Meet Shopnil

Monday, 4/10/23

YoYo, my readers!

I hope you’ve all had wonderful holidays recently. My family and I had a great time, but when my 3-year-old son was asked by his teachers what we did this weekend, he kept on repeating “we played with cars.” There’s more to life than cars, my friend! Well, maybe not when you’re 3!

Next up in my interview series is Shopnil. You’re probably wondering how many characters I have left to interview and are maybe asking why I have SO MANY characters in the first place ;) There are a lot of perspectives in my book, but NOT 16 different points of view. That’s why I’m interviewing all the main/secondary characters in “Obsidian”: some of these characters only get a few lines, but they’re all still CHARACTERS with unique backgrounds, experiences, etc. Let’s give them the time they deserve J

Shopnil is an older teen in “Obsidian.” He’s a brother/sidekick figure for Michael, and he’ll play a larger role in future books. I had a friend like him back when I was younger, so it felt right for him to be in the books! Have fun getting to know him and leave any questions you have for any or my characters or myself in the Comments section. Next time I’ll be interviewing Valdesha from Camouraska, so be sure to come back for that.

Disclaimer: the images of the characters were generated on Canva’s Text to Image Artificial Intelligence (AI) software. They aren’t the final representation of the characters in “Dark Salvation” but, rather, visual representations of the characters so you can understand the characters better.

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JOHN: Tell us about yourself. Where you’re from, what you do for a living, for fun, etc. etc.

SHOPNIL: I’m from Camouraska, and I help cook the food in the Mess Hall. For fun, I like making things from the Energite and helping people around Camouraska.

JOHN: What have you made with the Energite? Anything cool?!

SHOPNIL: Will others read this interview?

JOHN: There’s always a chance someone will read this (I hope!)

SHOPNIL: Ok, well, I’ve only made things that people need.

JOHN: I promise I won’t tell the others what you’ve made.

SHOPNIL: I can’t, but I will tell you I can make a cool spoon or fork if you need one.

JOHN: What are your thoughts about Camouraska? Do you like living there?

SHOPNIL: It’s the only home I’ve known, but I still like living there. It’s safe, and people are very friendly.

JOHN: Do believe in the Prophecy of the Light of the Stars?

SHOPNIL: I don’t think I do. My parents did a little, and I went to a few services, but I haven’t been in a while.

JOHN: Why haven’t you been back?

SHOPNIL: The Lights of the Stars haven’t been in Camouraska for as long as we’ve lived here, so I didn’t think they were ever coming. Some of the others in Camouraska were starting to follow Valdesha and her teachings, so I also thought about following her too.

JOHN: What sorts of things does Valdesha teach? I’m going to interview her next week.

SHOPNIL: She’s taught a lot of the younger Camouraskans how to use their Energite. My friend, Charlize, is an Honor Guard, and Valdesha taught her how to use the it and also how to fight.

JOHN: Now the Light of the Stars is in Camouraska. Will you start believing in the prophecy now?

SHOPNIL: I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to Michael. Jabesh says he’s the Light of the Stars, but he also said another person was the Light of the Stars. That person almost killed Pongi and Fortuna, so I haven’t really believed Jabesh for a while.

JOHN: This is the first I’ve heard about another person Jabesh thought was the Light of the Stars. What happened?

SHOPNIL: Jabesh found someone in the desert and brought them into Camouraska. The person found the portal room and somehow turned the portal on. Pongi and Fortuna were stationed there and were almost killed. We don’t know where the person went, but the community has questioned Jabesh ever since.

JOHN: Here’s a question I’ve asked everyone: What about any danger? I mean, this is a science fiction novel series with some thrilling/suspenseful elements.

SHOPNIL: I feel safe in Camouraska, but there are certain things we can do with the Energite that could be dangerous. I don’t know about the outside because I’ve only ever been to the Sky Gardens. I guess you could fall from the top and not survive. A few people have done that. It was very sad.

JOHN: Any parting thoughts for the readers?

SHOPNIL: I hope our lives aren’t too boring for a science fiction novel series! We’ve lived in a black rock for decades. If that’s interesting enough for you, great. Some people have come and go, but we really haven’t had any strange things happen. Hopefully this book will be worth the read!

JOHN: Of course it will be!!