Building Character with Ashlinn O'Hara from Wanted

Welcome to my blog feature, Building Character in which you get to meet a character from a book. Talking to a character outside of their book is fun! Huge. Amounts. Of fun. 

This week Strands of Thought is host to Ashlinn O’Hara from Wanted. Welcome, Ashlinn. Tell us a little about yourself and what your life is like.

Thank you so much for having me! This is my first interview, hope I do okay. :) I’m not really good at talking about myself. Oh, I should start by telling you who I am, huh? My name is Ashlinn O’Hara, I’m 17, and I’m a witch.

I know, talking about yourself can be hard, but we have a curious and kind audience, so that should put you at ease.

Wow, a witch! I don’t meet many of those. What kind of trials and tribulations does a witch run up against?

Well, I’m a witch. When we turn 18, we reach our full power. Apparently, I’m pretty powerful, and the vamps in school can tell. A vamp can use a witch’s power to enhance his or her own abilities. When the Vampire Council heard about my power, they decided I had to become someone’s familiar, otherwise World War Vampire would break out or something. The worst part? The dude I’ve been totally crushing on for months, Conor Peterson, is the one who discovered my power and he’s offered to claim me. Great right? Think again! To become a familiar means you have to get bitten, and I’ve been bitten before - attacked - not so much fun, so I’m not a huge fan of the biting. Oh, and my best friend, Matt, who I’ve known, like, forever, LIKE likes me and has volunteered for the job, also. And - it seems my power is all wonky, I haven’t yet mastered the control part yet. Yeah, it’s all kinds of complicated.

Vampires and familiars too. Holy moly, you are up against some crazy troubles. The biggest things I had to worry about in high school were my hairstyle and having a locker next to the most popular guy in our class. I’d say your worries are a bit bigger. That’s sweet that Matt really likes you.

Um, hello? Best friend having crush on me! It’s horrible! I love him - as a friend, a brother, and I need him in my life. If I hurt him, I’m afraid he’ll pull away. There’s also the fact that Conor tried to bite me without permission, so I’m confused whether he likes me or my power. Then there’s the random popular dude, Tre - who has never talked to me before, and is suddenly asking for my phone number and trying to seduce me in the cafeteria - gross.

Tre definitely just wants your power. Duh! But I’m totally hung up on the Matt thing. He sounds so sweet. Do you have any other good friends?

Well, my absolute best friend is Matt, well, WAS Matt. He saved my life when we were younger and since then he’s always been there, like my brother, sticking up for me, supporting me. But this whole situation has me all confused and he’s having like warm fuzzy feelings for me, and I’m just not sure how I feel about that. Usually, he’s fun, laid-back, easygoing, and we just hang. Cora is my best girlfriend. She’s awesome because she totally has been there for me through the whole Conor/Matt/Tre situation. We have sleepovers, eat ice cream, watch Channing Tatum movies, fun girl stuff.

Tell us more about you. What are your favorite foods?

Ice cream - Ben & Jerry’s - definitely! Pizza, and chocolate!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I used to want to own a little occult shop. Now, my future is so uncertain, I just want to get to college without being a vamp snack.

Three favorite books or movies?

Huh… I haven’t had time to read much lately. Cora and I love Magic Mike, though! We watch it in her basement when her parents aren’t home. :) I also like The Covenant because it’s about hot guy witches. :) And Interview With a Vampire - classic!

I had a girlfriend who dated a male stripper. It was weird. He was always gyrating. Always. Ew! I loved Interview w/a Vampire, but I’ve never even heard of The Covenant. I’ll add it to my queue.

Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

Oh, wow… wisdom? Huh… Be yourself, and stand up for what you believe in. It’s okay to be different - embrace what makes you YOU. Not sure - is that wise? :)

Very wise! Thanks Ashlinn for visiting with us. Good luck with your crazy situation!

About the book:

Attacked as a young witch and left for dead, Ashlinn is deathly afraid of being bitten again. Having survived until she’s almost eighteen without donating blood to any of her vamp friends, Ashlinn figures she’ll continue to live bite-free. After her crush reveals how powerful she is, however, the Vampire Council declares she be claimed as a familiar, which requires biting. Ashlinn doesn’t want to be owned, even by hot vamp, Conor. Luckily, her best friend, Matt, volunteers for the job. She is given one week to choose her protector, and the list of willing biters keeps growing. Will she go with best friend Matt, hot vamp Conor, or someone else to protect her? Will she be able to get her power under control by then? Will she overcome her phobia of being bitten? And who says she needs to be protected, anyhow?

MuseItUp

Amazon

About the author:

Annika James lives in small-town Wisconsin with her husband and two beautiful kiddos. She spends her days working to pay the bills and her nights dreaming of more fun ways to do so. Her passions include writing, reading, music and traveling with her family. She dreams of a world where vampires and powerful witches really exist, because life would be so much more interesting.

For more on Wanted and Annika, visit:

Blog

Goodreads

Facebook

***

If you have a character from a children’s, tween or young adult book that you’d like to see interviewed on Building Character, please contact kaistrand at yahoo dot com.