In the Character's Shadow

Hi everyone! It's Eliza again. I hope you enjoy this interview with Joseph, one of the main characters of Morgan Huneke's book The Crossways.

Hello-er, umm... Joe Joe? Dude? Mr. Joseph? What exactly should I call you? Oh, I remember what I heard now. You're the king of Calhortz, right? Should I call you Royal Highness? Anyways, welcome to the blog In the Character's Shadow. I'm Eliza *awkwardly shakes your hand* I hope you enjoy your visit!

*gives Eliza a friendly smile* You may call me Joseph. I am not at this time the ruling king of Calhortz, but even should I someday take that role, I hope that I shall never think myself too grand to be addressed by my first name. A king is a servant of the people, not a dictator. Thank you for your welcome. I shall certainly enjoy my time on your blog, as it is my first time leaving my island, if only because I have been temporarily called from my story.

Ok then, Joseph. I'm glad we're able to give you this little vacation away from your island. *smiles* How old are you? I heard once not to ask people older than twenty how old they are but I think that rule only applies to women...

*laughs* One ought to be proud of one’s age. It is an accomplishment to live long, not a shame. *his face sobers* I am about thirty years old, I believe, but it becomes difficult to keep track of the years in my family’s long imprisonment. *his eyebrows lower as if in thought* Yes, I do believe that is the correct age.

I totally agree with you on the whole being proud of your age thing although some people might argue that it's easy for me to say that since I'm still a young teen. Tell me a little bit about you. I'd love to get to know you.

I am a fairly ordinary person, in spite of my circumstances. I have lived my entire life on an island at the mouth of the River Everlong as my family has done since the imprisonment of King Harald and Queen Elysia two hundred years ago. I am an orphan, but I have a wonderful wife and a beautiful sister. I enjoy reading, there is little else to do to pass the time, and it is a good way to gain knowledge and keep my mind sharp. We do some farming and hunting for our survival. I also enjoy sword fighting, though I only have a chance to practice when we have visits from the elves. God is the most important thing in my life, and always shall be. The people of Calhortz are seldom far from my thoughts, and I long to free them. It has never seemed right to me that they are so oppressed and mistreated while I live a life of luxury, imprisoned though I be.

I enjoy reading too, but I can't say that I've ever done sword fighting. Tell me about your family.

I have been an orphan since I was eight years old, but I have always had my sister Adriana, who is five years my junior. *a dreamy smile grows on his face* About three years ago, I married the most wonderful woman who ever lived. Her name is Olivia. She grew up in the Yatachee Islands, the daughter of a merchant sailor. Her father is one of the few who dared set foot on our island, and, as Olivia sometimes accompanied him, I came to know and love her. She is so kind and selfless. She gave up a free life to marry me. She says she prefers the quiet life of our island, and I have never known her to tell a falsehood, but I can see that she sometimes misses Yatachee. I wish to give her freedom, but she will not take it apart from me. I am truly blessed to have her.

Now, my sister. *he chuckles* Adriana is a sweet thing, but quite easy to embarrass, and I’m afraid I take advantage a bit too often. She is quite fond in a special way of an elf in our acquaintance by the name of Havilan, and I certainly approve, so I happen to tease her about it. A blind man could see it of both of them. She talks of him quite constantly. Actually, she has always talked quite a bit. Time and again, Havilan has offered to sacrifice his freedom to marry her, but she refuses to allow it. *sighs* I want to see my sister truly happy, but she will not accept his proposal unless we are free. Oh, for the promised heroes who will set us free!

*frowns* Poor, Adriana. *smiles again* What is your favorite type of food? I really hope it's not one of the normal answers. You know, pizza, hamburgers, donuts... that sort of stuff.

I do not believe I have heard of those foods. They must be from your world. You come from the world of the Time Captives, I believe? My favorite food is potatoes. There are many ways they can be prepared, and Olivia and Adriana are excellent at all of them. Besides, it is one of the few foods we grow on our island, so the best thing is to like them.

Oh, I keep forgetting that your world is not like mine... I guess I do live in the world of the Time Captives. I like french fries. Okay enough with the easy every day questions. I'm going to ask some hard ones now. *attempts to laugh maniacally but a sneeze ruins the effect* What is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?

*Joseph smiles at Eliza’s failed attempt, but quickly sobers* That would be my parents’ deaths. There are wild beasts on the island, and one of them killed my mother. My father tried to stop it, but as she was chased over the perimeter, he, in rushing to save her, was killed by the restraint that keeps us here. I do not know more details than that, as I was in the cabin at the time, but discovering them and the days that followed as Adriana and I waited for a visit from the elves to come were the most terrifying of my existence. *he looks down at his hands, clearly not relishing the memory*

That's absolutely terrible *bites lip in attempt to hold back tears*. What is the one thing you've done that you wish you could change?

