and hospitable people I know.

One thing led to another, and Brant sort of got adopted into our family.

Very interesting. Can you tell us what is your greatest fear?

I fear letting my people down, and I fear my family being hurt. As king, I probably shoulder more responsibility for everyone's safety than I probably should, but I can't help but feel that it's my job to make sure everyone is safe.

Last question: tell us a little bit about Zara. How did you two end up together?

I can't give away too many spoilers! That story is recorded in Second Son, and your readers will just have to wait and read the book to get the answer to that question.

Rats, thought I could get you to give away a hint. Well, this has been quite fun. I hope our readers enjoyed hearing from you, Arnaud.

I hope they did too! Thanks for having me.

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If you have any further questions for Arnaud, feel free to ask them in the comments, and he will try to answer as best he can. Remember, these posts are all part of the online party I am having to celebrate the upcoming COVER REVEAL and BOOK RELEASE of SECOND SON! If you want to join the party, you can find out more about how you can participate HERE.