CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Gus Schnozzlebeard from Captain Schnozzlebeard

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

Well, ma’am, my name is Gus Schnozzlebeard, pirate captain of the Scallywag III.  I live there most of the time. Ya want ta know what I look like? Well, my mama says I’m a handsome feller. Bushy black hair and beard, and I usually wear my blue velvet coat, but it’s indisposed at the moment. And since I lost my hand some years ago, I wear this brass cup hand instead. See how it gleams? It’s great for eatin’ soup and clonkin’ folks on the head who needs a good clonkin’.

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What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like fancy things. Eatin’, singin’, stuff like that. And piratin’, of course. Just watch out for any good singin’ ya hear, as it might be one of them Singin’ Clams. I never woulda thought a shellfish could cause so much trouble.

What is your favorite color and why?

I like blue. Reminds me of my favorite thing, and that’s the sea. I already told ya how my favorite velvet coat is blue, but my parrot, Sprinkles—uh, let’s just say he sprinkled all over it, so that’s why it’s at the laundry place.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

My favorite food is anythin’ but gobbledygook stew. Actually, anythin’ other than what Squeak cooks. Ya reminded me that I need to go huntin’ for a new cook before we set sail again. I hear German food is real good. I’m thinkin’ I need ta find one of them fellers.

What would you say is your biggest quirk?

Quirk? Is that one of them there newfangled weapons? I’ll stick to my brass cup hand and cutlass, thank ya very much.

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? Share a line in the book where this irk is manifested.

I don’t know that I can say Ramón Ratbeard himself irks me. It’s more that his rats send creepy crawlin’shivers up and down my back.  And it’s a miracle that he can keep his beard so clean. Ya’d think with rats playin’ in yer beard that it would get dirty right quick.

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

My mama means the most to me.  She also scares me just a little, but don’t go tellin’ that to anyone. Not that they’d blame me. She was one of the most fearsome pirates in her day.  I might introduce ya to her sometime.  See this big nose here? *taps nose* I got it from her. She could smell a fight an ocean away, get there, then cannonball the other ships to smithereens before they could say “look at that speck on the horizon.”

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

As much as I threaten Knot (and he deserves what he gets), I trust ‘im more than anyone on board. He’s a pain in the bottom, but remind me sometime ta tell ya how I ended up hirin’ ‘im on.  For all his annoyin’ ways, he’s a right good first mate. Don’t tell ‘im I said that, or his head’ll get so full of air he’ll float away.

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

See here, she knows I’m kinda hard headed. So I probably wouldn't listen to anythin’ she said. Unless she told me of a fancy banquet at some king’s court somewhere and they made me guest of honor. Still, I’d wonder if it was somethin’ old Admiral Bennett cooked up ta try ta catch me.

Ask me any question. I've always wanted to know what a character thinks about writers like myself. I'll answer the question at the end of this interview.

So yer a writer too? Well, I have wondered why writers  love makin’ bad things happen ta innocent pirates like myself. I mean, things woulda been so much easier and less painful if my writer had told me what Clammy was really like in the beginnin’. But if I only get one question, I wanna know what yer favorite fancy food is. And where it comes from. I've  been gettin’ bored lately, so maybe a fancy food commandeerin’ tour is just what I need.

Let's see, my favorite food? I have many favorites, but I'd say my all-time favorite is shrimp. Not just any shrimp, but coconut shrimp. Now, the shrimp part you've probably got - you travel enough around the word to see and catch these, but the coconut part, you'll have to travel to Hawaii or one of the islands for that, and the hunting of it can be pretty extreme, especially if you don't like climbing trees. Thanks for asking!

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Thank you Gus!

Learn more about Gus and his creator, Rebecca Blevins at the following site:

Her website is www.rebeccablevins.net. 

Rebecca's books will be available at the Women's Expo in Spanish Fork on May 8-9, at the LDStorymakers Conference on May 15-16, and at the Spring Into Books Author Signing event on May 23rd where she will be presenting on developing characters for children's books. If you live in Utah, these are fun events to attend!