Hop over to Clare Davidson’s blog for a character interview with two quirky blokes, Dogga and Oz from my very own, Red Desert Rain.

Meanwhile here on this blog I welcome Clare Davidson on her blog tour for her young adult fantasy Trinity. If you liked Earth Angel/Red Desert Rain, you’ll love Trinity (and vice versa.) I interviewed two of Clare’s characters, Kiana and Skaric, but first read the blurb of Trinity.

Kiana longs to walk through a forest and feel grass between her toes. But she is the living embodiment of a goddess and has enemies who wish to murder her. Her death will curse the whole of Gettryne. Locked away for protection, she dreams of freedom. Her wish comes true in the worst possible way, when her home and defenders are destroyed. Along with an inexperienced guard and a hunted outcast, Kiana flees the ravages of battle to search for a solution to the madness that has gripped Gettryne for a thousand years. Pursued by the vicious and unrelenting Wolves, their journey will take them far beyond their limits, to a secret that will shake the world.

And now to the interview. First up is Kiana!

Hello Kiana! Pleased to meet you.
What was life like growing up in Blackoak tower? Was it difficult being surrounded by Guardian’s all the time or could you have fun with them too?

It wasn’t difficult being surrounded by Guardians; they were fun. They always found ways to amuse me as I was growing up, like playing dice games and telling me stories.
On the other hand, Ducarius was less fun. It was all work and study with him.
I still miss him, though. I miss them all.
Oh and pleased to meet you, by the way. Sorry, I’m not very good in social situations!

That’s ok! Did you have a favourite subject to study?

I enjoyed learning about all the towns in Gettryne and seeing drawings of animals and plants.
I liked drawing as well.

What is your earliest memory?

Sitting on Marcas’ shoulders as he galloped around my rooms. I think I was three or four, but I’m not sure. I laughed until my stomach hurt.

Aww, that sounds lovely. Marcas must have been like a father to you?

Yes. Of all my Guardians, he was there the longest. right from the start, I think. Then he got promoted and I didn’t get to see as much of him.

What was the greatest thing he taught you or you learned from him as a father figure?

To be myself. I mean… to be Kiana, rather than just the incarnation of Miale. He helped me work out who I was. Does that make sense?

Yes of course, it’s important to be your own person, not just a figurehead.
Who raised you? Was it just your guardians or did you have a mother figure in your childhood?

Not really. I grew up with Erynn, who became my handmaid once I was too old to be helped to bathe and dress by my Guardians.

Was she more like a friend or were you closer than that?

She was my friend, but there was always a sense that I was different. That increased as we got older. I think she was intimidated because I was the incarnation of Miale; she couldn’t see past that.
That’s not very fair of me. I don’t think I could see past it either.

It must have been a difficult thing to live with. What did you think of Nidan when you first met him? How did your relationship change throughout your journey?

He was awkward and nervous, but that was Finn’s fault! I wasn’t much better, I prattled at him and didn’t let him get a word in. When the Wolves attacked, I was surprised at how well he held it together. How calm and supportive he was. He’s like a brother to me now.

You convinced Nidan to save the life of a Wolf even though that man had a hand in killing your Guardians. How did you feel about the Wolf? Did you hate him at any point?

No, I didn’t hate him. I probably should have done, considering everything. When I saw him and realised he was alive… it felt completely wrong to leave him to suffer and die. I know that’s probably hard to understand.

People suffering is very difficult to witness and it was very brave of you to see past his actions and save his life. Why did you decide to trust the Wolf?

It was obvious that he was conflicted and hurting – emotionally, I mean. He didn’t understand why our people had hated each other for a thousand years, any more than I did. He wasn’t what I expected a Wolf to be. He wasn’t a monster.

Thank you Kiana! And now it’s time for Skaric.

Greetings Skaric! Pleased to meet you.
What was life like growing up as the Alpha’s son? Did he have high expectations for your future and were you put under a lot of pressure?

