The Book…

Blue Violet

by Abigail Owen

Interview with Ellie Aubrey, Blue Violet’s heroine

High school student and powerful Svatura, Ellie Aubrey talks about her brother, her special skills — and where you’ll find her most week nights.

By Abigail Owen

Approaching the house in the mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado, where Ellie Aubrey lives and has invited me to visit for our interview, I am struck by how unassuming a dwelling this is for such an interesting and powerful person as Ellie.

She greets me at the back door with a warm smile. She is adorably engaging – a petite, almost pixie-like girl. She has gleaming, long, black hair that hangs in waves down her back, and blue eyes so deep in color they appear to be almost violet. Not beautiful exactly, more girl-next-door with a slightly exotic coloring. She actually has tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose that almost make her cute. She is casually dressed in jeans and tee-shirt, downplaying her looks.

Ellie shakes my hand and then politely offers me a drink as she ushers me through the kitchen and into the living room. I suddenly see why she bought this house. Wide windows across the entire wall offer an incredible view of the Rocky Mountains. I see a panorama of
greens and blues laid out before me.

Ellie follows my gaze and grins. “Gorgeous isn’t it? I never get tired of that view.” She waits for me to take a seat before arranging herself comfortably on the couch. “You sure you don’t want a drink?” she asks. Ellie, who appears to be in her late teens or early twenties but who is actually well over 150 years old, is genuinely nice like that.

Satisfied that her guest has been put at ease, which is typically my job as an interviewer, she gracefully tucks a foot up under her and smiles. “So… what would you like to know?” she asks. And we hop right into the interview…

AO: I understand you were born in the 1800s. Are you immortal?

Ellie: (Laughs.) No, not immortal exactly. Svatura do eventually pass away from old age. We
just age slower than humans. A lot slower. I’m still considered relatively young for our people.
And I can still pass myself off as a high school student when it’s warranted.

AO: You said Svatura… what exactly is that?

Ellie: It’s short for Darane Svatura, which in Romani – the language of the gypsies – can be
translated as supernatural or magical stories. My people are… were the embodiment… the origin
of those stories.

AO: Are you saying you’re witches?

Ellie: (Shrugs.) Not quite. Svatura are people who have extraordinary abilities. Powers…
we sometimes call them. Abilities are genetic, passed from parent to child, but with a subtle
variation for each generation. Of course, having any power is so rare, most Svatura only have
one.

AO: What power did you inherit?

Ellie: (Tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.) Well, one is the ability to shift into animals. The
falcon is my favorite.

AO: Awesome! Can you show me?

Ellie: Okay. (She smiles and then appears to blur before my eyes, shimmering like a mirage
in a desert. There’s no sound to accompany her transformation, and in mere moments a falcon
appears where Ellie had just been sitting. Her unique coloring shows through as a midnight black
body and violet-blue eyes, which are striking up close. Just as quickly she morphs back into her
human form, fully clothed.)

AO: Hey! How are you still in your clothes?

Ellie: (Laughs again as she settles back on the couch.) The control over the shift happens in my
mind, and so when I return to human form, it’s always exactly how I left it. I’ve always been
tickled by descriptions of shifters in stories showing them as naked when they turn back to
human. I’m pretty darn thankful that it doesn’t work that way for me. Could you imagine?

AO: Seriously! Do you morph into any other animals?

Ellie: A few, but I think I’ll keep the others a secret. (Winks.)

AO: Any other powers?

Ellie: Maybe… You’ll have to get to know me a little better before I share those.

AO: What about your family?

Ellie: My twin brother, Griffin, is telepathic.

AO: Is he here? Any way I can meet him?

Ellie: (Pauses as she seems to be thinking.) He apologizes but he’s out on an errand right now
and can’t make it back in time. (Makes a face.) Griffin’s more cautious than I am. He’s actually a
little annoyed that I’m doing this interview.

AO: Were you talking to him just then?

Ellie: Yeah. I’m able to communicate with him that way.

AO: Do you look alike?

Ellie: Not even close. He has golden blond hair, leonine eyes, and is very tall. No one would ever
think we’re even related, let alone twins. When we were little, our mother nicknamed us Artemis
and Apollo after the sibling Greek gods associated with the moon and the sun, the night and the
day. We’re very close, though, despite different looks and different personalities. I would never
survive this life without him.

AO: That’s great that you’ve got each other! So why is he annoyed?

Ellie: We usually try to keep our existence secret. But for Theresa’s blog, I was happy to take a
chance.

AO: We appreciate your sharing with us. So why did you move to Estes Park recently?

Ellie: I can’t give you too many details because we’re still in the middle of everything. But there
are some people here who might be like us. I had a… dream… about them.

AO: Is dreaming one of your powers?

Ellie: No. That’s what makes it so weird. But worth looking into.

AO: I thought you had a large family? Why are you trying to find these people?

Ellie: (Bites her lip. Her eyes well up with tears.) Our family were… killed. A long time ago.

AO: I’m so sorry! That’s obviously a tough topic for you, so let’s try something a little lighter.
Have you ever been in love?

Ellie: (Takes a deep breath and then grins.) No. Our people don’t love easily, and really just once
in a lifetime. Although…

AO: Ooooh!!! Did you meet someone?

Ellie: (Blushes) Maybe. I’m still not sure what it is.

AO: Who is he?

Ellie: I only just met him. Alex is the older brother of a girl at my school.

AO: Well I can’t wait to hear what happens with him.

Ellie: (Shifts in her seat.) You and me both!

AO: What do you do for fun, Ellie?

Ellie: (Shrugs.) These days I run and go to movies. I love movies. But lately most of my nights
are spent flying around in my falcon form. It’s handy to do surveillance from up high like that.
And I mentioned that we’re here trying to figure out that other family. I guess you could call that
fun.

AO: So what about your life, if anything, would you change?

Ellie: (Taps a fingernail on her teeth as she thinks. Looks up – deadly serious.) I would hunt
down and destroy the people responsible for the death of my family.

AO: Phew! I wouldn’t want to get on your bad side. Okay… last question. I’ll make it a silly
one. You said you like movies. What’s your favorite?

Ellie: (Eyes light up.) Well first you have to remember that I was alive when movies were
invented. I’ve seen most of them when they were first released in the theater. But hands down,
best movie ever… Star Wars.

AO: Hah! Which one?

Ellie: Episode Four, of course! Although Empire is pretty awesome too.

AO: Thanks, Ellie, for agreeing to this interview!

The Author…

Born in Greeley, Colorado to a high school English teacher and a social worker, Abigail was raised in Texas and now resides in California with her husband and two children. Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her own writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pasttime by obtaining a degree in Technical Writing. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. She is now a full-time business analyst currently working toward earning an EMBA degree and who strangely loves numbers almost as much as words now. Abigail is an aspiring author who published her first book – Blue Violet – in 2012. She hopes to turn this beloved hobby into a self-sustatining passion.