Today we’re featuring Megan Linski, author
of the Kingdom Saga, as she talks about the various motivations behind her
characters in her newest novel, Prince of
Fire, which you can find here: http://goo.gl/7mIt1b
Summary:
Thief
lord. Wanted criminal. College student.
Zayde
Amirmoez is in his last year of college at Ashana University, and he couldn’t
be more eager to leave. A talented thief, Zayde makes a living by robbing
jewelry stores in order to care for his ailing mother, who grows sicker each
passing day.
Then
the dreams begin. Zayde’s nightmares echo memories of a land from another time,
visions of a mysterious princess who lived two thousand years ago. At the
insistence of his annoying history professor, Zayde becomes friends with the
beautiful freshman who loves to dance…the girl who looks exactly like the
princess in his dreams.
As a
dangerous new Dean and his spiteful son take the helm at Ashana University,
Zayde learns of the legends of Queen Bennua, which are eerily similar to his
nightmares. Could Zayde’s dreams be a coincidence? Or is it possible that
Bennua and Zahid have returned, to save Sahrahn once more?
How
did it compare when writing Zayde’s voice as opposed to Bashira’s?
It was very different writing Zayde’s
(Zahid’s reincarnation) rather than Bashira’s this time around (Bennua’s
reincarnation). Bashira likes to think on things and use all these complicated
words, and ponders each situation before she goes into it. Zayde gets straight
to the point and doesn’t like describing anything or being fancy in any way.
Even when something bad is going on, he’ll try to make the situation humorous,
or shrug it off instead of taking it head-on like Bashira. Bashira also likes
talking about her emotions a lot, while Zayde doesn’t reveal anything about how
he feels, even to himself. Everything’s very cut and dry with him. He’ll tell
you enough to move the story along and make it interesting, but you have to
read between the lines with him because he has to conceal everything. He likes
living in the shadows and being quiet, and that’s just how he is.
What
are some of the main differences between Zahid/Zayde and Bennua/Bashira, and
how are they going to be covered in Prince
of Fire?
Bashira tends to be worried about
everything, and Zayde takes everything in stride. As he sees it, bad things
will happen when they happen, and he’ll deal with chaos when it comes, but not
a second before. He doesn’t tend to get as riled up as she does. The world
could be ending for Bashira, but for Zayde, it’s just another day. Something
that did surprise me, though, was the dark side in him. It’s a lot bigger than
I thought it was, and he hides it well, but sometimes his sadness and despair
peeks out at the most surprising at times. It was a blast playing inside his head,
because he’s so honest with you as a character. In the previous Kingdom novels,
Bennua took so much more work because I had to cut through the layers and
layers of her in order to discover who she really was. It took multiple drafts
of Kingdom From Ashes to get her to
open up, whereas Zayde in Prince of Fire
was like, “Here it is, and this is as good as it’s gonna get, so you can take
it or leave it.”
Who
do you believe is your most complex character within the Kingdom Saga?
I believe, more so than any of my other
characters, that Bennua is more misunderstood than all the rest. I can agree
with readers when they write me and tell me Alora (from the novel of the same
name) is too prideful, too arrogant, when they say Kiatana (from Kiatana’s Journey) is aggressive and
bratty, because that is who they are and who I made them to be. Bennua,
however, is vastly more complicated than either of these two. There is always a
hidden meaning behind her actions that few see or understand. Even she has
trouble comprehending her decisions at times. Bennua has been referred to as
brave, sacrificial, a true leader and hero, but has also been called selfish,
eco-centric, and immature by the same readers who adore her. There are reasons
why Bennua does the things she is apt to, and none of them come from a feeling
of selfishness. Rather, her entire focal point as a character is centered
around other people, much like Zahid. She makes decisions not on how they’ll
affect her, but everyone else.
So
do you believe Bennua obtains undeserved criticism from readers?
I wouldn’t say undeserved, as she does make
irrational choices. Many readers forget Bennua has had no easy journey; she has
lost multiple friends and members of her family along the way to bring peace to
Sahrahn, as well as has been subjected to some of the worst experiences mankind
has to offer at the ages of seventeen, eighteen, and twenty-one. Not to mention
she’s felt the repercussions of a repressive society and a judgmental (and
sometimes abusive) family during her childhood. The mistakes she made, and
continues to make, come from a place of fear within her. Her worst fear,
ultimately, is to be abandoned, and so she will do what it takes to work around
that fear and keep the people in her life safe and happy, even if it means
making herself miserable. This fear leads her to quick and misplaced decisions
that wreak more havoc than she realizes. She longs to help too much, in an
effort to be loved, and so it leads to chaos.
What
about Zahid?
Readers are more willing to let Zahid’s
flaws go because he conceals them, and so, we hardly ever see them. His true
feelings and desires are rarely revealed to anyone, even Bennua, so it is easy
to understand the things he does. It can be hard to sympathize with Bennua at points,
but what readers must understand is that she’s willing to share her true
thoughts. Zahid’s not. Many readers haven’t yet noticed that Zahid can be
rather distant in his relationship with Bennua, which I cover more in Prince of Fire. Zahid’s biggest issue is
that he shuts others out, and has a tendency to continue on regardless of the
problem at hand. You could have a knife to his throat, and he still won’t talk
about how he really feels. In Prince of
Fire, readers are going to see that Zahid does have a darker side to him, a
flawed side, that Bennua loves just as much as all the other parts. His
darkness makes him the man readers fell for.
Faith
is a huge theme in The Kingdom Saga. Was this influenced by any personal
beliefs of yours?
I’ll always tell people that if you want to
know what my beliefs are about a higher power, go read the Kingdom Saga. My
faith parallels Bennua’s, while my doubt rivals Zahid’s. Only together do they
make up what makes my faith, my faith. In recent years, I’d say one can’t get
by without the other, even though I’ve spent plenty of time in both camps. The
entire series has been an evaluation from where I started with “Alshams” until
now. It’s definitely not always pretty, and the answers are few and far
between, but regardless of whatever happens that higher power is always a
central part of my life. Even if I try to escape it, that faith seems to tie my
story together, just like it ties together the story of Bennua and Zahid.
Stay tuned for the Prince Of Fire review coming soon!
