Interview with Janie
Good morning, dear Reader! This week I'm doing something a little different and having a week of character interviews from the Burning Embers Clean Author group in honor of the Character Takeover Event said group is hosting on facebook next week. You can find more details about the event HERE.
Kiernan Kane will be there on Tuesday, April 23rd and he is hosting the hour from 10-11pm EDT. You won't want to miss that!
Today, I would like to introduce you to Janie, from The Worlds Next Door by C.E. White.
Twelve-year-old Janie Rutland somewhat grudgingly befriends Reggie Rankin—the weird new kid at school—and finally has someone to investigate her curious sightings in the abandoned house next door. When they find there’s an impossible world in danger of total destruction, they face a choice. Do they have what it takes to save it? An eccentric fellowship gathers as they embark on a perilous quest in a race against time and their own fears. Traveling in what can only be described as a pirate hover ship, they’re threatened by monsters and storms, shipwrecks and death. Can they find the answers they need to save Sian—and maybe all worlds?
As the world around me solidifies, I gaze around with fascination. I am standing on what I can only describe as a hover ship. It is drizzling and a little chilly and I'm glad I wore my warm jacket. As my gaze sweeps the deck, I spot a young girl staring at me with wide, curious eyes. She approaches cautiously.
Janie jumped, catching sight of someone in the corner of her eye. Someone who wasn't there two seconds ago. She looks around for the others, wondering if this is normal in Sian. Do people just randomly appear in this world? "Who are you?" she asks. "And where did you come from?"
I grin self-consciously. "Yeah, hi. I'm Jenelle Schmidt with the InterFiction Gazette and was told you'd be willing to answer a few questions? I..." The wind picks up and tosses a blast of driving rain into my face, causing me to sputter a bit and I pull my notebook close, hunching over it to protect it. "My readers would love to hear a little bit about you. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself?"
"Well, I'm Janie." She stares across the deck, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. "I don't know. I guess I'm not very interesting. I'm twelve. I like to read. My best friend Angel came down with a mysterious disease today." She swallows and looks at her feet.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I reply. "Can you tell me a little bit about this world? You come from Earth, like me, right? How did you end up here? And can you tell us a bit about how this world is different from our own?"
Janie laughs. "Uhhh, yeah. Definitely from Earth. I got here through this old house next door to mine. I knew there was something weird about it because I always saw these lights flickering, but nobody else ever saw them so I thought I might be crazy." She shrugs and grins, then look around. "Guess I'm not."
I write furiously. "An old house, you say? That's intriguing. And can you explain a bit about what you're doing here? I got the impression that you're on a quest of some kind, care to elaborate?"
Her eyes start to sparkle now. "Yeah, it's crazy. We went into the old house and lights came on behind one of the doors. We went in and found this old French guy, Lagat. He told us Sian (that's what this world is called) was in danger and that we could help it. I was all for it. I mean, who could say no to that? A new world??"
I nod. "And you're here with a friend, right? Is that the one who is sick? Can you tell me about him?"
"Yeah, so...I barely know him, honestly." She shuffles her feet, looking nervous once again. "He befriended me, really. I didn't know Angel was sick. He lives in 
her neighborhood, so he saw the ambulance plus his dad's a doctor at the hospital." She blinks hard a few times, eyes beginning to pool, then shakes her head. "Anyway, Reggie told me about it on the bus, then we got to talking at lunch, and he said he'd investigate the Old House with me, which no one else ever would. He...umm...well, I thought he was weird, but turns out he's pretty OK. Better than that actually."
I smile. "Sometimes the best people seem the weirdest, at first. So, some of my readers might find themselves on their own adventures some day... is there any advice you want to give them? Anything you wish you'd brought with you? Or anything you wish you had been better prepared for?"
"Ha! How could you prepare for walking into an old house and coming out in another world you didn't know existed?" Janie cocks her head and looks up in thought. "Well, be prepared for anything, I guess. Not like a Boy Scout, like "carry matches with you" or anything, but like, mentally. The world is bigger than we know."
I grin. "Seems like sound advice. Thank you for chatting with me, I know you're busy trying to save the world. But just one final question: if you could change one thing about your life, what would it be and why?
Janie chuckles. "Ooh, that's hard. But not. Right this minute, I'd say I wish Angel would get well. Beyond that, I guess it's easy to say I wish I was better with people, but I also don't want to fake it, and even if other people don't get me, I think I'd rather be me than most of the people I meet. So...I guess, my hair. It's stupid frizzy. I know it's dumb to care, but I have no idea what to do with it no matter how many times Angel tries to teach me."
I laugh with her as my badge begins to glow once more. "It was a pleasure to meet you," I call as Sian fades from my sight. I return to my own world with a sigh. I never get to spend as much time as I'd like in these new worlds... but the good news is, I've found a new book to add to my reading list!
Hope you enjoyed meeting this character and catching a glimpse of the world within this story. I know I'm intrigued!You can grab a copy of the book HEREOr you can get a free copy of the audio book HERE (you can get the book and cancel before you get charged for membership if you don't want an audible subscription)
C.E. White lives in the North Georgia mountains with her wonderful husband and two neurotic cats. Her creative pursuits include writing and collage art. Journeys to other worlds--from Neverland to Narnia--have always captivated her. The Worlds Next Door is her first book.