In which characters from HEARTSTONE attend their first hockey game.
My good friend and pubday twin Kelsey Keating and I wanted to do something fun to celebrate the release of HEARTSTONE and Kelsey’s book A STOLEN CROWN, so we interviewed each other. Two punchy writers trying to be be clever late at night . . . what could possibly go wrong?
Kelsey: Who’s YOUR favorite character in the Heartstone world? Okay, you can name two.
EKW: Tobble the Hobgoblin is my favorite. Troublesome, mischievous, yet it's somehow impossible to stay angry with him. Come to think of it, same goes for Aunt Lissa. Those two are tied for favorite.
Kelsey: He is kind of a kick. But we both know Charis is my hero. Then Akarra. =)
Kelsey: Two of your characters (Charis and Anjey) randomly appear at a hockey game in Buffalo, NY. How would they handle that situation?
EKW:
They were in a stone tunnel, unadorned save for a number repeated on the walls. 105? One hundred and five of what? Anjey's breath came in white clouds as she puzzled over their possible meanings. People in bizarre clothes bustled around her. Some bore signs written in an unfamiliar script; others had painted their faces as if for battle. Blue and yellow seemed the colors of choice, and most people also wore what Anjey assumed was the crest of some powerful family on their surcoats and jerkins. A Rider family, perhaps? It made sense; the crest featured two drawn swords and a creature that looked a little like a humpbacked beoryn. From somewhere quite close came a thunderous roar and -- what in the world? -- the sound of an organ.
"Uh, Lady Charis?" Anjey moved closer to the Rider, thankful at least one familiar face had followed her into this mysterious . . . whatever it was. "Please tell me you recognize this place."
"I'm afraid not." Charis didn't take her eyes from the opposite end of the tunnel, where it sounded as if something quite dreadful was happening. "In fact, Miss Bentaine, I don't think we're in Arle at all."
"I had the horrible feeling you were going to say that."
Charis rested one hand on the hilt of her sword. "We should investigate. Stay close."
I also had the feeling you were going to say that, Anjey thought, but followed Charis out.
They emerged, blinking in the stark daylight of an unfamiliar sun and surrounded by hundreds, no, thousands of screaming strangers. Anjey turned around to take it all in. Seats rose on all sides, higher than she could see. An arena? A chant ran through the crowd, the words incomprehensible but the emotion unmistakable. These people, whoever they were, were positively drunk on excitement.
Anjey bumped into Charis's shoulder. She'd loosened her grip on her sword and stood staring at the spectacle in the center of the arena. "Is that . . . ice?" Anjey asked.
"It must be," Charis said. "How curious."
Not far beyond them, behind panes of dirty glass, figures moved across the ice with an elegance Anjey had only ever seen in dragonkind. Half wore the familiar blue-and-yellow surcoats with the crest of crossed swords; the others wore red. Each carried a long staff. They seemed to be locked in a vicious albeit graceful struggle for a small black object, which each color tried to steer toward the net-draped boxes at each end of the arena.
"Oh! It's a game," Anjey said under her breath.
"Don't you see? It's a game!" Anjey said. "Watch."
Just at that moment, a bearded figure in blue broke from the line of red guarding the opposite box. The crowd roared. The player drew back his staff, sighted aim, and--
A red player slammed into the man in blue, sending them both crashing into the ice. The arena erupted. Boos, hisses, and cries for justice filled the air. As they watched, the two players rose and exchanged words; inaudible, of course, but even Anjey could see their intent. Gloves fell to the ice. Helms and staves were thrown aside. They circled each other, fists raised.
Charis turned to Anjey with a smile. "I like this game."
Kelsey: When you were little, what characters and in what books were your heroes? Who made you want to tell stories?
EKW: Narnia and the Pevensie children. They were the ones who made me want to tell my own stories, first in other worlds, and then in my own.
Kelsey: I was a Potter girl myself. That and Ella Enchanted.
Kelsey: If you were attacked by a sorceress and turned into a bird, what kind of bird would you be turned into (based on your personality and preference)?
EKW: Snowy owl. Likes the cold, good night vision, only wears two colors and still looks super classy. It would also be my magical tribute to Hedwig. (Too soon? Sorry. Too soon.)
Kelsey: I LOVE IT. Not too soon (okay maybe too soon), but I can totally see it.