Hello.
High expectations? Pressure? You could say that. My father is one of the greatest warriors currently alive in the Wolves. All the Alpha’s have been great warriors. I wasn’t

Was your father disappointed you didn’t become a warrior or happy you became a nyxus (mage)?

If he was proud of my accomplishments as a nyxus, he didn’t show it. He didn’t disown me, either. I strove to be the best son I could.

Did you actually want to be a nyxus or was it just your only option? Would you have rather been something else if you had the choice?

There were no other choices for me. If I hadn’t been the son of the Alpha, I might have chosen to become a healer. That’s fairly ironic, considering the nyxii do nothing but kill.

You must heal your own men though, you learned field medicine didn’t you?

Yes. I can clean, stitch and dress wounds. Warrior or nyxii, it doesn’t matter, we all learn basic field medicine. It’s necessary to stay alive when we live in harsh conditions and we are frequently engaged in conflict with our enemies. I was surprised that the Guardians weren’t similarly trained.

The Guardians use Pios magic to heal. Are the wolves envious of this magic or did they believe power lies in destruction?

We used to have Pios’ magic, too, before he stripped it from us. The Guardians have an unfair advantage.

They can’t use your magic though. You could kill them before they get a chance to heal themselves. Like when you attacked the tower.

I doubt they’d want to use our magic. Yes, the nyxii killed scores of Guardians at Blackoak Tower, but we paid a high price for it. Pios’ magic costs the Guardians nothing.
If our magic really gave us the edge over the Guardians, we wouldn’t have spent a thousand years skulking in inhospitable mountains.

Their magic is for good, yours is only desctructive. Don’t you think the price is fair?

Do you? *sighs* My people would have been wiped out. We had no choice but to embrace destructive magic. It was our only chance of survival. Besides… we had to make our enemies pay. At least… that’s what I was always told growing up.

Did you ever question the motives of your people?

Not out loud.

How did you feel about sacrificing your own men?

Like a murderer. I hated myself. I’d appreciate it if your next question wasn’t: “so why did you do it?”

I’ll move on then

Thank you.

Do you have a mother? If so what was she like, was she happy you became a nyxus?

No, she wasn’t happy I became a nyxus. She would never have admitted that to my father. I knew. She had no say in it. *looks away* Women… don’t have much sway or power within the Wolves.

I see. You are an only child?

Yes. An only child and a disappointment. I think father would have been happier if he’d sired Berend.

He never wanted you dead though, even when you left. That must mean something?

Yes. It does. I wish I understood him better.

What changed to make you turn your back on your people?

Two things: I couldn’t face death. All my life I believed I would die in Ysia’s name, fighting our enemies. When it came to it… I was terrified. I realised I couldn’t do it. Then there was Kiana. Her insane compassion… she should have ordered her Guardian to kill me. I deserved it. But she didn’t. She had him save me.

You were brought up to hate the Goddess Miale but what was going through your mind when she made her Guardian heal you? Did you still want her dead?

I tried to make myself believe that I still wanted her dead. I tried to summon the will to use my magic to destroy her then and there. It would have killed me, but it’s what I should have done. I couldn’t. Afterwards, I wanted to hate her, but I couldn’t do that either.

Thank you Skaric. Is there anything you want to add?

Only that I wouldn’t want to be interrogated by you! You ask some tough questions.

Sorry! I felt myself get a bit carried away with the questions.

If the interview has captured your imagination, Trinity is available to buy (paperback and ebook) on;
Amazon (paperback)
Amazon (kindle)
Smashwords (other e-formats)

I had so much fun doing these character interviews and wish Clare all the best on her writing journey! Click here to read my review of Trinity.

Clare Davidson is a character driven fantasy writer, teacher and mother, from the UK. Clare was born in Northampton and lived in Malaysia for four and a half years as a child, before returning to the UK to settle in Leeds with her family. Whilst attending Lancaster University, Clare met her future husband and never left. They now share their lives with their young daughter and a cranky grey cat, called Ash. Clare juggles family life with writing, teaching and a variety of fibre craft hobbies.