I had the pleasure of interviewing Lanie Mores a few weeks ago and now we have the honor of meeting her favorite heroine, Brigita Nowak, from her paranormal fantasy/horror Code of Reanimation. 📚👩🏻
Sometimes life is complicated, but protagonist Brigita Nowak’s existence is more convoluted than most. Shunned by her family, she hasn’t had a storybook life. Well, perhaps she has if the writer was one of German fairy tales. Lanie was kind enough to let me interview Brigita, and here’s what she had to tell me:
Q: What’s your full name?
A: Brigita Nowak
Q: How old are you?
A: Early twenties
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Warsaw, Poland.
Q: Are you a main character?
A: Yes, I’m the main character in Code of Reanimation.
Q: Do you have any nicknames?
A: My boyfriend, Amir, calls me his sweetness.
Q: Do you have a catchphrase?
A: I don’t have a catchphrase, but I have a mantra to calm myself during a hallucination… “It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real.”
Q: What do you do for work/career?
A: Most of my adult life, I was an inpatient at the McMillan Psychiatric Hospital, so I never held a job until I escaped. My first job was as a cashier at Crystal Garden Records, Amir’s vintage record store.
Q: Without giving anything away, do you have scars? Physical or emotional?
A: I have emotional scars from being mistreated my whole life for having a mental health disorder, catatonic schizophrenia. My family shunned me, even acted afraid of me, and finally locked me up in a mental health facility that abused and overmedicated their patients.
Q: What do you know about your backstory so far?
A: I come from a long line of psychic women, but I’m the only one ostracized and punished for my abilities. I have visions, extremely graphic in nature, that foretell the future—usually catastrophic events—but when I try to warn people, I’m ignored. They blame my mental illness, which I don’t even think I have… it’s just an easier way for them to deal with my scary predictions. But they all come true. And now I’m seeing visions of zombies, while my sister’s boyfriend, Renner Scholz, holds the blueprint for a bioweapon in his back pocket. This bioweapon reanimates dead organisms. It can’t be a coincidence. I’m worried my hallucinations predict his bioweapon leaking out and infecting the general population.
Q: Describe where you live?
A: I live in Seattle, Washington. For years, I was locked inside McMillan Psychiatric Hospital, a large facility run by punitive staff. I had my own room, with a bed that had restraints attached to it to keep me manageable, and there was even a deprivation chamber—aka torture chamber—in the facility. It was considered a calming treatment, but it was really used to break down the patients until they became compliant.
After escaping from the institution following a strange event where all the staff and patients disappeared without a trace, I ended up at my sister Milena’s apartment. It’s a comfortable space decorated in muted purples and blues, with an underlying grey base. I felt much safer there, until I met Renner.
Q: How many stories have you been in?
A: I have been in two stories, Father of Contention and Code of Reanimation.
Q: Plans for future stories?
A: I will be in one book from the spin-off series from Father of Contention. There isn’t a book title yet, but the series is called Mutants Ever After.
Q: As a character, who is your favorite character in your stories?
A: My favourite character is definitely my boyfriend, Amir. He is the perfect cinnamon roll boyfriend, entirely selfless, and he always comes to my defense. With Amir I feel seen and completely safe. I never knew what it felt like to be truly loved until I met him.
Q: Do you have superpowers or defining traits you’d like to share?
A: I am a psychic. I have visions that predict events which usually involve death or tragedy. I was also diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia where I go into catatonic states that can last days or even a month. Hallucinations and delusions are additional symptoms of this disorder.
Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: I wish I had McKinnon’s powers. She is my close relative and extremely powerful. This special girl has telekinetic abilities, super strength, the ability to fly, read minds, and the list goes on. If I had her abilities, I probably could’ve escaped the psychiatric hospital much sooner.
Q: Are you a good guy/gal or a bad guy/gal?
A: I’m a good gal, but I’m often perceived as the bad gal because of my scary hallucinations and ill-temperament when people don’t heed my warnings. I can lose my cool at times, but only because people ignore me. I just want to protect them. It’s extremely frustrating and hurtful to be consistently ignored and put down.
Q: Any archenemies you can tell us about?
A: Renner Scholz. He is Milena’s boyfriend and fits the bill for evil scientist. He hates me because he thinks I can get Milena to turn on him, and believe me, I am trying, but she just won’t listen. He keeps threatening to get me locked back up in the psychiatric hospital to get me out of the way. I don’t trust him. This bioweapon he’s created for the government can destroy the world, and the truly scary part is that I think that’s his intention.
And then there is Dr. Barrett. He is the head doctor at McMillan Psychiatric Hospital and in charge of my treatment. He has a glossy veneer, but beneath the disguise he’s utterly vile and ruthless.
Q: How about a love interest? Do you have a significant other?
A: Amir Habib is the love of my life. Being in the hospital, I never had the chance at love until now. Amir is my soul mate through and through. He would do anything to protect me, even lay down his life.
