ASK THE AUTHOR for Women In SFF – Part 1
We had great fun at Christmas asking authors which of their characters they would spend Christmas eve with if they could (read that here). We had an incredible response, so we thought we’d bring that concept back for Women In SFF!
Over the course of the month, we’ll be asking authors three questions, and for part one we asked:
Which of your characters would you go on a road trip with?
First instinct was to go with the Hound (The Last Phi Hunter), a fierce, loyal, half-spirit half wolf that would decimate my enemies without a second thought. However, he’s not much of a talker—the strong silent type. Plus his lack of opposable thumbs would make driving difficult. Ex, on the other hand, doesn’t need to sleep often, has great night vision, and is always down to eat. Only major concern is that he seems to find trouble wherever he goes and is a general chaos magnet, but that’s kind of what makes road trips fun, anyway.
Salinee Goldenberg | The Last Phi Hunter
Oh, I think Asher Todd from The Path of Thorns. I think she’s got the right degree of fearlessness, pragmatism and a bold disregard for rules. So, she’d definitely get you into trouble, but she’s clever enough to have already thought out escape options before the trouble starts. You know that friend who you want to be with you in dangerous situations – they’re also generally the reason you’re in a dangerous situation in the first place.
Angela “A.G.” Slatter | The Path of Thorns
I’d pick Alon, the last tide-touched healer in Aynila, and the male POV in Saints. He’d make sure everything went smoothly, first aid kit checked, plenty of snacks and drinks on hand, full tank of gas. He’d try to do most of the driving, but to let me feel useful he’d hand me the map he’d already memorized. He likes to keep people safe.
He’d be great company on a long drive, he’d ask interesting questions and he’s a great listener. I can feel a 3am overnight drive confessional coming on. A lot of my characters are very prickly, but Alon is deeply, to the bone, kind, and you don’t always want to be stuck in an enclosed hunk of steel hurtling down the highway at 95 miles per hour with prickly. Plus if I managed to drive the car off a bridge Alon would absolutely be able to handle an underwater vehicle escape.
Gabriella Buba | Saints of Storm and Sorrow
Ris. Without question, it would have to be Ris. While I respect Anahrod’s ability to have me reach my destination in one piece, she is the stoic, silent type, while Ris would have great banter, snacks, and oh yes, comes with her own dragon. (The dragon definitely wins in terms of transportation.)
[Ed. – bonus points for mode of transport]
Hands down, Theo. That werewolf’s love language is flirting and fun. He’s not afraid to play, and has no trouble throwing hands…if the occasion calls for it.
K.C. Harper | Shadowed Moonlight
I would love to go on a road trip with my formerly pampered protagonist, Lileala, but only after she evolves into the wise, fearless and gutsy woman she eventually becomes. A trip with someone that curious and spunky would be quite an adventure. Besides fun and excitement, I’d also get a chance to exchange ideas about the Dogon Tribe of West Africa and hear Lileala explain how it really feels to actually fuse your soul into someone else’s physical form.
Denise Crittendon | Where it Rains in Color
I would go on a road trip with Anaba Raines (Forging a Nightmare) because she’s a Nightmare and the road she knows well is the Vestibule Road, which winds through all of Hell. So any road trip in the real world would be safe because she knows how to handle herself, and I could literally go anywhere in the world because she knows how to have a god time.
Patricia A. Jackson | Forging A Nightmare
I’d go on a road trip with Remy St. James (Dot Slash Magic) because he is hilarious and he would bring the weed. He’s a fan of Nirvana, and good music in general, so we’d have no problem picking a playlist. Also, he’s sexy as hell and we would definitely do it in the back of the car.
Liz Shipton | Dot Slash Magic acquired by Angry Robot, no further information currently.
I’d love to go on a road trip with the countess on a carriage pulled by skeleton horses of course. I’m normally a fairly anxious and quiet person by nature and I think she’d get me out of my shell – by physically dragging me if necessary! I do suspect we’d end the road trip in a jail cell, but with a load of memories.
Rose Black | Til Death do us Bard
This is actually a pretty fitting question for my book, which starts with the main character driving into a shining city of the future and ends with her driving out of it. While she’s a lot happier on the way out, setting off on a lovers journey with her own clone, I would feel like a third wheel in that backseat. Overall I think I would probably like to go somewhere with the hitchhiker she picks up at the start, a magician’s apprentice whose ginger hair is already peeking out from under the bad goth dye job. He has an easy-going attitude to travel and if we get bored he can read my tarot; the perfect combination for someone riding shotgun.
