Character Interview with Tender from Luminous

Today I'm interviewing Tender from Dawn Metcalf's debut novel Luminous. I must say he was quite the character! Check it out:

Tender.That's a strange name for a guy. What does it mean?

It's a nickname. It can mean "soft or easily bruised", "a vessel that tends to others", or "payment". Guess which one I think is the most relevant?

I hear that there's no Flow without you. How does it feel to have so much power?

Well, power's what you make of it. And all "power" comes with a price, a high price, but it's one I can live with. I have to. If it all burns down, then it's up to me, in the end. The others may think it's about my cleaning up their messes, but it's more about keeping the world, and them, in balance. It's hard and it's thankless, but ask any parent: some of the toughest and most important jobs are.

You've been called a vulture. How do you feel about that?

You've been talking to Joseph Crow, haven't you? Meh. The guy talks in zoology. The only one worse is Yehudah who talks like a sixty-year old man.

What do you think of Bones?

What *do* I think of Bones? Hm. Good question. She's new, obviously, and wide-eyed with wonder--they all are when they first get here--but there's something...different about her. You can see it when you look at her, and I'm not just talking about the bones. She's clever and she thinks for herself. She's open to the possibilities beyond what we're supposed to swallow and that makes her part of something bigger. I can admire that IF she can walk the talk, that is. Too many people cave when the time comes. I guess we shall see, then, won't we?

Anything else you want us to know?

Yeah. "Never judge a man's actions until you know his motives." - Judgment. Or, as some might say, "...until you walk a mile in his moccasins." J.C. can chew on *that* for a while.

 About Dawn Metcalf:

I have no good excuse for the way I write. I lived in a normal, loving, suburban home, studied hard, went to college, went to graduate school, got married, had babies, and settled down in northern Connecticut. Despite this wholesome lifestyle, I was clearly corrupted by fairy tales, puppet visionaries, British humor and graphic novels. As a result, I write dark, quirky, and sometimes humorous speculative fiction.