Q: Do you have any phobias?
A: I don’t have any specific phobias, but I used to see hallucinations of demons, and now zombies… which give me quite a fright. I also have a deep fear of the deprivation chamber and the narcotics the doctors overmedicate me with.
Q: Do you ever lie? Or are you always truthful?
A: I have lied to protect people who I feel are innocent, like Amir. And I lie occasionally about my visions if I know I’m only going to be persecuted for them. Oh yeah, and I lied to Milena about taking my antipsychotic medication… I was flushing the pills down the toilet to make it look like I was taking them. But I wasn’t.
Q: Do you have a best friend? If so, could you tell us about them? Their traits?
A: I don’t have any friends, other than Amir. Milena and I used to be inseparable before my illness, but once the delusions and hallucinations started, she pushed me away like all the others. Amir is the only close relationship I’ve had since my illness presented at seventeen.
Q: Do you have a pet?
A: I don’t have any pets. They weren’t allowed in the hospital.
Q: Name three things you love.
A: Amir, listening to records, and my freedom.
Q: Name three things you loathe.
A: Renner Scholz, zombies, and the McMillan Psychiatric Hospital staff.
Q: What’s your favorite food?
A: Lasagna, garlic bread, and chocolate brownies.
Q: What music do you like?
A: Music from the 70s, especially Abba, Boney M, The Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees, and The Doors.
Q: If you had a theme song, what would it be?
A: “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.
Q: Do you like to read? What sort of books?
A: I don’t read very much. Books were scarce at the hospital.
Q: Do you drive? If so, what type of vehicle do you have? Or do you walk? Take public transportation?
A: I don’t drive, so I walk, take a taxi or the bus when necessary. Sometimes Renner drives Milena and me around, but I truly hate it when he does.
Q: What’s the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?
A: Amir. He truly takes my breath away, with his shoulder-length, black, wavy hair, dark brown eyes, and perfect smile.
Q: What’s the most horrendous thing you have ever seen?
A: Zombies mauling people and eating their brains and innards.
Q: Does your author make you do stupid things? If so, would you like to share an example?
A: Sometimes my author has me purposefully antagonizing the McMillan Psychiatric Hospital staff, which only gets me locked up in restraints and sedated. Sometimes it even earns me time in the deprivation chamber, my least favourite place in the world.
Q: If you could visit a fictional place, other than our own, where would you go?
A: I would love to be able to go back in time to my house in Poland and be with my family as I was before my illness tore us apart.
Q: Are there other fictional characters you would like to meet?
A: I wish I could have met my nephew, Anthony. He sounds like an amazing man, and has similar characteristics as my Amir… loving, selfless, and a true hero.
Q: Do you ever worry that your author will kill you off?
A: There are times I wish she would.
Would the author like to comment on any of the character’s answers?
A: Brigita is one of my most resilient and yet fragile characters. She has survived a lifetime of ill-treatment, but still fights to survive despite what’s thrown her way. I feel guilty about the way Brigita is treated, and ultimately her story is one of the saddest I have ever written. But she still manages to find a silver lining. A flash of sun between the dark clouds. And for that reason, that ongoing search for hope, I sincerely love her.
Things That Might Interest You
Check out other Indie Author interviews:
Lanie Mores https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/11/01/indie-author-chat-with-lanie-mores/
Rose J. Fairchild: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/09/06/indie-author-chat-with-rose-j-fairchild/
Writer TL Brown: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/05/29/indie-author-chat-with-tl-brown/
Jennifer Brasington-Crowely https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/07/05/indie-author-chat-with-jennifer-brasington-crowley/
Rylo Kinn https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/08/02/indie-author-chat-with-rylo-kinn/
Here’s my interview with my main character Marnie Reilly: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/06/19/get-to-know-my-main-character-marnie-reilly/ and Detective Lieutant Danny Gregg https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/10/18/meet-marnie-reillys-boyfriend-detective-lieutenant-danny-gregg/
TL Brown’s Lucie Bellerose: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/06/28/meet-lucie-bellerose-mc-of-tl-browns-bellerose-witchline-series/
Jennifer Brasington-Crowely’s Raven Xerces: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/07/19/meet-raven-xerces/
TL Brown’s Sebastian St. Michel: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/08/16/meet-tl-browns-sebastian-st-michel/
Rose J. Fairchild’s Aura Prisma Cordyline: https://sharitmitchell.com/2024/09/13/meet-rose-j-fairchilds-aura-prisma-cordyline/
Thanks so much for hanging out with Brigita, Lanie, and me. I’ll be back soon to share a new Indie Author Chat, drop a recipe, or bring you updates about the Marnie Reilly Mysteries series.
Take care and see you next time!👋
I love this so much! Thank you for giving Brigita a voice and a chance to share her story.
Absolute pleasure! Such a great character. 👏👏👏