Meet My Main Character (Blog Hop)

I was tagged by J.C. Cassels at Gotta Name my Blog to talk about my main character. Those who've followed me long enough probably know most of the information below, but it's always good to have a bit of a refresher for the long-time fans and a brief introduction for those who haven't yet met Aston.

1. What is the name of your main character? Is she fictional or an historical person?

Aston West, space pirate extraordinaire (technically, a scavenger pirate, or as it's been referred to in the past, a galactic garbage collector). Aston is completely fictional, as much as he'd like to believe that he's real. But who knows? He may show up on my doorstep any day now and give me a quick kick in the junk for all the trouble I've put him through over the years.

2. When and where is the story set?

Aston doesn't have just one story, but a series of stories and novels. All of these take place across great spans of planets and solar systems in a distant galaxy. While it's unknown for certain whether these all take place in the past, present or future, my personal opinion is that it's a present-day set of tales, all far away from here.

For the sake of giving out more individual information on this question, I'll take my next novel (working title Resurrection). This one spans across three different planets and two different starships (one of which being Aston's new ship to replace the one that met its demise at the end of Death Brings Victory).

3. What should we know about him?

Aston tries to act tough, a symptom of his career choices and his upbringing as one of three orphan brothers. But really, he has a noble sense of right and wrong that he tries to enact through his own brand of vigilante justice when it's necessary. And of course, the most important thing to remember about Aston is that he constantly gets tossed into a mess of trouble. This doesn't end up being too much fun for him, but it's a lot of fun to read along as he tries to get himself out of it all.

4. What is the main conflict?

It varies from story to story, and the novels too. Sometimes, it can be Aston versus old enemies (or old friends). Sometimes, Aston's main conflict is internal. Sometimes, there's a mix of both. In Resurrection, the main conflict is that Aston's old nemesis Elijah Cassus has returned with some nasty surprises in store. But one of those surprises causes both an internal struggle for Aston (how far will he follow Elijah to get his absolution?) as well as an external struggle (with a recently formed relationship).

5. What is the personal goal of the character?

Most times, it's just to get out of the trouble that he's found himself in, and to try and scrape out a living with his scavenging (or his illegal activities). Within the scope of the novels, his goals often get altered or combined, depending on the circumstances.

For Resurrection, Aston's goal originally starts out that he wants to save someone he failed to save before. Along the way, though, he has to figure out a way to right the wrongs he's set in motion.

6. What is the significance of the title of your book?

I try to come up with titles that fit either the story or the novel's main premise. For the novels, I've been attempting to come up with catchy three-word titles (something I'll have to work on for the fourth installment currently in work). As far as any special significance, there isn't any that I know of.

Resurrection is just a title that depicts the main topic behind the plot. I have a feeling I'll need to make it catchier.

7. When can we expect the book to be published?

I have several novels and stories already published (check out the Novels and Collections links at the top of the blog). My hope is that I can get another novella and short story collection published later this year. Resurrection may be out late this year, but I'm guessing that we'll probably see it next year.

Next up is T. K. Toppin. Be sure to check her out. Also, click back, too, to see what characters came before. Thanks for reading!