Here's an interesting character interview to get you more in touch with who's who in When Copper Suns Fall.
Meet Faris:
Can you introduce yourself to us?
Name’s Faris. Faris
Toulan. I’m a Caducean, a demon slayer. There isn’t really much else to say. **Glances at me with a set of intense gray
eyes that shimmer inside the irises. I wonder if they’re really gray, or could
they be silver** People around you might not understand why my skills are necessary in
this day and time, but they will. You’ll be glad you had this interview with
me.
In what way are you connected to Chela?
In what way are you connected to Chela?
Hmm. **massages the back of his neck as he thinks
about this** Our connection is, well…difficult to explain.
You see, if I tell you about it, then you’d be at risk. **I’m dying to know what he means. Before I
can say anything, he continues.** That means I’d have to
take a part of your memories. I can do that, you know. **I
suck my breath. Did he just read my mind?** I’ll do anything to protect Chela. Our connection is beyond
words.
What can you say about your
life?
I told you, there
isn’t really much I can say. But I will tell you to be happy with what you’ve
got today. Your blue skies, clean air. **he glances toward
the window beside us, staring at it a long moment** Are those birds outside? 55 years in the
future, that would be in this world after the Tidal Years, there are no birds.
They’re gone. Poof. Vanished. You have robots. Big, black, ugly crows with
cameras for eyes. They’re looking for me. Or rather, people like me. I’m an
outcast according to the new leaders. They blame the Caduceans for what
happened in the past: wars, earthquakes, hurricanes. **A distant look clouds his eyes. I want to
know what they’re seeing**
What do you think of the
present world? (2012)
You’re lucky. Very
lucky. See my last answer if you need proof of that.
What’s the strangest
thing you’ve seen here so far? Why?
Everything about this world seems strange since the last time I was here.
In my world, you get used to seeing dark stuff everywhere. Black waters, black beaches,
gray skies. **I wonder what he means, but I’ve learned to
be patient with him.** I’ve been here before,
you know. How is that possible? I can hear your thoughts so easily. **He smiles a drop-down-dead-gorgeous smile
with one dimple on the left cheek. My cheeks are probably blushing tomato red** You’ll have to read
about my story to see how I got here. And your outdated cellereaders crack me
up. **He means my cell
phone lying on the desk beside us. He’s giving it a look of pure pity. I tell
him this is the 4G version of the latest Droid. And I’m kinda mad because I
used six months worth of my wages to buy it.** The screen doesn’t
have enough pixels. You can’t even read thumb imprints with that thing. Anybody
could steal it and use it. **again,
he has a point. Sigh sigh**
What’s the most
surprising thing you’ve seen here? Why?
As I said, I’ve been
here before. But I don’t remember hearing so much laughter. What surprises me is all the happy-smiley
people you have here. In the future, smiles are an endangered species. Enjoy
them while they last.
If you had a chance to
choose between living in our world and in yours, which one would you choose?
Why?
The mirrorlands,
that’s what we Caduceans call your world, can’t touch mine. Ours is older than
yours. I don’t mean to sound conceited. But it’s true. My world Bardonia is on
the other side of the doorway. It’s parallel to this world. The skies are
clear. The waters are sapphire blue and jade green in some places. There’s even
this island where the waterfalls flow toward the sky. No pollution. No disease
from contaminated waters. So tell me. Which one would you choose? **Does he even need to ask?**
Can you name one thing,
event or custom that reminds you of your world?
Bonding.
That type of connection Chela has with me, it’s the same way at home. But the
thing is I’m not at home. I can’t go back to Bardonia. I’m exiled, cursed to
live in the mirrorlands. And not a pretty little place like your 2012 world. In
the future, I’m hunted like an animal by the humans. And targeted by our
enemies, the Tainted. I guess the answer could be violence, too. That really
hasn’t changed much over time. **he sighs deeply, lowers his head, and stays quiet**When Copper Suns Fall:
In fifteen-year-old Chela Prizeon’s city, alchemy is
forbidden, and angels hide among the mortal. With a deadly virus ravaging the
globe, Chela’s nightmarish memories compels her to experience a past riddled
with gloom, and now her brother is infected.
