DEN Character Interview: Amy Raven
“Let’s go for a little ride!”
– Amy Raven
Welcome back for our final character interview, to promote the official book launch for my new thriller, Den. this Tuesday October 25th from 8pm-10pm CST / 6pm-8pm Peter. It’s an online Double Feature Book Launch Bash, which also features the launch of The Dracula Journals Book 1: Dark Decades, by my friend, author Thom Reese. Be sure to register for the Facebook event below, after the interview.
Den is about Amy Raven, a young girl expelled from college after steroids were found in her gym locker. Although she insisted they weren’t hers, she was forced to leave her basketball team and start a new job out of town at Gameland, an abandoned amusement park that’s ready to re-open. But her new job becomes a nightmare when Amy discovers she’s part of a live game, in which ten predators pair off to hunt her down and abduct her. Permanently. It will take everything she’s got to survive, let alone escape.
We’ve already interviewed some of the book’s primary characters, but tonight we’re interviewing the girl that everyone’s been talking about. Please welcome Gameland’s newest employee: Amy Raven!
(Amy enters from behind the curtain. Her head is slightly bowed, but she’s clearly tall and gorgeous, with large brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair. She wears black leggings and a denim jacket, which does little to hide her obvious figure. She could be a supermodel or an Olympic athlete, but seems to have lost all her confidence.)
RAD: Amy, thank you for joining us.
Amy: Thank you.
RAD: You’ve had a rough couple of months.
Amy: (swallows) … Yeah.
RAD: We’ve heard the stories, but we haven’t heard your side. Can you tell us what happened?
Amy: I don’t know what happened. I don’t do drugs. At all. Not steroids. Not anything. But no one believes me.
RAD: But the steroids were found in your locker. Your combination lock wasn’t broken.
Amy: I know how it looks. But someone planted those drugs. I just don’t know who, or how.
RAD: And you insisted on taking a drug test, which you passed.
Amy: Yes.
RAD: Would you mind removing your jacket? (Amy bites her lip, then stands to slide off her denim jacket. Her body is stunning, her biceps lean and strong.) You look like you could arm-wrestle your whole team to the ground.
Amy: This isn’t from steroids. It’s from hard work and training, my whole life.
RAD: For basketball?
Amy: Basketball and anything else
I got into. I rock climb and I’m a certified belayer.
RAD: That’s the person that holds the rope for someone else when they’re climbing, right?
Amy: Yeah. I’m their anchor, in case they slip, to make sure they don’t fall.
RAD: Do you do other sports?
Amy: I run. I swim. I’ve worked a few summers as a lifeguard. I also started doing some kickboxing after I took a couple of self-defense classes.
RAD: That’s a lot.
Amy: I push myself, whatever I’m doing. I’ve always pushed myself.
RAD: It paid off. You led your team in several victories over the last year. Until recently, you were the Illini’s star player. (Amy says nothing.) I’m sure you miss it.
Amy: (looks away) I didn’t do anything wrong. I just want my life back.
RAD: And you hope to get back on your feet, working at Gameland.
Amy: Hope to, yeah. That’s the plan.
RAD: You think you can handle working for Gunther Grater, the park manager? I understand he had a serious crush on you while you both attended the U of I.
Amy: … I don’t want to talk about Gunther.
RAD: So there’s still some tension.
Amy: Look. I just started this job. I can’t get in any trouble.
RAD: Nothing you say here will affect your job, believe me.
Amy: (pause, eyeing me warily) (leans forward) The thing is, Gunther’s been harassing me since I started school last year. He won’t let up.
RAD: And you’re not interested in him.
Amy: Not at all. And I’ve told him that, but he keeps after me. Even when he knew I had a boyfriend. And – look, is this confidential?
RAD: This is our final interview. Nothing will get back to any Gameland staff.
Amy: (looks around to make sure no one can hear) There’s rumors around the campus. They say he raped a few girls when he was in high school. One of them was Jennifer Haslin, the girl who got killed at Gameland. You met Gunther, right? He’s kind of a monster, when he gets riled. I’m staying as far away from him as possible. But I need this job, to start over. Right now, it’s all I’ve got.
RAD: So what are you going to do?
