Character Interview: Sarya

Sarya's Song is now available at: Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Apple | Smashwords | OmniLit

Introducing Sarya dyr-Rusac, the title character from Sarya's Song:

1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name?
My name is Sarya dyr-Rusac. That just means I'm the daughter of a man named Rusac; I don't have a proper family name.

2. How old are you?
I am 24 years old.

3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them?
My father was a miner in the Burnt Hills, and I had a mother and several older siblings. I lost my family when I was eight years old, when my father fell into debt and they were sold off as debt-slaves. I was too young to be worth paying for as a worker, so I was left to fend for myself. Sometimes I resent my father for falling into debt and letting our family be destroyed that way, but the way things work in the Burnt Hills mining towns, it's almost impossible to avoid.

4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it?
I would rather not talk about it. I was far too young, and the man involved was no one I care to remember.

5. What is your occupation?
Until recently, I was an Arranger in the musical Service in the city of Sucevita. As an Arranger, I arranged tropes, which are melodies with magical properties, into pleasing musical numbers for rituals such as weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies. Something went terribly wrong with a wedding ritual I Arranged, and I was forced to leave. Now I'm trying to earn my way as a traveling minstrel, but with the bad conditions lately, people everywhere are struggling to get by and there isn't any extra money for traveling musicians.

6. What are your best and worst qualities?
I'm a hard worker, and intelligent, and determined. My worst qualities are that I'm stubborn and sometimes I have a hard time looking beyond my prejudices and pre-conceived notions.

7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner?
My options in that area are extremely limited, even if I was interested in finding someone. Which I'm not.

But, if it was a possibility, I would like someone who loved music as much as I do and who would respect my independence, and who understood that life is hard for a lot of people and cared about the less-fortunate.

...Well, and I do have to say that I'm partial to auburn hair and baritone voices. For whatever that's worth.

8. What is your favorite thing to do?
Anything having to do with music. Singing, playing my lute, Arranging, writing songs.

9. What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is falling into debt-slavery like happened to my family.  I made it out of the Burnt Hills with my freedom, and I would die before I would give it up.

10. What is your most treasured possession?
My lute, and my freedom.

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