Grace: I feel fabulous. High on life.
A: And fairy juice it seems.
G: That too.
A: Well, let's avoid talking about The Annual, not everyone has read it and we don't want to stumble onto spoilers.
G: Of course not. But if we do get on to the topic we can scream out Spoiler Alert! And then it isn't our fault if they read on.
A: True.
G: So, what do you want to talk about?
A: You actually. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I want you to be honest please.
G: Go for it.
A: Full name?
G: Grace Logan.
A: Age?
G: Is that book age? Profile age? Or real?
A: All three, I guess.
G: Well, The Annual was published in 2014 but written in 2013. In it I'm twenty-two. My real age is six, turning seven this year.
A: Wow. Can you explain your birth? From the Author's mind that is.
G: April Klasen had just had her wisdom teeth removed and couldn't get the experience out of her mind, so she began to write about it. At first when she wrote it came out like a diary entry which for some reason annoyed her. So she fictionalised it and created a character who wasn't her. That was me. From then on I would appear in all kinds of short stories, I even had a graphic novel at one stage called In the Shadows. It wasn't until the start of 2013 that I was given a real story.
A: Rumour has it, The Annual is the only story April was paid to write.
G: Yes! Unbeknownst to her supervisor or her bosses, she was bored waiting at her desk for something to file. An idle mind is a dangerous thing, so she started to tell herself a story. Which turned into her writing it on her computer between eight am and five pm each week day for several weeks. The company still has no idea that happened.
A: So April should find another boring desk job and write a sequel?
G: Hell no! Not yet anyway. I haven't spoken to her in ages so she has no idea what's been happening in my life, not since that Halloween incident.
A: Should I scream Spoiler Alert?
G: No. I'll stop myself. However, my story hasn't continued. April did have a couple of ideas but they never eventuated.
A: So you've just left her be?
G: Yep. That way my younger siblings can annoy her.
A: Siblings?
G: The other characters. I'm the oldest, the first character she ever imagined into existence. Then came Tatiana. Her story is muddled and I'm not sure if it will ever work itself out. Oh! No I'm wrong, Aimee is older than Tat, Aimee Paterson and her sisters Alexis and Autumn. Then a few years later there was Blair.
A: That's a lot of sisters.
G: I know. I had to move out of April's head just so I could get some peace and quiet. Blair is such an attention seeking brat!
A: Well, she has given April three novels to write.
G: See? that proves she likes to be the centre of attention.
A: Right.
G: I'm just saying.
A: do you think this is strange? Having a conversation with the Author instead of just talking to another character and having April eavesdrop on the conversation?
G: A little strange. Especially since you're referring to yourself in the third person. WTF?
A: Don't back chat your creator.
G: (eye roll)
A: Anyway, thanks Grace for talking to me today.
G: Does this confirm you're crazy?
A: Shut up. Maybe.