*looks back up at Eliza, pressing his fingers together as he considers the question* God works everything together for good. I have made mistakes, certainly, but those mistakes have served a greater purpose. I suppose in some ways I wish I had waited to be freed to marry Olivia, that I might give her the life she deserves, but not knowing the day nor the hour, and knowing my love for Olivia and hers for me, it was still wisest not to wait.

That's so sweet! Do you have any enemies?

*he smiles, a little ruefully* Why, certainly. As the rightful king of Calhortz, naturally the usurper Toarna would style me her enemy. I wish not to have enemies, but to do the right thing, to do God’s will, must always earn me the enmity of the devil and those he employs.

Hmmm... Now let's end this on a lighter note... Tell me a joke. No, that was not a question. It was a demand. *smiles sweetly*

A joke? *laughs* I must needs think of one first. *ponders* A merman and a stryte walk into a bar. The kalican laughs and walks under it. I’m sorry, I could not think of an original joke, so my author told me to adapt a Lord of the Rings joke from her world. I hope it is satisfactory.

Ha, ha, ha...

*he rises and shakes Eliza’s hand* Thank you for having me. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for allowing me to interview you, I enjoyed it too :)

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About the Book

“M’lady, it has been fairly well confirmed that the Redona was hidden away by the merfolk at the conclusion of the Great War instead of destroyed as was commanded. My brother has confirmed to me Joseph’s belief that it was concealed at the Crossways.”

Toarna pressed her fingertips together in thought. “It must be recovered and destroyed as was at first intended.”

Emily, Allan, Jill, and Joey have been reunited with their long lost ancestors. But with that reunion comes the true beginning of their quest: free the rightful king of Calhortz so that he may be restored to his throne. The Redona, the only object that can free him from his long imprisonment, is rumored to be concealed in The Crossways, a mountain across the sea which cannot be entered.

A slave since birth, Adriel’s resentment and hatred towards the strytes only grows as his family is continually ripped from him. He longs for the freedom the Time Captives are prophesied to bring, but he doubts their existence, just as he doubts God’s love. Circumstances in Calhortz are so dire. How could they ever improve?

Who can enter The Crossways? Will the king ever be freed? Or will the slaves of Calhortz lose all hope of freedom before it is even offered to them?

The Crossways is the second book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.

Buy Now

Kindle ~ Paperback ~ Signed Copy

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25990964-the-crossways

About the Author

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Pinterest.

Giveaway

Join in the excitement of Time Captives and enter to win a special prize! The first prize winner will receive a signed copy of The Crossways. The second prize winner will receive an eCopy of The Crossways in the eBook format of his/her choice. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

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It's Eliza. I hope you enjoy this wonderful guest post Morgan Huneke wrote. Once you're done reading it please take some time to read about her new book, The Crossways and enter in the giveaway.

I’ve seen it on many writing blogs, you should put a little of yourself in all of your characters. It makes them more realistic. It helps to make them relatable. It helps you as the author to know how the character will handle things, and know what makes them tick. This wasn’t really something I thought about while writing Time Captives. However, looking back now, I can see that I did it unconsciously, accidentally. And I like the way it turned out.

Jill was an interesting one. I gave her a specific personality type, which I later discovered was the same as my own. Therefore, we share a lot of core personality traits, but they manifest themselves quite differently in her. Basically, she’s sweeter and more compliant. But as for being shy around strangers, but liking to talk to people she’s comfortable with, and wanting to help people in need, it comes straight from me.

Emily has my unwillingness to admit I was wrong. So often when I was younger, I would be in trouble for something I’d done, realize I was wrong, and still refuse to give in because I didn’t want to admit that I had been fighting for the wrong position. Emily does the same.

George is afraid to lead because he’s afraid he’ll do it wrong. A lot of times, I don’t want to do something I’m capable of doing because I’m afraid I’ll completely botch it.

Joey has my argumentativeness.

Jonathan received all my love of The Chronicles of Narnia. I really enjoyed his references.

Abigail plays the violin like I do. Actually, the piece she plays in Creighton Hill is the piece I was learning when I wrote that scene.

Eleanor is one of many characters who received my stubbornness. As much as I’d like to think I’m more willing to let things go than she is, it probably isn’t true.

Adriel got my stubbornness and in book three my doubts. Thomas’s reassurances were as much for me as for Adriel.

I hope I’m not as bossy as Jaysen, but my sisters might disagree about that. I also struggle against being the control freak he tends to be, because I like things to be done my way. Yes, I’m one of those people who rearrange the dishwasher because it’s not the way I like to load it. Hey, my way fits more in than certain other people’s ways.

There are probably more of my traits that found their way into my characters. These are only the examples I can think of. And looking at these various traits, I can see why I relate to all these characters in different ways.

Schedule

Monday, October 19