Amy: Keep my distance. And watch my back.
RAD: Let’s talk about your life before this event. You’ve had one other major traumatic event growing up.
Amy: Yeah. My mom. She died of cancer just after Christmas, before I turned 10. (She stares into her lap.) Worst year of my life.
RAD: Until now?
Amy: Yeah. New worst year. My mom made everything right, when Daddy was busy at his law firm and we had to go to church or go to basketball games without him. She made everything okay, always made things feel special and warm. Losing her was like losing an arm. But – well, I still had the rest of me. Not like now.
RAD: How did you cope, after she died?
Amy: A lot of visits to the school counselor. A lot of chores around the house. I didn’t realize what I was trying to do back then, but I guess I thought, if I had done a better job, done more housework, gotten better grades, whatever, then my parents would have had less to worry about, and Mom could’ve taken better care of herself. I know now that it wasn’t my fault, but back then I was in Superwoman mode, taking care of everything at home that Daddy was too distracted to do.
RAD: Your father re-married later.
Amy: He started seeing Alaire about a year after Mom died. I was angry at first, felt like he betrayed Mom. But my school counselor helped me a lot, and we all worked at becoming a new family. Alaire’s great, just different than my first mom. She’s not as warm or casual about things. She’s a lot more driven. She’s been my personal coach, pushing me to do my best, be my best, because other people deserve my best. I don’t think I would have made the U of I team, maybe not even gotten the grades to get into the U of I, if it weren’t for her.
RAD: She’s into basketball, too?
Amy: No, she runs a fashion agency. Daddy was her lawyer when someone accused her company of stealing a design. That’s how they met, and things kind of just happened. She wanted to help fill the void my mom left, to make our new family work, and she’s in good shape from doing a lot of running. So she studied up on basketball, all the rules, training techniques, everything she could do to help me succeed. It was pretty cool.
RAD: So things worked out for your family.
Amy: (brightening a little) Yeah. Although – well, I had other problems. (swallows) I can talk about it now, because it’s behind me. But for a little over a year, I became bulimic. My perfectionist drive and Superwoman mode sort of meshed with becoming a teenager and comparing myself to the fashion models in Alaire’s magazines. I just lost control. But my counselor helped me through that, helped me learn to appreciate myself and the efforts I made, regardless of how I looked. It’s what I do that matters.
RAD: So you continue to push yourself. Some people would say you don’t need to work so hard, with the advantages you have. Your father’s a lawyer, and your stepmother’s the CEO of Holcourt Fashion. Financially speaking, you’ve been pretty comfortable.
Amy: I never used to think so, but yeah, I grew up rich. I thought my family and my home was just like everyone else’s, until I got to high school and especially college. It’s stupid, but I didn’t get that most people’s parents couldn’t afford an indoor swimming pool or an exercise room with weight training and kickboxing equipment. Some girls’ parents give them a car for graduation, but I’m the only girl I know who got a brand new BMW.
RAD: Do you think you’re spoiled?
Amy: No. We had really nice things, but my parents taught me to appreciate them, instead of acting like I was entitled. I had to do chores and study hard, to earn my allowance. And except for the BMW, if I wanted to buy something major, like a stereo or workout machine, I had to make money to pay for half of it. Part of why I took jobs at the gym to lifeguard and belay.
RAD: So you learned to work for everything.
Amy: Yeah. But I also expected everyone else to push themselves the way I did. On my team, in classes, on school projects. If somebody made a mistake, I thought they were being lazy or careless, like they did it on purpose. But nobody’s perfect. I mean, look at me. I didn’t do anything wrong, but I lost everything. So I see how harsh and demanding I’ve been with people, because all this came down on me, like it was my fault. I don’t blame people for doubting me, the way things looked. But I thought someone would take me at my word. Martin, my parents, somebody.
RAD: Who’s Martin?
Amy: My boyfriend. (swallows) – My ex-boyfriend.
RAD: You broke up?
Amy: He dumped me. Over this whole drug issue. I told him the steroids weren’t mine. So now he thinks I’m a liar, as well as an addict. (shakes her head) It’s amazing how life can seem so perfect – good school, new boyfriend, a winning season – right before everything falls apart.
