Turning the Tables: Characters Interview the Author

Hi everyone!

My name is Kristi, also known as @kristimcm on Wattpad or @unrealismbooks on Twitter. I've been writing on Wattpad since 2014, and write primarily One Direction (Harry Styles) AU fanfiction, but have dabbled in fantasy/paranormal and general fiction as well. This is my second Wattpad Block Party and I can't thank Kelly Anne enough for including me in this adventure yet again!

Last time for the WBP, I decided to do an interview with Harry and Lane from my popular Afterlife series. After ending the series, so many readers wanted to know how things continued with these characters, and how their lives had changed. I loved writing the feature, and found that readers enjoyed the tidbits to their future that the article provided.

This time around, I'm going for something a little different. I admittedly nicked the idea from Shaun Allan (soz, Shaun) but thought it was absolutely brilliant. I've decided to do a reverse interview with some of my popular characters interviewing me. We will talk about my inspirations, plots, and more, all from the perspective of what my characters would want to know. Some of these questions came to me directly from readers, so I thank them all for helping with this post!

Hope you guys enjoy! And thanks for reading this round of the Wattpad Block Party!

<3 Kristi

***

In a quiet back corner of a small Toronto café, a group of six individuals gather around a long table. This particular collection would seem, outwardly, completely normal. To look at them now, nothing about them would stand out in any particular way. Outwardly, they all seem to be your regular, everyday individuals.

But you would be wrong.

Because this group is comprised of some of the most dissimilar people you could ever gather in one setting. A royal, a former high class escort, a guardian, an angel turned mortal, and fallen angel. And, at the far end of the table, a mere mortal with nothing special about her at all.

This sixth individual is the only average one of the group. Not an angel, not of noble blood. There is absolutely nothing about her that would fit her into this gathering of individuals.

Except the fact that all the rest are all a creation of her mind.

For this final individual is a writer, Kristi McManus, or aspiring one in her mind. She is the author of several popular Wattpad stories, some of which feature the characters comprising the rest of this group. And while their connection has been one sided thus far, with the writer pulling the puppet strings of their lives and creating their worlds, the tables are about to turn.

In this meeting, the characters will get to ask the writer questions. In a rare opportunity, they will learn of their creation, the motivation for their troubles, why they went through what they did, and any hopes for the future.

For those who may not be familiar with the characters included in this interview, they are quite varied. You have Avery, a college student and former New York escort, who gave up the security of her nightlife in favor of her first love. Her story is still incomplete at this time, and she is certainly eager for some answers. Beside her you find Charlotte, a reluctant royal and former wild child, who is finally starting to build a balance between the live she was born in to, and the life she has always wanted to create of her own. This change is in full thanks to the man at her side, Harry, her former guardian and now boyfriend who's strong hand and shoulder to lean on was the change Charlotte needed. Across from them sits Harper. Not quite mortal, but not a deity either, she is of the Fallen, a group of angels cast from heaven hundreds of years ago. With her, is Michael, an angel who chose mortality to be with Harper. He was sent as her judgment, but found more than the rebellious girl he thought he would. Together, they redeemed the Fallen in exchange for their own place in Heaven, instead coming to live on earth as mortal together.

There really is no true similarities between these individuals, other than their place of creation. In the writers mind.

The interview starts off directly, with Charlotte asking the first question.

Charlotte: Where did you come up with the idea for my life?

Kristi: It was actually in a commercial for the Royals. I have never watched the show, but in this one commercial, there was a comment by one character about her mother not knowing who her father was. That comment stuck in my head for weeks, your story forming in my head. Eventually, I sat down and wrote it.

Charlotte: So my mother was such a bitch because of a commercial?

Harry: Charlotte!

Charlotte: Well, she is. You know she is.

Kristi: Yes and no. She needed to be difficult to show why you acted as you did. She was your negative catalyst, just as Harry became your positive. Without her harsh parenting you wouldn't have been wild, and Harry wouldn't have been necessary.

Harry: *smiling at Charlotte* See, everything has a reason.

Charlotte: *pouting* Yeah, well. She was a pain.

Harry: Ford has chilled her out a bit, babe. Quit complaining.

Charlotte: Yeah, I guess. I don't know how he puts up with her.

Harry: People say the same about me, you know.

Charlotte: *pinches Harry*

Michael: You had me describe Heaven to Harper in one part of our story. Is that how you really see it?

Kristi: Not exactly. I am admittedly an atheist, but I do believe there is something beyond this life. Just not necessarily a true Heaven and Hell that we are touted. I think we have choices even after this life ends, that we can come back and try again, to learn more, or, if we've learned all we can, we transcend.

Harper: Sort of like the higher being that Michael describe?

