Trust
(Acceptance #1)
Thea Larson
The world
didn’t quite know what it was getting itself into when Thea was born. She came
into the world in Germany, 1987, as the child of an American service member and
the future author JT Larson. Writing has always been in Thea’s blood, but she
kind of had to work her way to it. Her heart was stolen early on by video games
and anime. Eventually, a pen and notebook found its way into her hand and the
rest is history. In the present day, Thea lives in Louisiana and works at
Wal-Mart. When not doing that, she’s traversing many fantasy
lands in search of
fame, fortune, and adventure.
A Little Q&A with Thea Larson
Q: What was the inspiration behind this book?
June. Amnesia is a favorite plot point of mine, and so I
wanted to craft a character with that as his central premise. The innocence and
curiosity that total amnesia allows appeals to me in many ways. Once I realized
June as a complete character, I began to search for a reason for him to be. I
made him a catboy because of pure Author Appeal - I love catboys. The feline
ears on top of the head allow for a wide range of emotions to show. They allow
also for a deeper glimpse into a character's head. If June says he's fine, but
his ears are back, then you know he's not really. The catboy aspect in the end
became a greater part of his character than his amnesia. It is because he's a
catboy that he's hated, but ultimately it's his innocence that endears him to
people.
Q: Is there a particular theme or message you are trying to
convey in your story? If so, what?
The novel has a central theme of trust. June first has to
Trust Risa not to hurt him, and when she doesn't, that's when their
relationship begins. Risa has to trust that he's not a monster like all
non-humans must be, and when his innocence wins her over, she can't help her
maternal instincts.
There are a few secondary themes as well. There is one scene
that I'm sure many Americans can relate to with their health coverage. Overall,
however, the theme that I feel people will take away from this is that family
is family. They don't have to be your blood relation, they don't have to be
human, but once you establish that bond, you're family.
Q: What's your next project?
I'm not entirely sure. The short I wrote about Ame and
Faizah tickled the plotbunnies and I kind of want to flesh out their universe a
bit more. I'm definitely plotting on Trust's sequel, though. The series itself
is going to be called the Acceptance series, because the whole series is about
getting over humanity's militant Xenophobia. I don't know when I'll have time
for it though! Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has taken up a lot of my time.
I made a Miqo'te and named him after June. The Miqo'te are catboys, naturally.
Q: Who is your favorite character to write?
June! Like I said, amnesia is one of my favorite plots. It's
fun getting into his head and seeing the world from the perspective of someone
who doesn't know it. One of my favorite scenes from Trust is the scene where
Risa sits June down to start teaching him words. It's from June's point of
view, and Risa's trying to teach him what an apple is. June has no concept of
color at this point, no words for it, and so trying to describe the apple was
challenging but fun. My next favorite was Gary. He has complex motivations and
so writing his first scene without giving anything away was a challenge! I
enjoyed the challenge though. I write what interests me the most, and this was
definitely interesting.
Oh, and Trevor. Let's not forget him. I hate him because
spoilers, but I can't deny that he was fun. He has a grand total of one scene,
but that one scene sets him up as a major factor in June's life. I hope I get
to write as him again in a future book!
Q: What do you like to do when you're not writing?
As mentioned above, gaming. I'm an MMO nomad - I wander
between MMORPGs regularly. There are three that I play when I don't have
something new (Eden Eternal, MapleStory, and Digimon Masters Online), but I'm
always eager to try out a new game. I like games with interesting stories, so
when not MMOing I like to play JRPGs. I just bought Kingdom Hearts HD1.5 Remix
and it's been fun to play so far. Roxas's story made me cry again!
When I'm not gaming, I'll be writing little things that I
can't sell or watching anime. I love yaoi, I'll say that right here, and so all
of the fanservice in Free! Iwatobi Swim Club makes me giggle. I also love anime
with a great plot, like Fullmetal Alchemist or Durarara. I've also been
watching Digimon Adventure on Netflix, subbed. My childhood relived, in
Japanese!
Q: Tell me 3 things about yourself that are not connected to
writing.
That's a toughie! I love to write so much that I even think
about it when I can't write. I'm constantly plotting something or other. Um, I
guess I love Loki? By Loki I mean the character presented in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe, not the mythological figure. I invited him into my head for
a few days just to try and see how he is and it was wonderful. The tragedy! The
snark!
Hm, two more things... I don't know! I'm boring, I guess
that could be a thing. I come home and play video games or write. The only
times I go out are to go see a movie, or go eat, or shop. Oh, and to work of
course. I work in the Electronics Department at Wal-Mart. That could be a thing
too? That's better than boring! We'll go with Wal-Mart.
Thing three... oh, I go to anime conventions! I love to hit
up the gaming room there and see who all is playing what. My favorite game room
was Louisianime, um, 2012? They had a grand setup with Just Dance and Dance
Central, as well as a table fill with Ipads. There was this rhythm game that
was totally fun. I also enjoy Mechacon because of the MechCorps simulators.
They let you drive a virtual mecha in a real cockpit! Well, a simulated real
cockpit.
Connect with Thea Larson
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Far from boring! You're a delightful person. I can't wait for your next project :-)
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