Interview with Vispushin from Christopher Kaufman's TALES OF THE OCEAN CITY

 

We’re thrilled to be talking to Vispushin from Christopher Kaufman's Tales of the Ocean City.  It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Pimp That Character!

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Thank you for your interview, Vispushin.  How old are you and what do you do for a living? 

“Hello, human friends. My name is Vispushin. I am a perianth. We are an ancient race…you might relate to us as kind of telepathic pegasi. My true age is a mystery…For a living?…I assume you mean what I do in my life. What is most important to me is being a true companion to my bond-mate, Harl’ut. He is a Pla’than’tirian, a similar being to you humans. We were bonded when he was a babe and we speak to each other mind-to-mind. We are family.  Not long ago, while on our way to The Ocean City, we were attacked by evil Vorm warriors…and then it was most important for me to lead young Harl’ut in deadly battle against those horrific creatures.”

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?

“I have beautiful wings with which I can fly freely throughout the skies of our planet, Tir’whol.”

What would I love the most about you?

“Well, I am wise and free and powerful.  My uncle is the King of Perianthus, his name is Zhi’ga’fra. He is a giant perianth with silver mane and wings. You would greatly enjoy it if I gave you a ride on my back, we could fly high in the air close to the morning sun, Kurl’wra, or I could take you over the ocean and you could dive into the sea…at least, that is what Harl’ut and I do in peaceful times. I have an abundant mane and plush white fur…you could lie on my back as we fly late at night and ponder the Tir’wholian night sky… which is filled with vivid and endless variants of azure, purple and black and wild riots of constellation whose visibility depends on the relative positions of the three suns, and the intricate dance of eclipses from neighboring planets and moons.”

What makes you laugh out loud?

“I find Harl’ut’s friend Elá very funny. He is a bard-like person, often making jokes which reference archaic texts. Once in a while, he mentions events in the past which I personally experienced…and makes a joke just for me. The others do not understand the jest…that is funny.”

What is your most treasured possession?

“I do not really have possessions as such…like people do…but I do treasure the light golden mesh that I wear. My bond-mate, Harl’ut, can curl his fingers and toes into it when I perform acrobatic moves in the sky.”

Are you a loner or do you prefer to be surrounded by friends?

“The citizens of The Ocean City, both people and perianths, have an effulgent social life together.  Harl’ut, his friends and I often visit and sleep on The Sward…high up along the flanks of the volcanic mountain the people call Pla’than’taa…and from the belly of which The Ocean City was delved. There, perianths and their bond-mates gather and enjoy life together. But to be honest, I most love flying alone with Harl’ut on my back over the ocean, or high in the sky to where he can almost touch the stars. I yearn for those times.  Mostly now, we are on dire missions featuring terrific battles with evil creatures…though I have to say, I enjoy this as well…the thrill of adventure is in our blood.”

What is in your refrigerator right now? 

“Refrigerator?…what is this?…Oh, I see - well, we do not really have those. Yet, there is a place up on The Sward along the mountain where it very cold during Vahsh (Tir’wholian winter)…there is patch of pillaplants there that stays fresh…I love that fresh green taste.”

What is your greatest fear? 

“Harm coming to my bond-mate. A great part of me would be seriously damaged if something happened to Harl’ut. I fear harm coming to The Ocean City itself…also, I hope the heart of who we are is not lost as we advance into the future.”

If you could change one physical thing about yourself, what would that be?

“Hmmmm….sorry, I cannot think of something like that, the citizens of The Ocean City are very accepting of each other and do not yearn for traits we do not have, nor envy others their gifts.  This is not in our nature.”

Who is your best friend? 

“Besides Harl’ut, of course, his joining partner, Kay’laa’s bond-mate Rhaassa has become a very close friend.”

Do you have children? 

“No, my time for progeny has not yet come.”

What is your favorite weather? 

“Harl’ut and I both love the wild ice-storms and terrific winds of Vahsh…and especially to enjoy times by the fire escaping them. During this time people and perianths engage in days-long music and art festivals and the bards sing lays telling the histories of the deep past…everyone looks forward to it.”

Do you like to cook?  If so, what is your favorite thing to cook? 

“Cook?...no that is something the people do…most often in my experience at the fire-pit on The Sward…the smells are sometimes interesting to my palate…often not so much.” 

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

“I am doing it now. Thank you…excuse me, Zhi’ga’fra is calling us to the council of war…we must engage in epic conflict with our ancient enemy, The Vorm, before we can move forward into peace and discovery…wish us good fortune…the outcome is not certain…”

 

Book Description:

 

A young civilization is turning the corner into the future, but first they must face a terrible enemy from their deepest past – THE VORM.

The main characters are a young man named Harl’ut and his lifelong companion Vispushin – who is a perIanth, a kind of telepathic pegasus. Join them on this epic adventure as they lead a group of young warriors into the heart of the Vorm Hive.

Book One: Battle In The Sky is the first of five books which comprise the opening series of this epic tale. Here, Harl’ut and Vispushin and The Princess Bryn’lynn, engage in desperate battle over the southern plain with savage Vorm warriors. You will be uplifted by the passionate and thrilling conclusion of the first installment of this fantasy adventure. 

In Book Two: Descent Into The Abyss, Harl’ut recovers from his harrowing adventure from Book One: Battle In The Sky. He walks through the streets of The Ocean City, visits the Sculpture Garden and his friend, Elá, the bard, and engages in exciting training games with warrior/mentor, Calanctus. Then the story takes you down the throat of the vast volcano, Pla’than’taa, once worshipped as a god, where Harl’ut enacts a deadly initiation ritual, confronts the barbaric past of his people and battles a terrifying monster. 

Pick up your copies at https://kaufmantales.com/.

 

 

About the Author: 

Christopher Kaufman is an author, composer, presenter, illustrative artist and performer. He started imaginative fantasy books with illustrative art at the age of nine. During high school years he found music and attended The New Orleans Center for The Creative Arts and went on to major in music composition in college. He finished his schooling – earning his DMA in music composition at Cornell University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize Winning composers who prize his abilities as a composer.

Christopher is the type of person who needs imaginative fantasy scenarios to get to sleep. Therefore, he emerged from Cornell, not only with his degrees in music, but with the full event structure for his classic epic fantasy series Tales Of The Ocean City in his mind.

He began writing the story down in the early 2000’s, but it did not really come to life until he developed his home music ‘laboratory’ and started creating the music and text at the same time. Thus books one and two of TOC came about simultaneously as both graphically illustrated pages and effulgent audio albums filled with cinematic epic symphonic music.

They exist now as physical books and audio albums (that go together) and the new Video Book version.  He performs live tours with the music pouring through speakers, live narration and the colorful pages streaming on screen – a true immersive multi-media experience.

He also maintains his career as a composer for the concert stage with a full body of work, from solo works thru orchestral. He specializes as well in ‘environmental works’ which feature soundscapes crafted from hundreds of natural sounds, live musicians (from soloists, chamber groups and to full orchestra), videos filled with both natural and artistic images and readings from the works of John Muir and others.

His home page is – soundartus.com. 

His author page is talesoftheoceancity.com.

His you-tube channel is SOUNDARTUS.

Visit him at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/talesoftheoceancity.

Christopher believes in the transformative power of imagination.

“Live with imagination!”