Character Interview: Abigail Dimond

Happy Tuesday, readers! Today as the first character interview after NaNoWriMo, I have the pleasure of introducing to you Abigail Dimond, of Joy Hartshorn’s novel, Shadow Wings.

Sometimes, in order to save today, you must unbury the past. Abigail Dimond, an ordinary historian, never thought that she’d have to become someone else in order to save today. Well, not literally, but the next closest thing. Through the use of a secret technology only recently revealed to the public, she now must work through the memories and feelings of a woman named Kallie Forbes and work against time to stop needless hatred and evil from spreading any farther.

In a time of micro smart computers and hovercrafts, she must return to the slower pace of the past in order to save many lives, including some that she’s only met in someone else’s memories.

 

 

Hello, Abigail and welcome to Red Lettering! It’s an honor to have you here. To start with, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Abigail: Sure. I’m currently working as a historical researcher and writer for a low key curriculum publisher. I don’t cook very much, and I take the sub stations everywhere that I can.

Interesting. You’re a historian? Why is it that you decided to make that your profession?

Abigail: I decided after going to college for a while and switching degrees for a time. I ended up going to college for six years to receive an undergraduates in History. It really was worth it though, once I finally decided.

History can be absolutely fascinating and definitely worthwhile. Going back to more recent history, what is the first thing you can remember?

Abigail: The first thing that I can remember. . . Probably the sound of running water. My mom had a small water fountain in the living room when I was a toddler, and we moved when I was three, so as far as I can figure it out, that’s my earliest memory.

That sounds like it would be nice. You mentioned your mom… Do you have a family? Could you tell us about them?

Abigail: Well, it depends on how you define ‘family’. I do have a family in the literal blood since, or I wouldn’t be here. I only know my mother, though; it’s very rare for fathers to stay long. In the other sense of family, I there’s a little neighbor girl that I tend to think of as a niece. She lives with her aunt in an apartment a few levels above mine.

I’m sorry about your father… It must be nice to have a little “niece,” though. Under what circumstances do you think it would be right to kill?

Abigail: Oh man. Ethics. Well, I tend to look at it in different ways. If someone’s trying to kill you, then it would be okay because it would be self defense. If someone was trying to invade either your home or your country, then it would be okay because it would be self defense. In a short, it would be okay if it was self defense.

Self-defense. Well, that’s fairly straightforward. Of all the different things in life, what do you value the most?

Abigail: I value life, family, beauty, and truth.

Okay. If you could change any one thing in the past—your past, or in the past hundred years—what would it be?

Abigail: Wow. In the past one hundred years or my own past. . . I would probably go for the past hundred years because then it would also change my own past. I’d probably go for making it illegal for fathers to leave, unless it was for the good of the mother and children.

I can imagine why you would want to do that. Who would you consider a hero?

Abigail: A hero. . . Let’s see. I consider a hero someone who works to make a difference in others’ lives. Ava Roth, the 23rd century’s most prominent advocate for sustainable living, is one of my heroes. As is Emmanuel T Ingram III, the political poet from the 22nd century. He brought back the use of strong metaphors to bring modern problems down to earth.

Both of them sound like interesting people who must have lived in a very interesting time. When you’re extra stressed or tired, where do you go to relax?

Abigail: I go to my room. I have the lavender and orange air scents in there, and a couple soft paintings and sketches to help with the atmosphere. I do everything I can to make my room a safe place with no noise, bright colors, or holographic projections.

That sounds lovely. I should probably let you go now… Thank you for being here, Abigail. I wish you well in the rest of your life.

Joy Hartshorn has been creating stories for as long as she can remember. From creating villages with dolls and having them work together against the odds of being an Ugly Doll and Barbie Doll to run a store, to tales of siblings traveling across a desert that was inside a cellar to a city called Celeste. Now, at the age of 21, she has completed one novel. When she isn’t lost in her own worlds, studying for her college classes, or busy using a notebook and pen, she can be found with her nose in a good book with a cup of either tea or coffee, or else knitting while talking with good friends.

Joy Hartshorn blogs at Tears of a Hawke

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