Who is Nyx?
Art by Stephanie Brown @ Offbeat Worlds
Nyx is a college-aged girl from Texas. She loves dancing and doing things with her friends. She enjoys her courses at the local community college, but she's not sure what she wants to do when she graduates. Fortunately, she still has a few more years to decide!
Having grown up on a farm, Nyx is used to the daily life of taking care of horses and her dog Baxter. She loves to ride as often as she can, and she is a practiced and skilled horsewoman. Her favorite mount is a black stallion named Bolt, who loves to search her pockets for treats!
Nyx was brought to the small town of Lucky, Texas, when she was a baby by her aunt, Dorothea. Dorothea, or Dee as Nyx calls her, has raised her, telling Nyx that her parents were killed in an unfortunate accident. Nyx has always been happy, and never thought to question her origin or her aunt's story.
At least, not until the mysterious Jet appears in Lucky...
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What was your inspiration for Nyx?
Nyx has always embodied the various stages of my own growing-up. She started as a young girl, unsure of herself and her place in the world, and over the years she has grown into a capable and sometimes outspoken young lady. To me, Nyx has always been a symbol of my journey through my teenage years and into the first few years of adulthood and being on my own. I hate to call her my Mary-Sue, but her character does draw on a lot of my own life experiences.
Why a Texas girl?
Because Texas girls are the best, obviously! :-D I'm from Texas, born and raised here, and I've always loved the idea of East Texas, country life. Things are easier and slower in East Texas, and the towns are much smaller. I'm a native Houstonian (Pasadenian technically), but since I was a child I've been to visit relatives in East Texas many times. I've always loved it there, and it seemed like the perfect setting for Nyx's adventures. Texas and small-town life in general has a way of cultivating a school of thought and behavior that will be important to set Nyx apart when she reaches the royal city of Regius Carmen.
What can we expect from Nyx in future books?
Nyx has a long journey to undertake. She has a whole new culture to learn and integrate into, and a whole new way of thinking to try to understand. She has to learn to control her magic, and she has to learn that not everyone can be trusted. Nothing is set in stone, but one thing Nyx will always exhibit is a kind and compassionate exterior. I strive for her to be a strong female character, and I think those two elements are so important. Being strong isn't just about kicking butt, it's about knowing when to be soft-hearted to those who have hurt you and knowing how to have compassion on those who are incapable of being better versions of themselves.
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Next time we shed the spotlight on the most surly of all the characters, Jet!