Chela’s only hope is the Caduceans, slayers sworn to protect
the last seven Light Keepers and the ancient memories they share. A group led by the sometimes elusive, sometimes
infuriating boy who intrigues Chela. But can she trust this boy with the
mysterious past, someone who can influence her memories?
With the Caduceans aid, Chela races to defeat her rivals, to
unearth dark family secrets, desperate to find a cure…only to discover the
glutovirus is far more than a simple disease.
Excerpt:
Forcing my eyes to open, I found myself outside the
Cradlehack. I was standing in Faris’s arms, my head against his chest, my
fingers entwined in his black vest. It was a smooth fabric that felt like silk.
A cloth no one had worn outside of ceremonies since before the Tidal Years.
This boy was no common citizen. His earthy-sweet smell made me feel
hypnotically safe, as we stood among the crowd fleeing down the hillside. He
lifted my chin, stared in my eyes. But this wasn’t some dumb player’s move.
No, a
mysterious thing stirred behind his silvery-gray eyes.
“Feel
better, Chela?” he asked. I nodded.
“Thanks
for helping me,” I said, still fighting a light head. Still afraid the dreaded
black blobs lingered somewhere around us. Somewhat ashamed I’d spoken so
horribly to him moments ago.
“You
probably shouldn’t do that,” he said.
"Do
what?”
“Thank
me.”
"Why?
Because I caught you using alchemy? That’s what your kind does. Make magic in
the shadows, right?” I said.
His left
eye ticked. The girl in the hoodie had called him a Caducean. Could it be
possible? Father told me Caduceans were a mythical group—demon slayers from a
time long gone. Yet, here I stood with a boy who didn’t deny my claim.
Around
us, fewer people were leaving the Shack. They paid no attention to the two
idiots standing and staring at each other. Did Jalen and Lexa make it out
safely? They were taking forever to
reach me.
Did I
really want them to find me?
“They’ll
call me, now, and make me a witness against you. I’m sorry, but I already have
too many problems. So I—I have to tell the truth,” I said.
“That
won’t be a problem.” Faris smiled, a catchy one that lit his face up. I
couldn’t decide whether it was angelic or downright wicked. Just like I
couldn’t remember where I’d ever heard an accent like his. What kind was it?
Old southern? Old English? Irish? It sounded like a mix of all three, but with
a deep timbre, making him sound god like. “In a few minutes, you won’t remember
me or any of this.”
“Really?
How do you figure that?” I asked, heart racing.
“Because
my gift to you…” He moved his face closer to mine, pulling me into whatever was
happening in his head. “My gift is to remove memories that cause you pain.”
"Okay,
um, right.” Had I lost my mind? It probably wouldn’t have hurt to scream.
He held my gaze, locking me into
something I couldn’t explain. A tear puckered up in his left eye, and slid down
his cheek where it stopped on his top lip. Then he blinked, snapping us out of
whatever place he’d taken us to, and glanced behind my head. “Here comes your
dark knight,” he said, easing his arms away from me.
He
strolled off into the last group of stragglers hanging around the Shack. How
did he know my nickname for Jalen?
I wiped
away a tear rolling down my right cheek.
“Chela,
there you are. You scared me, girl.” Jalen’s voice cut into the moment. He spun
me around to face him. I blinked, clearing my eyes. “What’s wrong? Did you get
hurt?”
I
glanced around us. The boy was gone. A dull headache joined the fuzziness in my
head. Lost inside a clouded mind, I forgot what I wanted to say. The entire
night’s events were hazy.
I
fumbled with my thoughts.
What
happened to me in there?
About The Author:
KaSonndra Leigh lives
in the City of Alchemy and Medicine, North Carolina. She likes to write about
teens doing fantastical things in magical worlds. Her two sons have made her
promise to write a boy book next.
She holds the MFA in creative writing, and loves to play
CLUE, Monopoly (the Indiana Jones version), and Pandora’s Box (good writer’s
block therapy). She lives in an L-shaped house with a garden dedicated to her
grandmother. It has a secret library complete with fairies, Venetian plastered
walls, and a desk made out of clear blue glass.
When Copper Suns Fall is her debut novel.
