Today’s interview will make it 3 Wattpad Author interviews.
I’ve read what Mr. Jordan has on Wattpad and can heartily recommend the series we’ll be talking about :-)
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Raphyel, tell us about your “Prossia” science fiction series.
Prossia is a coming-of-age adventure that follows a seventeen-year-old alien girl named Aly whose first encounter to the world beyond her home comes in the form of her getting drafted into a galactic war. A lot of people claim it to be like ‘Star Wars with Space Elves’.
Space Elves… Hmm… Somehow they seemed more “real” to me; but, what actually inspired you to write “Prossia”?
Blame it on my stubbornness of being young. I started writing Prossia when I was 19. I was subject to hearing this common notion about ALL Millennials as being lazy, spoiled, and having a foolish sense of entitlement without the lack of work. I was going to school with young people working two jobs just to make ends meet along with young single mothers who got better grades than many other students who only had to worry about school work and nothing else.
The surprising thing is, however, not once did I ever hear these people complain out loud about how obviously hard things were for them. Oh, not to mention I had tons of friends doing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are those people lazy ? I doubt that. So, in short, Prossia was written for the young people getting the job done despite people saying they couldn’t.
Inspiring motivation, for sure! So, where did the idea for Alytchai, the series protagonist, come from?
I started writing the Prossia series before the Katniss Evergreens, Supergirl TV Shows, or the more-recent Rey from Star Wars introduced a newer take on female protagonists to the general public. I thought seeing a young man rise to the occasion was getting a little redundant too, which is why Prossia‘s protagonist is a female teenager who can handle her own. And while the above-mentioned characters are still regarded as “strong female protagonists”, it’s my hope that we’ll get to the point where we’ll just see these capable characters as “strong protagonists” and look beyond the gender.
Here, here… The sooner the better, I say. So, what can you tell us about your heroine and her struggle?
Aly comes from a background many people are familiar with, which is covered in the prequel, Evaluations of the Tribe. She had a tough childhood because she wasn’t like the other kids. Bullying, self-esteem—she had to struggle with finding her self-worth at an early age. This challenge is taken to higher levels later in the series, where she has to face life-or-death situations and make decisions that may not be popular with those closest to her.
You have a theme song for your books—how did that come about?
Oh, that! LOL! The theme song, called The Moment, came from April Reaux, who did some editing for Prossia. However, it turned out that Reaux’s main passion is music. So, after hearing some samples of what she could do, I just had to have her compose a song for Prossia. I knew since she’d read the entire book in finer detail than most, she could provide something original and well defining to the feel of the story.
I told her what I thought the most powerful scene was in the book, and how it would be the defining moment that would carry the story throughout its entirety. She used that scene as inspiration, and I guess you could say “the rest is history”. Take a listen :-)
That is one Ultra-Compelling piece of music………
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Raphyel, where did the word “Prossia” come from?
Oi, now that wasn’t easy. I needed something that sounded foreign but logical, all at once. In the story, it’s explained that Prossia means “for peace” or “unity within diversity” in one of the numerous alien languages in the story’s galaxy. So I took “pro”, which is the prefix that means “in favor of” or “for”. Then, I needed something simple and pleasant to the ear, so I finished it with “sia”. So, I had the word, “Prosia”.
However, when I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t a real word, I quickly found out that there is actually a Prosia in Romania. Yikes! By that point, however, I was really attached to the sound of the word, so I added an extra “s” so I could keep it.
Have your fans been impressed so far?
The general reception has been VERY positive, to my relief! I was concerned readers wouldn’t feel connected to the characters since they aren’t human. However, people have been very fond of the universe I made, and all the back-story I’ve developed. On top of that, I’m always getting told how surprisingly relatable the characters are, even though they’re aliens. That tends to be the most rewarding compliment I get.
I completely agree that the characters are relatable, even though obviously alien… Are there hidden messages in the books?
There are numerous hidden messages in the Prossia series, actually. Still, if I needed to sum them all up, I would say it’s not to let anyone choose your life for you, especially when you’re at a vital period when you’re starting to make core decisions that will define the person you will be for the rest of your days. If there is a conflict in the heart that’s telling you the path you are currently on is wrong, then it is your obligation to get on the other path, even when everyone else around you is giving you odd looks for your decision.
How many books will be in the series?
All good things must come to an end, and I will be completing the Prossia series this September, bringing it to a total of four. I’m finishing the third and final act of the final book as we speak, which has been one of the biggest challenges so far. See, I want to make sure every arch that’s been built throughout the series is given its well-deserved closure, but these stubborn characters of mine refuse to follow my outline. I’ve had to go back to “formula” four times already! ^_^
I certainly understand—had a character in my novel—just for the first scene… Nope—whole book and last line of the text :-)
So, Raphyel, do you have a newsletter?
You betcha! See, I didn’t want to spam people’s email inbox’s with too much stuff every day, so my assistant and I made it a rule to only send 2-3 posts a month. If I’m doing anything Prossia-related, you’ll be sure to get some info on that as well.
Any other morsels of interest you can share with us?
. . . >_>. Uhhhh, well. . . My favorite color is green. I’m an Aquarius. I used vacation hours at work so I could play Mass Effect 2 and 3 because it’s the best video game series…EVER. My favorite radio station is NPR, which I got a lot of beef about since when I was still in my 20s, and . . .
