Character Interview: Michael from Phoenix Rebellion Series

Hi all!

Author Gail Delaney was nice enough to put me in touch with one of her main characters in The Phoenix Rebellion series, Michael.

Michael, tell us a little bit about yourself:
"I don't know who I am quite yet, so it's difficult for me to answer that question. I know the titles I wear, or that have been placed on me -- son, father, friend, lover, doctor -- but until I believe I've earned them, I don't want to claim them. For the first twenty-five years of my life, I was nothing. Fuel for insurmountable hatred, I was tortured and tormented and prayed for death. Things are different now. None of that answers your question, I apologize."

How did it make you feel when after finally meeting your father he had to leave?
"I was afraid. As much as I wanted to embrace the freedom and new life he had given me, I knew nothing of the world or the people around me. I feared I would do something wrong, or cause anger unintentionally. And I was sad, an emotion I had yet to grasp. Anger, I knew. Fear... I lived that. Confusion. Acceptance and resolution. But never sadness. I believe to experience sadness, you must understand happiness, and happiness was foreign to me until the night my father came for me and took me home."

What kind of emotions are you dealing with in regards to your birth mother's actions?
"I once confused Jacqueline when I told her Caitlin Montgomery was my mother, but for any reason that counts, she is the woman I now give that honor. As for Kathleen, I have long since moved past hatred for the woman who birthed me with her stolen body.

Once, I thought anger and hatred were one in the same but I know now they are very different. So, I can say that while I no longer harbor hatred for her, I am enraged by the things she did. Not just to me, but to so many others. I'm angry at what she left behind. And I'm angry to be left behind to deal with the ramifications."

After being raised in containment, how do you feel about all these new experiences in the world? What is your favorite discovery?
"For a brief time in what I believe they call my 'teens', my captors allowed me books and through them I created a shallow and two-dimensional imagery of the world. Once I lived it, experienced it, nothing else could ever compare.

The taste of snow on my tongue. The realization that I may come and go as I please, that I may learn and study and become something more. But, by far my favorite discovery is pancakes. With maple syrup and butter. And bacon.

No, I correct that. My favorite discovery is the sweet taste when I'm kissing the woman I love."

How is your outlook changing with the new experiences in life?
"I have been given a chance at a whole and beautiful life. I have my father, and I have a mother in Caitlin I never could have dreamed. I have Jacqueline's love, though I can't understand it. I have my daughter. I have a career, a home, and a people. I have a purpose. Once, my greatest hope was for death. Now, I seek life."

If you'd like to see the complete article, including excerpt and author bio, feel free to stop by http://sci-fiadventures.blogspot.com/2011/01/character-interview-michael-from.html.

Good writing all!

AR