RAD: Tell us about that night, after your last game.
Amy: (takes a deep breath and releases it) So in March, after I scored more buckets than ever in a single game, we were told to wait outside before entering the locker room. After ten minutes, they called me in by myself. Coach Raynor and Dean Ridley stood by my open locker with some other school officials, staring at me like I lost the game or something. Dean Ridley showed me the bottle of steroids and asked what I knew about it. I told him I didn’t think anyone on our team would do drugs. Then he said they were found in my locker. I was so stunned I couldn’t speak. I finally stuttered that they weren’t mine, that I never saw them before. They all just kept staring.
RAD: So no one gave you the benefit of the doubt.
Amy: No. My teammates didn’t back me up, either, after I was expelled and Dean Ridley walked me to my dorm to pack. Shaniqua was the only one on the team who said I was innocent, but everyone shut her down, in light of the evidence. Martin never even called me. I called him from my parents’ house and he said he already heard what happened and wouldn’t talk to me.
RAD: What did your parents say?
Amy: Daddy said I should own up and tell the truth instead of making it worse by lying. Alaire didn’t say much to me, but she gave an earful to all the reporters and “concerned citizens” harassing us at home.
RAD: You had a media circus at the house?
Amy: And at Daddy’s law firm. We got constant calls. By the end of the month, Daddy and Alaire sat me down for a “family meeting”. Daddy said they found me a good job opportunity with a place to live, away from all the media attention, where I could start over.
RAD: Gameland.
Amy: Yeah. The park was starting up again, and they knew the owner, Loren Grater. He wanted me to join their staff and run the Hoops stand. It wouldn’t pay much, but it would be out of the public eye until the park opened. By then, he figured, my reputation would help both me and the park to start making a comeback. It made sense, but I also knew my parents were sending me away. I had embarrassed them and disrupted their lives, letting down my school and my team. If I left, they could tell reporters I was gone and let the media frenzy die down while I recovered. So I packed my gym bag and my basketball, my climbing shoes & running shoes, my swimsuit and my sparring gloves, and I drove my shiny new BMW to Grater Gameland to start my new job and my new life, assuming I could still have one.
RAD: I hope you do. Amy, someone wanted me to ask you one final question: If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have five things with you, what would you need to survive?
Amy: (blinks) What? Who told you to ask that?
RAD: I’m not at liberty to say. It’s supposed to give some insights into how you think.
Amy: Okay. That’s random. Um – so I would want my cell phone to call for help.
RAD: No cell phones.
Amy: Uh – okay, then. I’d want a map of the island to know where I’m going, where to find food, like coconuts or edible plants or something. And some rope, to tie together bamboo to make huts or something. I’d want my sport bottle and – actually, some salt tablets to purify the water, so I could draw water right from the ocean to drink. I think that’s how it works.
RAD: Sounds good. Also, in this scenario, everyone else on the island is trying to kill you.
Amy: (stares blankly) … what?
RAD: It’s been invaded by pirates.
Amy: I’m stranded on an island, but it’s been invaded by pirates.
RAD: (shrugs) I’m just the messenger. It’s someone else’s question.
Amy: Someone like Gunther?
RAD: I can’t say.
Amy: (fuming) Fine. I’m all alone, fighting pirates. Right. I’ll want a gun.
RAD: No guns allowed, either.
Amy: A knife, then. A big knife to cut wood to build things, and to fight them off. Is that allowed?
RAD: Yes. One more item.
Amy: Binoculars, to see them coming. Wait. Is this daytime or nighttime?
RAD: (smiles) Good question. They invade at night.
Amy: Then a flashlight, or – no, wait. Those night vision goggles that soldiers use. So I can see them coming and make my way around them.
RAD: Clever.
Amy: So – what was that about?
RAD: You’ll have to find out more about that later, but thank you for cooperating. And I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you. I hope Gameland gives you a fresh start. Good luck.
Amy: Thank you.
RAD: That wraps up our character interviews for Den. Click here to register for the Double Feature Book Launch Bash and join us online this Tuesday October 25th from 8-10pm CST / 6-8pm PT. Those who respond in the chat could win a free copy of Den or other books, along with Amazon egift cards! See you there!
#DenThriller