. . .
Ohhhhhh, you meant things pertaining to the book! Doh! >_<
People can read the first book in the series for FREE, either by reading it on Wattpad (final Act will be posted soon) or downloading it on any major online book retailer.
Subscribers in my newsletter get awesome exclusive deals like giveaways and book discounts. I’m also on these various social networks:
He never mentioned it; but, Raphyel is also a fine artist, designer, and illustrator…
So, Folks, looks like it’s time to ask Mr. Jordan a few questions in the comments…
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But, first, I need to insert a short advertisement for this blog’s latest survey—do take that link and spend two minutes to share your choices for this blog’s content :-)
So far, the survey has 76 votes and the top desire is to see posts about my writing life…
That top choice is bound to change with more votes but I do reveal my writing life by publishing five posts a week here, as well as revealing not-before-published scenes from the novel’s World, Angi, in these Friday posts.
The rest of this post has MajorSpoilers so I urge you to grab a Free Copy of Notes from An Alien and take the few days necessary to finish it before reading further—except, of course, those of you who have already experienced the book :-)
In the past post, I Get Interviewed On BlogTalkRadio :-), one of the commenters said, “I wanted to hold you towards writing about the third planet in your book on your Friday posts—the one which could model earth.”
Actually, what I said in the interview indicated that the Worlds of Anga and Anla are “like” Earth, then I mentioned that the third World, Angla, is like what Earth “could be”…
Totally Major Spoiler Alert!
The being who inhabits Angla is the Alien Among Aliens—she is the planet’s consciousness…
The following scenes oscillate between a narrative that begins in the novel’s time-frame, extending beyond its ending, and the italicized thoughts of the being, Anglana…
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The Mother’s purple glow reflected in the waves near the shore, blending with the internal colors of Anglana’s thoughts.
Mind of the planet—Planet of mind—she meditated…
I am incorporated into the one called Delva.
Her thoughts are crystalline—clear as the emanations from the Plasma Source.
She will be enfolded into Your Will, Lord of Time…
Though she will never acknowledge Your Sovereignty, she will act for You.
The people from the Worlds of Anga and Anla arrived in their numbers. Anglana meditated with them…
They feel I have no access to their thoughts without their incorporation.
They are far too young to understand…
I am now One with twenty of their number—we are progressing…
The Worlds’ Council had no access to administration on the planet without Anglana’s consent. She was not proactive yet set boundaries on their intentions.
The Created Worlds are being built—I bask in Akla’s Pleasure…
The Plasma flows are reaching equilibrium and my soul is rejoicing!
Our thoughts will live in the Plasma—become the New History of the Angi System—so many cycles past… So many cycles to come…
The Created Worlds were in full operation. The Worlds’ government had attained its first stability, though trials remained.
Lord Akla, I weary with their woes—pour Your Grace into my being—create me anew—bless their struggles to understand…
They contemplate sending their ships to other planets.
The one called Sena is leading the Way for them—becoming the means for my future intimate connection with this Galaxy—fulfilling Your Intentions…
The Worlds’ Council ordered the Other Worlds Project to cease operation—interplanetary ships transformed into research bases. Means were adopted to permit Anglana to act as Angi’s Supreme Mediator. Five additional Created Worlds were constructed—dedicated to interaction with the nineteen planetary systems in contact with Advanced Plasma Communicators.
I am One with the planet called Earth, as well as the planets Zongru, Butali, Wessur, and Fptln. The others will soon join our Host…
We are rejoicing!
The Light is Splendorous.
Thy Will be done…
Earth and the planets of Angi now share administrative protocols—the Conscious-Settlement of the Milky Way is proceeding…
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A previous post, Very Special Characters, mentioned that, “All the characters in a well-written story are “special” or they wouldn’t be there–each has their part to play…“
It also mentioned minor, significant, and major characters. Then, it brought up Very Special Characters–those who have extra or extraordinary qualities…
I’m extremely curious about any reader’s conception of and experience with these step-off-the-page, break-the-rules, enlightening characters.
In this revisiting of these eccentric personages, I need to mention two more from the book, Notes from An Alien.
First is Anglana, the ultra-alien character in a book full of aliens.
Notes from An Alien happens about 12 light-years form Earth but, as the Prologue explains, it was written to level-out most of the differences between Earthlings and Angians since the goal of the book is to see the similarities between Angi’s and Earth’s struggles toward enduring peace.
Well into the book, the Angians discover an entity without a conventional body–she inhabits a whole planet and, in significant ways, Is the planet. She has powers that give her preeminence in any political or economic negotiations and she facilitates some of the major characters’ development and success.
Yet, even with all these attributes, she isn’t The Major Character of the book–she’s “merely” a critical Very Special Character:-)
Another of these VS characters in Notes from An Alien may not even be thought of as a “character”.
It’s a natural form of matter (though given some seemingly unnatural qualities in the story) and it constitutes about 99.9% of all matter in our Universe. It’s name is Plasma.
Since you can get the book for no cost, with the link near the top of the left side-panel (or, right here), I won’t go into an explanation of Plasma’s attributes, except to say that without this “non-character” Very Special Character, the story would grind to a halt…
OK, it’s your turn: what are some of the odd-ball, what-the-heck, I-don’t-believe-the author-did-that, out-of-space-and-time, or completely unusual characters You’ve run into??
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