Maud Woolf | Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock
As seen in The God and the Gumiho, both Seokga and Hani have very different approaches to road trips. Seokga is of the “I just want to get there” mindset, while Hani is more than happy to stop at a Coffee Star for some hot chocolate and pastries. Because I’m also a large proponent of road trip snacks, Hani would be my #1.
Sophie Kim | The God and the Gumiho
Knowing most of my characters it would be more fleeing headlong into the desert than road-tripping, but my go-to answer would probably be Silas, most chilled-out smuggler flyboy in the system. He’s a good pilot, always has food (and a few extracurricular substances) stashed somewhere, and doesn’t care if you have holes in your boots. On the wilder end of the scale, riding the freight haulers with Gabi would be pure adrenalin. Might not last very long though…
Stark Holborn (The Factus Sequence: Ten Low, Hel’s Eight and Ninth Life) | Ninth Life
Definitely Esra. I can just imagine it – us on the back of a wagon (obviously drunk), shit-talking the entire kingdom to filth.
Stacey McEwan (The Glacian Trilogy) | Valley
The Branded is already a road trip (albeit on dog sleds, wagon sleighs and ships), so I’d feel disloyal not having the whole gang bickering on the back seat. If I knew what was good for me, I’d say Haus because he’d let me take the wheel, would hunt down the snacks when I get hangry and is clearly a dab hand at braids, so my hair wouldn’t frizz up on the journey. But, I’ve never known what was good for me, so I’d choose the Wrangler.
If I want the road trip to be memorable, probably Ava, the scammer from Frontier. There’d be good chat, unplanned detours, hijinks etc. She’d get us into bad situations but then she’d talk her way out of them, plus I feel like she’d have good taste in playlists which is a must. My little Honda would come out with a few fresh dings but it’d be worth it for the craic.
While Stan (a man turned into a cat) is the most unlikeable character in the book, and the most irritating, he’s also obvious and chaotic. Nothing would go to plan, we’d be fighting but he’s always wrong and I’m always right, so that would be perfect. Plus, he likes tacos. I like tacos too.
[Ed. – 10/10 would also choose (cat) Stan]
Karen Heuler | The Splendid City
I’d love to go on a road trip with Lady Gi. Her character is a recasting of the weaver girl (from the weaver girl and cowherd legend)–in Shanghai Immortal she’s the pampered daughter of the Jade Emperor, grounded in Hell for shirking her duties. She knows how to have a good time, and she also travels princess class so no roughing it LOL. If we ever got caught in a sticky situation, she’d also be able to charm our way out of it, or girl-boss her way through it!
I mean, Sil, from Mindwalker, would be the obvious choice, since she’s got Jarvis in her head to give us directions, compare restaurants, book our hotels etc. but I think Cemmy from Until We Shatter would get me in far more trouble––which would probably be way more fun.
It would be fun to go on a road trip with Carmilla from An Education in Malice because even though she’s a bit of a princess and would probably complain at points, she would make sure we stayed in the cushiest hotels and drank champagne every night and visited every single literary attraction along the route. Also, I just know she can be trusted to take excellent travel photos.
Ermm – none of them?! Perhaps Nut from Composite Creatures would be the best companion, but then again, it depends how long the road trip was. If it was a particularly long one, I expect it’d start well but end up in bit of a sticky situation….
Caroline Hardaker (Mothtown, Composite Creatures) | Composite Creatures
Kanda in A Sword of Bronze and Ashes would be a wonderful travel companion. She’s strong, clever, resourceful and would tell the most wonderful stories every night. We’d hike the footpaths, byways and holloways, not drive; I love walking cross-country along the coast path or through the hills and dales, and Kanda is happiest walking and being active. Kanda knows the plants, the animals, the stars … She’s the strongest, most positive character I’ve written and very much based on the natural world she’s created from, I feel her in the trees and birdsong around me whenever I walk in the countryside. I have been on a mini-walking trip with her, in fact – the book opens with her standing in a real place that she and I both love, a river valley in the Peak District outside Bakewell. I’ve been back there since and could feel her with me as I went walking.
