CHARACTER INTERVIEWS
Have you ever wanted to know more about the characters you love? They are so real to me that I wanted to share information about them you wouldn't necessarily know about from reading the books. Below you'll find a talk radio interview with Tommy and then Ashten.
Talk-radio reporter’s interview with Tommy Ramirez. (Takes place shortly after the end of book 2.)
Interviewer: Tommy, you’re on the front page of every newspaper around here. This one says: THE MAKING OF A HERO. You’ve had a challenging couple of weeks running from hit men and trying to stop their human trafficking ring. What were you thinking when you saw that there were girls in the back of your semi-truck?
Tommy: I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what was happening to them was real.
Interviewer: Why did you go to such effort to help them?
Tommy: Nobody should live in a cage, and whoever put them there needs to suffer a long time.
Interviewer: Would you have gotten involved if you had known how much trouble you’d get into?
Tommy: Yes. When I saw them I kept thinking, ‘What if they were my sisters?’ I just had to do something to help them.
Interviewer: Tell me about your family. What was it like growing up in Mexico?
Tommy: My dad was a mechanic and my mom had a jewelry store on the beach. When I was really little my older sister and I collected seashells from the tide pools for Mama’s business. I was about four when I started helping Papa in his auto body shop.
Interviewer: So is that what you enjoy doing in your spare time, working on cars?
Tommy: I work on cars full time. I like doing it and I’ve always been good at it. If I had spare time, I’d be at the beach surfing.
Interviewer: Why did your family come to the US?
Tommy: Cartels are running a lot of good people out of Mexico.
Interviewer: What was the worst day of your life?
Tommy: I had three “worst days”. The first was when my parents got into the car accident that killed Papá and left Mamá brain damaged. The second was finding those girls in cages, and the third was leading the traffickers’ hit men to Ashten’s house. I couldn’t live with myself if Ashten or any of her family were killed because of me.
Interviewer: I hear you and Ashten are close. Is there a future for you two together?
Tommy: She’s the best thing that ever happened to me—that’s all I can say about that now.
Interviewer: Did she tell you about Irlen’s lenses and Scotopic Syndrome?
Tommy: Yeah.
Interviewer: So these colored lenses you’re wearing, what do they do for you?
Tommy: When I wear them letters don’t move. Who knew something like that could help people read?
Interviewer: Okay, my last question. Who do you look up to as a role model and why?
Tommy: My papá. He taught me to honor my word, take responsibility for my actions, and to work hard for what I get. He showed me how to survive and provide for a family and go without when they needed something.
Interviewer: Thanks so much for being here with us, Tommy. Best of luck to you, and I look forward to interviewing Ashten tomorrow. Do you have a message you’d like me to give to her?
Tommy: Yeah. Tell her, ‘I always keep my promises.’
Interviewer: Ashten, we interviewed Tommy yesterday about the ordeal you two went through together. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What was it like growing up as a police officer’s daughter?
Ashten: I’ve always been proud of him. He worked hard and put a lot of criminals in jail. He was usually busy, and I figured out the best way to spend time with him was to volunteer at his office doing paperwork. After he was done for the day, we went to the gun range together.
Interviewer: How many target shooting championships have you won, and is that the only thing you do for fun?
Ashten: Twenty-one. I enjoy riding horses too and my family is so much fun to be around, I like spending time with them.
Interviewer: Oh, that’s right. They’re famous for practical jokes. What’s the funniest one you’ve played on your dad?
Ashten: I don’t know about the funniest, but the most recent one we did was caution-taped his office door closed—while he was in a meeting with the sheriff in his office. We—my brother and I—ran before he got loose because he was threatening to handcuff us to his desk.
Interviewer: Sounds like you have a great relationship with your family. Can you tell us what went through your mind when Tommy jumped in your car and pointed a gun at you?
Ashten: I was so scared at first, I couldn’t think. After a while I got made enough to fight back.
Interviewer: When did you first figure out he was on a quest to help someone else?
Ashten: Not for a long time. If I had known what he was really trying to do, I wouldn’t have had to beat him up.
Interviewer: I hear you cracked his ribs. What would you have done differently if you had known what he was trying to do?
Ashten: I’m sorry, I’m--
Interviewer: Take your time. Do you need a tissue?
Ashten: I hate crying. It’s just that everything would be so different—I wish he would’ve trusted me and not been ashamed of . . . I just wish he would’ve told me.
Interviewer: As you know, I interviewed Tommy yesterday. He wanted me to give you a message. He said, ‘I always keep my promises.’ What does that mean to you? Oh, sorry, I made you cry again. You went through a lot together. He saved your life several times.
Ashten: Yeah. He’s amazing like that. You don’t find guys like him very often.
Interviewer: I’m sure he’s going to watch your interview. Did you have a message you wanted to share with him?
Ashten: Yeah: I miss you. Thank you for what you did. You’d better keep the promise you made to me.
Interviewer: Could you see sharing a future with him?
Ashten: I definitely want him in my life.
Interviewer: What would your dad and the rest of your family say about that?