Kristi: Exactly. That place may be a Heaven of sorts, but I think it is different for each person. There is no standard place that all people fit, that all would find as perfect. I think Heaven is mainly just an idea, that we have to create ourselves.

Avery: Your description of my life as an escort was pretty in depth. From how I ran my business side, and how the life worked. How did you build this world?

Kristi: The power of Google. I literally sat down and Googled New York escorts. From there, I observed the websites, what was featured, offered, prices and the like. How things were run. I read first hand accounts of escorts and their experiences. I tried to make the examples I featured in your story as realistic as possible, within reason. Obviously, not everyone has such a positive experience as you did. But for this story, I didn't want to delve into the darker side of that world.

Avery: And Im glad for it. *laughs*

Charlotte: *raises hand* I have another question

Everyone laughs

Charlotte: Why did Harry act like such a dick and pull away from me after my little verbal slip?

Harry: hey!

Charlotte: Well you did!

Kristi: He needed to. Despite the fact that he was slowly bringing you around, I needed to show that you were still vulnerable. That despite the hard exterior you tried to show, you were easily broken again. And to be broken by Harry, the first person other than Eden that you trusted, was a necessary evil. He needed it to realize that he truly did care for you, and that there were worse things that breaking his rules. And you needed it, to realize that you truly cared for him, and it wasn't just another way to rebel against your mother. Both of you made mistakes in that exchange, but came to terms and accepted them.

Avery: I think I have one that is more from a reader stand point than from one of ours. Although it does affect us, so...

Kristi: Okay....

Avery: Why so much damn angst?

Everyone laughs

Kristi: Honestly? Because its fun to write. Some of the best stories have painful exchanges and 'angst', and it is usually those moments that get the biggest response from people. The plain old boy meets girl, fall in love, happily ever after is boring. That isn't life. You need angst and drama to push feelings to the surface and cause action from characters. Most of the time, the angst is followed by someone making a stand or finally a decision. Another necessary evil.

Charlotte: But so much of it? So many cliffhangers? I don't know about your other stories, but in ours, readers were freaking out at the end of almost every chapter.

Kristi: Well, yours was more dramatic than some. But cliffhangers keep people coming back. If you end on a cliffhanger, people want to know what comes next.

Harry: *looking at Charlotte* And really, most of our angst was you being a brat

Charlotte: *again pinches Harry*

Avery: My story isn't finished yet. Things are so mixed up right now. What is going to happen with us?

Kristi: You know I cant tell you that. All I can say is that your story is complete. Yes, things are difficult right now, and will get worse. Like Charlotte said, I have a tendency for angst and drama. But I hope that my other stories (most of them, anyway) show that I rather a happy ending to a sad.

Harper: Michael and I chose to redeem the Fallen in exchange for our own place in Heaven. My parents...Grace. I miss them, but I would make the same choice over and over. I just need to know they are happy.

Kristi: They are. They know what you did for them, and they are proud of you.

Michael: Will there be a continuation of our story?

Kristi: I don't have one planned right now, but I haven't ruled it out completely. I know some readers have wanted to know what happens to you now that you are moral and living on earth. So it might be a project down the road.

Avery: What has been your favorite story to write?

Kristi: Out of all my stories, or just yours?

Everyone: Ours

Kristi: There is something I like about each of them, obviously, or I wouldn't have written them. I think that Fallen might be my favorite, mainly because it was my first attempt at fantasy. Something new and different. It was a challenge, especially because I had to follow Shakespeares classic, but add my own twist. But I suppose that is why it is my favorite.

Charlotte: Of each of us girls, who do you think you are most like?

Kristi: I think a little of each of you, to be honest. I share the same desires as Charlotte, to make my own way, study something I love rather than be what I am expected. I think that is why I write; it gives me the freedom I want. I am introspective like Harper, and while I want more, at the same time, I am sort of complacent enough to stay where I am. I know that is kind of contradictory, but it is how I am. With Avery, we share a lot of the same preferences. Quiet, peace, alone time. A good book over a night out, and doing the social thing is a requirement rather than a desire. So I guess a bit of me is in each of the characters I write.

Harry: What do you think you will write next?

Kristi: I do have another story in mind. Again, it is something a little different and kind of off the wall. Not a fan fiction, for a change. More of a dystopian young adult adventure. I am still working on the details, but am hoping to start it not long after all of Avery's story is up. I guess time will tell.

***

That brings this atypical interview to a close, and I hope it gives you all a little insight into me, my characters, and what I have coming in the future! This was a fun post to write, albeit challenging, and I cant wait for the next Block Party to take on the challenge all over again!

Feel free to check out any of these characters stories, or any of the others I have on my profile! And let me know what you think about this quirky little attempt at a unique interview!

Thanks for reading!

***********

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