Hi, Aadi here. I sat down with Nanette Dunston, the star of Angelhood by Amy Cattapan. Welcome, Nanette.

[Aadi] Who or what are you? What are your vitals? (age, sex, species)

[Nanette] My name is Nanette Dunston. I’m 17 and a female. Species? Human. Or perhaps angel. But I don’t have any wings. And I definitely don’t feel angelic.

It’s all very complicated.

[Aadi] What part do you play in the story?

[Nanette] *Snort* Play. Now that’s an appropriate word for me. I’ve played many parts in my years as an actress. Not that I’ve ever been paid to act. I wanted to. I mean, I’d hoped to be a professional actress someday, but that dream got ripped out from under me. Now I’m “playing” at being a guardian angel. And I’ll tell ya, it definitely feels like “playing.” How am I supposed to know how to save this girl’s life? I mean, I can’t even talk. She doesn’t even see me. Not having any wings is the least of my problems.

Q: How would you describe your book?

[Nanette] Book? What book? You mean someone wrote a book about me? Okay, that’s just weird.

[Aadi] I know right?

[Aadi] So, tell me about where you live? Who do you live with?

[Nanette] Uh, okay, right now, I don’t really live anywhere because technically I’m not alive. I just kind of “exist.” Sometimes I get to see other Guardians, but we all have to stick pretty close to our Charges, so I spend a lot of time with mine. Her name’s Vera, and her life is Sad with a capital S.

I mean, I thought my life was sad. Whoa. Hers is like, crazy sad. Her dad’s this construction worker who’s like, never home, and even when he is home, he pays no attention to her.

[Aadi] What’s the most important thing in your life right now?

[Nanette] Getting out of here. I wanted peace in the afterlife. Getting chased by death shadows is not exactly a peaceful existence.

[[Aadi] Sounds scary.

[Aadi] What do you hope nobody ever finds out about you?

[Nanette] Well now if I told you, then everybody would know! Let’s just say it involves what I did to my best friend. I wish no one knew about, but it was in all the local papers, so lots of people do know all about it. The guilty of it weighed so heavily that I . . . well, I ended up here, playing Guardian to another girl.

[Aadi] What do you like or dislike about your mentor Warren?

[Nanette] Hmm, I’d never really thought of him as my mentor before, but I guess that’s what he is. He’s really good at explaining stuff and he’s not hard to look at. If I wasn’t so consumed with avoiding the death shadows that are haunting me and Vera (the girl I’m guarding), then I’d probably have time to think more about how cute he is. Besides, he’s missing half the time, too.

He’s supposed to be showing me how to save Vera, but he’s so wrapped up in whatever he’s doing for his own Charge, that I swear he forgets about me half the time.

[Aadi] In your opinion, what is your best feature?

[Nanette] Well, once upon a time, I had this beautiful chestnut brown hair that was super long. Not that it was super fabulous, but you know, pretty nice. I miss it now that I’m basically invisible.

[Aadi] What’s the worst thing you’ve done to someone?

[Nanette] I already told you I’m not going to talk about what I did to my best friend. If you’re really interested, just go look at the Chicago Tribune articles. It’s all there.

[Aadi] Read any good books? What were they?

[Nanette] Not much of a book reader, but I’ve read tons of plays. Many because I was in them and others just because I wanted to know if I’d want to be in them some day. I love crazy old comedies like Arsenic and Old Lace and The Man Who Came to Dinner, but lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Our Town. Should’ve paid more attention when I played Emily in that one.

Now the girl I’m watching, Vera, she’s a total poetry freak. Reads lots of old Emily Dickinson poems as well as lots of book about death. You know, sad things like Thirteen Reasons Why and all that.

[Aadi] What type of places do you hang out in?

[Nanette] As a Guardian, I’m pretty limited in my movements. Have to stick around Vera whenever she’s awake, so mostly I’m at home or at school with her. The only time I get to “sneak out” is when Vera’s asleep, like when Warren took me to that meeting at the Basilica.

[Aadi] What annoys you more than anything else?

The death shadows. Ugh! They’re beyond annoying. They’re downright creepy. Hooded, skeletal things with rattling breaths and bony fingers that try to grab you.

[Aadi] Do you have any magical items? Where did you get them?

[Nanette] Magic? I’d settle for a pair of wings. You should see the ones Warren’s got. Fantastic rays of light.

[Aadi] Last question. Who would play you in the movie?

Hmm, this is a really tough one. Maybe Natasha Calis. She’s a Canadian actress who was in a movie where she had to pretend to be possessed by a demon. I guess if she can handle that she can handle pretending to be an angel who has to face demons! Besides, we’re the same age, and our hair is pretty similar. 🙂

[Aadi] Thanks for stopping by Nanette. I hope you can come back again sometime.