Ashten: It might be a challenge for some of them, but Tommy and I have been through scarier things. I think we could handle it.
Talk-radio reporter’s interview with Tommy Ramirez. (Takes place shortly after the end of book 2.)
Interviewer: Tommy, you’re on the front page of every newspaper around here. This one says: THE MAKING OF A HERO. You’ve had a challenging couple of weeks running from hit men and trying to stop their human trafficking ring. What were you thinking when you saw that there were girls in the back of your semi-truck?
Tommy: I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what was happening to them was real.
Interviewer: Why did you go to such effort to help them?
Tommy: Nobody should live in a cage, and whoever put them there needs to suffer a long time.
Interviewer: Would you have gotten involved if you had known how much trouble you’d get into?
Tommy: Yes. When I saw them I kept thinking, ‘What if they were my sisters?’ I just had to do something to help them.
Interviewer: Tell me about your family. What was it like growing up in Mexico?
Tommy: My dad was a mechanic and my mom had a jewelry store on the beach. When I was really little my older sister and I collected seashells from the tide pools for Mama’s business. I was about four when I started helping Papa in his auto body shop.
Interviewer: So is that what you enjoy doing in your spare time, working on cars?
Tommy: I work on cars full time. I like doing it and I’ve always been good at it. If I had spare time, I’d be at the beach surfing.
Interviewer: Why did your family come to the US?
Tommy: Cartels are running a lot of good people out of Mexico.
Interviewer: What was the worst day of your life?
Tommy: I had three “worst days”. The first was when my parents got into the car accident that killed Papá and left Mamá brain damaged. The second was finding those girls in cages, and the third was leading the traffickers’ hit men to Ashten’s house. I couldn’t live with myself if Ashten or any of her family were killed because of me.
Interviewer: I hear you and Ashten are close. Is there a future for you two together?
Tommy: She’s the best thing that ever happened to me—that’s all I can say about that now.
Interviewer: Did she tell you about Irlen’s lenses and Scotopic Syndrome?
Tommy: Yeah.
Interviewer: So these colored lenses you’re wearing, what do they do for you?
Tommy: When I wear them letters don’t move. Who knew something like that could help people read?
Interviewer: Okay, my last question. Who do you look up to as a role model and why?
Tommy: My papá. He taught me to honor my word, take responsibility for my actions, and to work hard for what I get. He showed me how to survive and provide for a family and go without when they needed something.
Interviewer: Thanks so much for being here with us, Tommy. Best of luck to you, and I look forward to interviewing Ashten tomorrow. Do you have a message you’d like me to give to her?
Tommy: Yeah. Tell her, ‘I always keep my promises.’
Interviewer: Ashten, we interviewed Tommy yesterday about the ordeal you two went through together. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What was it like growing up as a police officer’s daughter?
Ashten: I’ve always been proud of him. He worked hard and put a lot of criminals in jail. He was usually busy, and I figured out the best way to spend time with him was to volunteer at his office doing paperwork. After he was done for the day, we went to the gun range together.
Interviewer: How many target shooting championships have you won, and is that the only thing you do for fun?
Ashten: Twenty-one. I enjoy riding horses too and my family is so much fun to be around, I like spending time with them.
Interviewer: Oh, that’s right. They’re famous for practical jokes. What’s the funniest one you’ve played on your dad?
Ashten: I don’t know about the funniest, but the most recent one we did was caution-taped his office door closed—while he was in a meeting with the sheriff in his office. We—my brother and I—ran before he got loose because he was threatening to handcuff us to his desk.
Interviewer: Sounds like you have a great relationship with your family. Can you tell us what went through your mind when Tommy jumped in your car and pointed a gun at you?
Ashten: I was so scared at first, I couldn’t think. After a while I got made enough to fight back.
Interviewer: When did you first figure out he was on a quest to help someone else?
Ashten: Not for a long time. If I had known what he was really trying to do, I wouldn’t have had to beat him up.
Interviewer: I hear you cracked his ribs. What would you have done differently if you had known what he was trying to do?
Ashten: I’m sorry, I’m--
Interviewer: Take your time. Do you need a tissue?
Ashten: I hate crying. It’s just that everything would be so different—I wish he would’ve trusted me and not been ashamed of . . . I just wish he would’ve told me.
Interviewer: As you know, I interviewed Tommy yesterday. He wanted me to give you a message. He said, ‘I always keep my promises.’ What does that mean to you? Oh, sorry, I made you cry again. You went through a lot together. He saved your life several times.
Ashten: Yeah. He’s amazing like that. You don’t find guys like him very often.
Interviewer: I’m sure he’s going to watch your interview. Did you have a message you wanted to share with him?
Ashten: Yeah: I miss you. Thank you for what you did. You’d better keep the promise you made to me.
Interviewer: Could you see sharing a future with him?
Ashten: I definitely want him in my life.
Interviewer: What would your dad and the rest of your family say about that?
Ashten: It might be a challenge for some of them, but Tommy and I have been through scarier things. I think we could handle it.