Before I get to the final portion of my interview with Lisa Bergren, discussing The Begotten, first of The Gifted trilogy, I wanted to make a comment about yesterday’s portion of the interview.
As most of you may have noticed, Daria is Lisa’s main character. Yup. Daria–a woman. At the risk of sounding extremely sexist, which I am clearly not, having the utmost respect for my incredible wife and all the woman who have helped mold and shape my life, I must say that I can’t remember the last time I felt so connected to a leading lady.
I want my sword fights. I want my blood splattering, intestinal spilling, wound gashing heroes of old!
But a lady?
As Lisa said yesterday (doing her best to keep is a secret from her husband), she had crushes on her warriors her warriors in this book. And Daria would be no exception for me. Hi, Jenny! (waves sheepishly)
But the way in which Lisa painted the picture of a noble woman surrounded by a host of valiant knights did equally as good a job at hooking her familiar female audience as it has her new male one. Perhaps as a man it was me yelling at Gianni and Hasani to keep track of her, not letting her out of their sight, frustrated when Daria went off by herself and upset when she was nearly killed.
You got me, Lisa! I’m now a chick-lit pansy.
Without further delay, here is the rest fo the story…
CH
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CH: I thought it was neat how you named two characters after the old man you met on the plane (as per your acknowledgments); any other instances of that?
LB: Not that I remember. I usually just go through an international name book and choose names that “feel” right for the character in my mind–and hopefully are ones that readers can pronounce!
CH: Sites you’d recommend for people to see when visiting (for me, really!)? lol
LB: When you go to France, go kayaking under the Pont du Gard and stay in L’Orange on the square in Avignon–a wonderful city with a huge, papal palace. Venice…we talked about a couple of my favorite stops–but go to a Vivaldi concert in one of the old churches (held most evenings) and go one street away from the Grand Canal and you’ll find some great trattorias (for half the cost). Tuscany…consider a rental at an agriturismo, a farm house, where you can cook your own food and absorb what it really feels like to be in Tuscany. Florence–you have to go to the best trattoria ever, Il Latina, in the north quarter. Amazing steaks 3″ high and fun waiters and family-friendly atmosphere. But just go to Florence for a day or two and by train! I think the best of Italy is really outside the cities. Ah, but Roma…wow, I could spent a couple weeks there. Check out the Beehive–cheap place to stay, which is hard to find there. But you’ll want to spend all day walking/exploring anyway. ContextRome has great historical/political tours that helps you put everything together. Be sure to check them out.
Okay, you convinced me. Forget ContextRome. I’ll go back with you and play tour guide. Our travels have so inspired us, we’re building a family travel web site. Check it out at www.familytripster.com. Every time a person posts a report thru April, they get a chance at a whole set of my books, retail value $170 and a year’s subscription to BUDGET TRAVEL magazine! We’re just populating the site now, so we’d really appreciate everyone jumping on and at least posting a paragraph or two on their home town under “A Local’s Advice”: http://www.familytripster.com/tripadvice.html (all you need is one picture you want to share that shows a bit of your home town) or “A Perfect Day in…” Come on over and check it out!
CH: Where are you going next?
LB: My next series is an 1880s trilogy set in Colorado–so I’m currently staying closer to home (I live in Colorado Springs). But I have sea-faring warriors and pirates on my brain, so we’re heading to Nevis, in the West Indies, as soon as the kids are out of school, with a few days on an island off of Puerto Rico too. After that, we’d love to explore Ireland (we could hang in a pub together!) or cruise the Nile or see the amazing peaks of Patagonia. So much of the world to see! Such a sad state for the American dollar! Please buy my books, faithful readers, so I can go see more! It will undoubtedly inspire me to write more…
Thanks for the opportunity to share, C!
LTB
ROTFL
ROTFL?
“ROTFL” means Roll on the Floor Laughing, for a minute I was not quite sure myself as to what that meant. But hey.. not the expert on AIM lingo since I am the type who gets so confused when my friends on AIM use it. Anyways, I found your commentary on women protagonists very interesting. I must say.. I love my women when they are strong individuals, so there are a ton of heriones that I love more than even more heroes. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter), Antionette(Door Within), and Thirrin (Cry of the Icemark) come to mind when I think of “heriones” or just strong women in general. The dynamic of a women fighting is one thing that really awes me and I love reading about women that do not just sit about waiting for the lover to return from war (Arwen). Ironically, I am a male saying this, and well.. that may be a bit odd but I’m a sort of quirky individual in the fact I tend to really love my women to express their inner male side.
Not saying I do not like my heroes, heh, pretty much in all, whether male or female; in the end its their character qualities that really is the true deciding factor upon which I decide if they are good characters or not.
BTW was that interview by Reuters ever broadcasted?
My book’s focus is on two heroines. Sisters named Jeanna (Gee-Anne-uh) and Avalon. Yeah, they can be a bit on the emotional side. (So can my guy heros.) But they have a fighter side as well. (Same goes for the guys.)
Justin B: Antionette and Luna both rock!