Character Closeups: The Heroes & Villains of Vallar, Pt 2

**Note: If you're looking for my IWSG post, please check back next week. I had some scheduling conflicts and decided to move it. :)**

As promised gang, here is part two of the inaugural Character Closeup blog feature where we take a look at three characters, on three different days, from one fabulous author/story.

We continue with author Cindy Borgne's Vallar series. You can check the interview with character, Kayla, here. And stop back by Friday for the final character closeup of the series--our first villain. :-)

The Heroes & Villains of Vallar, Pt 1

(Author Note: These interviews take place between books 1 and 2)

Character Name: Ian Connors

Hero or Villain: Hero

Who are you? I’m Ian Connors, and I’m studying to be a ship mechanic. I’m also a psychic, but please keep that to yourself. 

Where do you live? I live on Mars in a contained biosphere that is built below the surface. This post, known as Gentech, was made out from a series of large craters.

What is it like to be psychic? It’s frustrating. Not only can I inconsistently see the future, but I can also sense emotions. The worst part is that I have a hard time blocking out all those emotions too. If a bunch of people are mad at me, I will get a terrible headache. If I’m around people who are panicking, it can make me want to panic as well. However, the ability to sense emotions has also allowed me to find and save people.

Seeing the future causes me a lot of stress because I often see bad things happening. Then I don’t know exactly how to prevent the disaster. I’ve seen people being seriously wounded and even dying. Some I have saved, but I feel like it takes years off my own life.

My mind is very busy, especially when I’m trying to have visions. I continue to work in my dreams, so usually I wake up feeling like I’ve been up most of the night.

What are you afraid of? Only a few trusted friends know I’m psychic, and I don’t want anyone else finding out. If the wrong people find out, it could lead to me being kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder.

What is your problem in the story? One night, I have a disturbing vision of the entire Gentech post being destroyed. Then I see my father and girlfriend dead, crashed in a ship. It’s up to me to find a way to stop a war with the Marcs.

How do your enemies, these Marcs, see you? They want me dead. I killed their Admiral. He left me no choice, but they don’t understand that. In a vision, I saw their new Admiral saying that he will have me brought to justice and executed.

What do you regret? In the first book, my best friend, Nate, is seriously wounded. He ends up with a brain injury, and still has not fully recovered. I didn’t want him to come with me out into a battle, but he threatened to stop me if he couldn’t come. Still, I can’t shake the guilt. I should’ve tied him up in the hangar and left without him, but I didn’t think of that at the time.

What makes you happy? Being with Kayla. She was my girlfriend for awhile, but she decided we needed to take a break from each other because we were getting too serious, and that I was too young. You see, she’s two years older than me. So now she’s working at the mine while I’m still at Gentech. I sense there is some other problem though and she won’t tell me what it is.

Do you have a hero? I look up to a lot of people, but mostly Sonny Nelson who became my best friend in the first book. I think of him as a father. He lost his daughter and one leg below the knee in battles. He’s a medic and has saved a lot of lives. I also admiral Captain Bret Yargar. He’s a tough military type. You would never know by looking at him that he’s also a physicist working on wormhole technology. He’s made some amazing things. 

Do you ever wish you didn’t have psychic ability? I used to, but I’ve come to accept that I was meant to because I’m able to manage it all without falling apart – at least not completely. The truth is, I wouldn’t give it up. It would make me feel too helpless when it comes to protecting my friends. My world – Mars – is simply too dangerous not to have an edge.

Read more about Ian in Visionary of Peace, Vallar book 2!

Ian Connors had planned to use his visions to spy on Marscorp in order to maintain peace, but flashbacks and nightmares make it impossible. Since two years of peace have passed due to a stalemate, Ian decides to try and live a normal life, until one day he has a vision so horrifying he has no choice but to become the seer he once was or Vallar will have no future. While he struggles to regain his ability, the Marcs plot to capture him alive in order to complete a deal for their return to Earth.

Visionary of Peace is available here: Amazon/Amazon UK/Paperback 

About the Author:

Cindy Borgne lives in the Detroit, Michigan area with her two kids and one stubborn, yet somehow lovable basset hound. She has worked a freelance editor, web-designer and computer instructor.

Prior to Vallar being published, Cindy won an honorable mention for short fiction from Writer's Digest. Her short story "ThunderSnow" was chosen as an editor's pick at Eloquent Stories. In 2011, Seer of Mars was a finalist in the Readers' Favorite contest.

Connect with Cindy Borgne: Blog/Facebook/Twitter 

Want to check out some of Cindy's work for free? 

Two shape shifters compete with each other by imitating humans in difficult situations. This time they become soldiers and face combat. The loser is the first to give up and convert back into shifter form. Adelya impersonates a male soldier and grows tired of the game, but she does not want to lose again. When her platoon is attacked, a soldier's courage shows her there is more to being human than she realized. Soon she falls in love with him and is faced with a choice between an immortal existence or being with the man she loves.

TransShifter is a fantasy light romance.
This novelette is 11,500 words long. (52 pages in paperback)

TransShifter is available for free: Amazon/Nook/Smashwords