Hello! My name is Katelina, and welcome to Weekend Character Interviews. Using state of the art-mumbo-jumbo author magic, Jo has temporarily bent the laws of fictional space and time to allow various literary universes to converge long enough for me to ask different characters a few questions. Since I spend a lot of time in the Amaranthine series quizzing vampires on what they’re doing, where they’re going and why, Jo thought I would be the perfect interviewer.
Today we are interviewing Olwen from Sadie Forsythe’s epic fantasy The Weeping Empress.
The Weeping Empress
Katelina: Hello Olwen! Welcome and can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Olwen: I’m a Sister of the Sacerdotisa – a nun so to speak. Though I haven’t been back in many years, I’m from Dashkalil. It’s a beautiful place and I miss it…but I have faith that my mission is worth the homesickness.
K: Oh! A nun! So is this a religious book?
O: No. While my faith is important to me —it’s an important part of my character – The Weeping Empress is not a religious book.
K: Oh I see. Still, as a nun I bet there are some universal things, like as nuns you’re not exactly dashing out to the beauty salon, for instance?
O: Oh, I’m an old woman now. I don’t worry about such trivialities anymore, but I turned a few heads when I was young. Those are happy memories that I think I’ll keep to myself. I’m here to talk about the book I’m in.
K: Well, I also bet that as a nun you don’t have a lot of enemies.
O: I do have an enemy, a very powerful one—Emperor Kenichi. I don’t think I would call him my nemesis though. That honor is reserved for Chiyo. He really hates her, and is only after me to get to her. You see he thinks she is trying to disrupt his rule. Well, I guess she is, really. But she has a destiny. The Goddess chose Chiyo as her righteous Right Arm and tasked her with freeing the people of Dashkalil from tyranny and oppression. I suppose as long as the emperor treats his people badly Chiyo will continue to do her duty, Blessed be the Goddess in her merciful ways. Sorry, I have a tendency to rant a little bit about it.
K: No problem, rant away!
O: That’s why Emperor Kenichi is hunting me. You see, Chiyo wasn’t born in Dashkalil and it took the intercession of the divine to get her there. It was…well still is my mission to find her. The Goddess Kali laid down the proclamation that a savior would be found, but it is human hands that must make it so.
K: Oh, you have to find Chiyo? I guess that’s probably the challenge you’re facing – authors love to give us challenges, after all….
O: When the leader of the Sacerdotisa called me to her and told me that the Goddess had need of me I was honored. I cried, and prayed, and gave thanks. And I am still honored to be answering the call of Kali. It’s important what I’m doing, but it’s hard. It will take my whole life, the life of my daughters, and my daughters’ daughters. Sometimes I look out over the seemingly endless expanse of time and I quake. I fear I will fail, and it will all be for nothing.
K: What do you do?
Photo by C Jill Reed used under CC license via Flickr.com
O: I pray, of courses, and Kali has answered. That Chiyo arrived means that somewhere in the annals of time my girls and I succeed.
K: It sounds like you give up a lot for your calling.
O: I’m not the only one. Chiyo is forced to sacrifice more than anyone else.
K: Do you regret the part you played in this?
O: I feel bad and wish that is wasn’t so, but I don’t regret it. I think everyone, including Chiyo, understands that it was necessary. Having said that, Senka would likely slip a knife in my back if we ever met and Chiyo would, no doubt, be happier for it.
K: Oh, I’m sure… well, actually, if you have fellow characters like mine, they’re probably happy to stab you in the back. But since the clock is ticking, if you could say one thing to your readers, what would it be?
O: Mankind has such a gift. We are innovative and determined in our desire to succeed, but it’s important to remember that we are not alone in our aspirations.
K: What is the one thing you want most in the world?
O: To die knowing that I have done as was asked of me, and to pass the task to the next. It’s selfish I know, but I would like to meet Chiyo just once; to see with my own eyes the flesh that I have sacrificed myself for. But I’m far from home and it is unlikely that I will ever be able to return.
K: I don’t think that’s selfish at all! You seem like a pretty selfless kind of person. But, if you could say one thing to your author, what would it be?
O: Well, this is really why I’m here. I have a complaint. The whole story hinges on me, and what do I get, a passing mention. Sure, Sadie tells me I’m important, and promises me that I’ll be instrumental to the sequel, but really, its not fair. I think I deserve a little more face-time. There I’ve said it.
K: Ha ha! Nothing wrong with that! I have a few fellow Amaranthine characters that feel the same way. They keep talking about contacting some National Union of Fiction Folk… but we’re running out of time, so last question, other than yourself, who is your favorite character in The Weeping Empress?
photo by Shock2006 via flicker under CC license
O: I’m quite partial to Muhjah. He knows how to make an old woman laugh and he’s honest about his proclivities.
And with that we’re out of time! You can find Olwen in Sadie Forsythe’s epic fantasy The Weeping Empress available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Weeping-Empress-Sadie-Forsythe/dp/1257814419/
And be sure to check out Sadie’s site at http://sadieforsythe.com
And a special thank you to Sadie Forsythe for playing along!
If you’re an author and would like your character(s) to be interviewed by me, then check out this very cool page that has all the details:
https://joleenenaylor.wordpress.com/character-interviews/
Amaranthine by Joleene Naylor 
sallykwitt
/ April 28, 2012Nice interview.
Joleene Naylor
/ April 30, 2012Thanks for stopping by, Sally! This was a lot of fun to do!
DM Yates
/ May 3, 2012Great interview. So creative!
Joleene Naylor
/ May 12, 2012Yeah it was fun to do one of these again! 😀