Monday, July 13, 2015

Character Interview with Brandon from The Courage Series by Jill Daugherty

I love character interviews. It's so much fun to get a bit more insight into characters before (or even after) reading the book. Today author Jill Daugherty joins us with an interview of her character, Brandon, from The Courage Series.

Siblings Today recently interviewed 13-year-old Brandon O’Neill about his relationship with his older sister, Maggie, and about his life as a typical teenager growing up in the suburbs of Denver.

ST: So, you seem to really enjoy doing things to torment your sister, Maggie. Do you have to spend a lot of time coming up with these ideas, or do they just come to you naturally?

Brandon: You know, for the most part, they just come to me naturally. I don’t even think about what I’m going to say because it just rolls out, and let’s be honest, just about anything I say is going to annoy or embarrass my sister in some way. But there are times when I feel like the occasion calls for something more thought out. Like when Maggie started dating Simon, I couldn’t just pull something out of a hat at the last minute. It was a big deal for her, and I needed to have something really good planned.

ST: You’re talking, of course, about her first date with Simon to the Denver Art Museum.

Brandon: DAM. Yes.

ST: So you spent a lot of time coming up with the DAM jokes?

Brandon: Well, I mean, I didn’t really have to spend a lot of time thinking up the jokes. I was sort of inspired by a trip we made to the Hoover Dam a few years ago. When you’re on the tour, they make all these dam jokes. Like, “We’re going to go up some dam stairs now.” Or, “This would be a good spot for some dam pictures.” That sort of thing. So when I saw that Maggie and Simon were going to the Denver Art Museum, I just ran with it.

ST: And do your parents object to you teasing your sister?

Brandon: Not really. I think they both know that it’s a duty I’m obligated to fulfill. Simon does like it very much, though. I have to be careful when he’s around.

ST: Do you worry that he would cause you physical harm if you tease Maggie too much?

Brandon: No. I don’t think he’d every do anything to physically hurt me, but I think he’d find a way to cause some serious emotional pain.

ST: How so?

Brandon: I’m no sure, really. I just get the feeling he could if he wanted to.

ST: Have you ever thought about teasing your sister, then decided not to go through with it?

Brandon: I don’t understand the question.

ST: Have you ever not followed through with plans to tease your sister?

Brandon: Seriously. I don’t understand what you’re asking here.

ST: Okay, let’s move on. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

Brandon: {Laughs openly.} Oh, you’re serious. What kind of question is that? Why I would I want to be a tree?

ST: {Shuffles through papers} Um...Okay...Let’s see...Oh, here’s one. If you were stranded on a desert island, what book would you take with you?

Brandon: Any book that tells me how to get off the island.

ST: Well, yes, but which book would you take besides that one?

Brandon: Any book that tells me how to survive on the island while I’m waiting to get off it.

ST: {Exasperated sigh.} Tell me three things you can’t live without.

Brandon: Video games, video games, and video games.

ST: {Exasperated sigh.} Well, I think we have enough here.

Brandon: Seriously? Those are all of your questions?

ST: Yes. That was it.

Brandon: But you have like 10 sheets of paper there with questions.

ST: Oh, uh, those are questions for another interview I’m doing.

{Shuffling paper.}

Brandon: Let me see.

ST: No. I can’t. It’s a top-secret interview.

Brandon: What kind of top-secret interview could you be doing for Siblings Today magazine?

ST: Oh. Look at the time. I’m running late. Must go.

{Footsteps. Door opening. Door closing.}

Brandon: I think that went well.


Courage and Other Demons

Jill Daugherty

YA Urban Fantasy

FREE on Amazon July 17 - July 22


The end of the world will start in the suburbs of Denver with a faery transfer student from Ireland. If you think that’s totally ridiculous, then you understand how Maggie O’Neill feels. In all of her sixteen years, faeries were something you read about in children’s books. They didn’t actually show up on your doorstep. They didn’t kiss you and make your knees go weak and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Until Simon Brady, that is. Simon changed everything. He makes her heart race and her skin burn with excitement, but he has also changed her core beliefs about the world and made her see it as a dark and dangerous place filled with monsters that belong only in the lines of faery tales. There is no doubt in Maggie’s mind that she loves Simon, but can she see past who he is and find a place for him in her heart?


Abandoned Courage
Book #2


Maggie O’Neill had a rough junior year… She fell in love with Simon. She found out Simon was a faery. She spent some time with her dead ancestors. An evil faery with control issues came after her and brought his groupies to kill her. …but that was nothing compared to what’s in store for senior year. She’s the new girl at faery boarding school and is subjected to something she never thought she’d have to deal with in her entire life—mean girls. To make matters worse, she’s seeing less and less of Simon, her faery guard is smothering her in their efforts to protect her, and the evil faery is still stalking her, determined to kill her before she can kill him. She starts to wonder if she’ll make it to graduation. Then the unthinkable happens and she wonders if she’ll be able to survive even one more day.



Defining Courage
Book #3


Eighteen-year-old Maggie O’Neill is a high school dropout. If her parents knew, they’d probably kill her, but that’s the least of her worries. Balor—the evil faery from hell—is still stalking her, someone is still betraying her, and the mean girl at school is still mean. The worst part of her life, however, is figuring out how to live it without Simon. Will Maggie discover a way to defeat Balor? Will she ever be able to out-snark the mean girl? Will she find Simon? Tune in next week—uh, read the book—to find out.


About the Author
Jill Daugherty lives in Denver with Bailey, the world's cutest dog. By day, she works with gifted children and their teachers. By night, she writes. A lot. She is the author of the Courage series, which has received glowing reviews. At the insistence of her readers, she has started work on a spin-off series.


2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for including me on your blog, Kimber!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure! Brandon sounds like an intriguing character :)

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