Anna Smith Spark (Empires of Dust, A Woman of the Sword, A Sword of Bronze and Ashes) | A Sword of Bronze and Ashes
If you’re taking a road trip to get from A to B with a little sight-seeing on the way, then Ambrose Everly is your man. He’s packed snacks, a jumper (because of course), and an itinerary for an Appropriately Good Time. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to upset everyone in the vicinity with an ugly but fast car, then it has to be his elder brother, Gabriel. Gabriel has packed nothing except a spare pair of sunglasses, and there is no guarantee of a Good Time (or even reaching your destination). But you’ll look extremely cool doing it.
Georgia Summers | The City of Stardust
Tricky… journeys for so many of the characters in my epic fantasy novels rarely go well. Dan Mackmain in my Green Man series would know the best routes to take, but he’s a man of few words, so unless we were going somewhere with nice scenery to look at, that could be a bit dull. I’d rather go on a trip with his swan-maiden girlfriend Fin, or maybe Hazel, the wise woman the two of them sometimes work with. We wouldn’t run out of conversation.
Juliet E McKenna (The Cleaving, The Green Man’s Quarry, The Tales of Einarinn) | The Cleaving
If the destination is the purpose of the road trip, then I would definitely get one of the Celestials in Song of the Six Realms to take me the most direct route possible – flying with magic of course! (Sadly I experience car sickness). But if the purpose is for good company and FOOD, I would go with Lian, Ning’s best friend from A Magic Steeped in Poison. She would know the best places to visit.
Judy I. Lin | Song of the Six Realms
My first instinct is to hit the road with Ever. She’s been living her whole life underground, finally being out and about on the Surface everything would be mind-blowingly new to her, which would make me see the world through a whole new set of eyes. BUT considering she doesn’t know what anything is, the endless barrage of “What’s that?” Might drive me insane on a long trip. On the other hand Farrah is also from the underground Helix Colony, but she’s over confident, always thinking she knows more than she actually does. So she’d still have that wide-eyed wonder, but might hold back on the questions to seem cooler. So, depending on how long the trip is, Farrah might be the better choice for my sanity. Plus she’s a badass.
I would have to pick Shade Nox for a kickass road trip. Having her behind the wheel of a car makes me envision a Road Warrior sort of scenario. Lots of heavy metal guitar riffs and crazy chase sequences. As long as she got to use her blades and blow up a few things, she’d be golden. I would be in charge of snacks, of course.
Would it be cheating to pick seven characters?
[Ed. – We’ll allow it]
I would love to go on a road trip with the Bangtan Brothers from The Guardians of Dawn series (who, uh, may or may not be inspired by a real-life kpop group) because I imagine it would just be nonstop singing and having fun. If not, I would probably pick Han from Guardians of Dawn: Zhara because he’s a himbo with a sort of wide-eyed innocence (and good taste in books), so it would be fun to see the sights with him.
S. Jae-Jones | Guardians of Dawn: Zhara
Definitely Tigris! I think she would take care of me and she would know what to do in case something went wrong along the way! I’m both a new and anxious driver, but even if this is a scenario where Tigris Margrave has appeared fully formed off the fantasy streets of Farsala, I’ll bet she could learn to drive stick faster than I ever did. I also think she’d have really good taste in road trip music, which I can decide, because she lives in my head.
Also, she’s a princess, which means she’s very rich, so we’ll be staying in nice hotels instead of in sketchy hostels on the side of the road, which I feel I’m way too old and fussy to still be doing.
Mariana Costa | Shoestring Theory
Oh, definitely Lord Riven from A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience! The poor man’s been stuck in his sinister old manor house for the last 200 years, so he’d be absolutely fascinated and excited by everything we saw AND desperate for good conversation.
Stephanie Burgis | A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience
There are plenty of more sensible options, but I would have to say Wydrin Threefellows, mercenary, trouble maker and poor decision maker. It might not be safe, but it would definitely be lively, and I’d end up knowing every tavern on the route (and possibly be banned from a few).
Jen Williams (The Copper Promise/The Ninth Rain/Talonsister) | The Copper Promise
I’d love to take a trip with Zora from Black Hind’s Wake. She’s powerful, strong, and admittedly stubborn, but she’d make an amazing travel companion! We could surf her waves, or cruise the bars – she’d know all the best spots in Terrania. Plus, she’s always got her friend’s backs and calm under pressure. I’d just have to make sure I stayed on her good side.
J E Hannaford (Black Hind’s Wake / Aulirean Gates / Unfamiliared) | Black Hind’s Wake
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