Sarah Interviews Princess Alethea

I was recently contacted by a high school student named Sarah K, asking for my answers on a survey she was doing for her English class…she had chosen “authors” as her demographic.

I was so intrigued by her questions that I asked if I could post them here, and she said yes. Thanks, Sarah!

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Taking Care of Business, original film posterName: Alethea Kontis
Age: 38
Race: French Canadian/Greek American
Gender: Female

What qualities do you consistently put into the protagonists of your novels? Why?
All of my protagonists have a weakness. (This weakness is usually a weakness I have as well.) In the course of the story, they are challenged and forced–at some point–to overcome this weakness.
Nobody wants to read about perfect characters! I want to read about characters like me. We might not have the same color hair or eyes or skin, but maybe she’s scared of crowds or he’s done some terrible things in his past that he regrets…and through that porthole I become that character I’m reading. I want that to happen to my readers, too.

How has being an author changed you?
I have always been a writer–I have been writing creative things down and submitting them for publication since the age of eight. Being an author as a career is a different story entirely. I have become a loud, colorful celebrity, the freak I wish I had met when I was twelve so that I knew being like this–painting my face and dyeing my hair blue and waking up with glitter on my pillow–was a valid life choice. When I was a teen, I was quiet and frumpy and hid in the corners, watching and collecting misfits. Now I jump into whatever situation scares me and live my life in such a way that I will always be able to tell great stories.

How does love in the real world compare to fictional love?
A wise man told me once: “The difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to make sense.” There are different kinds of love, and different kinds of pain, and the more you live, the more you discover. I’m still a work in progress.

If you truly had the power to change anything about the world, where would you start?
I would give everyone in the world a huge injection of self-confidence and a good night’s sleep. I honestly think this is the solution to World Peace.

What is the difference between reality and perception?
When I was a teen, one of the movie posters on the ceiling above my bed was Taking Care of Business. It had James Belushi surfing on the roof of a fancy car and the tagline: “You are who you pretend to be.” As a child actress, this line always spoke to me and, when I was brave enough, I lived the life I wanted instead of the life I felt that had been forced upon me. Bad things happen to everyone. Good things happen too. THAT is reality. Perception is what you choose to do with that.

What is truth?
That’s an easy one: ME! Truth is my first name. “Alethea” means “truth” in Greek. I was named after a character Jodie Foster played in an episode of the TV show Kung Fu — a little girl that bravely chose not to tell a lie. Trust me, it’s as much of a curse as it is a blessing!