First interview with Vincent Richard Domenico – Feb 2012 – shortly before publication of The Sleeping

Hi Vincent, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you start by just introducing yourself.

Okay well umm, my name is Vincent Richard Domenico, I’m 45 years old and I come from a planet called Lilea 4. It’s called that because it’s the fourth planet in the Lilean system, but we just call it Lilea.

In the first part of your story, we read about your early life up to your first encounter with the Transmortals. What was life like for you then?

Wow, well it was tough in many ways up to then. I was adopted shortly after birth and my adoptive brother Wesley hated me so my childhood was fairly traumatic. I left home at 17 to join the military and I loved it for the most part. I saw many different places and learned a lot that is still useful to me today and much of it has saved my life more than once. When I left the military I went to work in a Cornium mine on Moxal 3 and that’s when things really started to go wrong for me. To cut a long story short, I was set up for some murders that I didn’t do and ended up in prison. A hellish prison called Cryo Stasis. Not long after I arrived there there was a breakdown and I was able to escape and started my life as a fugitive. I found somewhere to hide out for a few years until the prophecy reared its head and umm, well the rest is history as they say.

Tell us about you Vincent, describe yourself. You’re a big guy aren’t you?

Well yeah I guess so. I’m 6 feet 5 inches tall. I weigh 380 pounds or thereabouts. I have light brown skin, black eyes and I shave my head. Oh, and I carry the Lilean Star of course, like all my people do.

The Lilean Star? What is that?

It’s a birthmark, a scar of sorts that all my people are born with. It’s always in the middle of the chest, over the sternum and it looks like a star. It’s a direct link to our spirit guides who walk with us and they communicate their presence to us through it.

Tell us about the Lilean spirit people.

Well, when you die you journey to what we call the land of the dead. We are able to communicate freely with those who are there and many of them work as spirit guides to the Lilean people and the chosen ones of other races too. Every Lilean and every chosen one from other races has a Lilean spirit guide that walks beside them and guides them to their destiny.

And you have one?

Of course. Her name is Syra.

You mentioned ‘chosen ones.’ What is that?

A chosen one is a soul who is given a very special destiny. The ancient spirit ones sometimes make a choosing of a soul who is destined to fulfil a particular task sometime during their life. This task always has something to do with Lilea, its people or its well being. Sometimes the chosen one is not a Lilean and in such cases the person is given the Star mark and a Lilean guide to walk beside them as they fulfil their destiny for the rest of their lives. I am a chosen one and so is my girlfriend Farra and a couple of my other friends.

What is your special destiny as a chosen one?

Well, I’m what they called the prophesied one. My birth was prophesied a very long time ago and my task was to save Lilea and its people from extinction. My girlfriend Farra was chosen to help me in that task and in all the other tasks we’re given as chosen ones.

What do you do in your spare time? How does Vincent play?

Play? Oh my god, well umm let me think. I like to spar regularly with my blood brother Kyle. I love blades and have a huge collection of them from many different planets and I always like to make sure I know how to use each one effectively. I’m known as the blade guy because I don’t like guns much, blades are my chosen tool and I’m something of an expert. I take trips into nature and climb and hike with Farra and Kyle and our other friends sometimes and I also just like to sit and relax in my home with my girlfriend and our friends. We have our own little ship too, just a planet hopper really but our friends did a bit of a job on her and she’s real fun to fly.

You said you were adopted. Why was that?

When I was born, Lilea was being invaded by a race called Transmortals. My father died trying to defend my mother from them and she died as I was being born. Because my birth had been prophesied, the spirit people stepped in and saved me and kept me alive for a few days until I was found by some neighbours of ours. They managed to smuggle me out to Mexalon where all the Lilean survivors went until we could repatriate and rebuild Lilea. My real parents are Leon and Cecily Domenico and I get to see them sometimes in the hinterland. My dad is a spirit guide to my girlfriend Farra, so I get a sense of connection with him through her.

The hinterland? What is that?

The hinterland is a place between sleeping and waking and when our spirit guides first make their presence known to us, they meet us there while our bodies are sleeping. It’s the easiest way for them to reach us at first. It’s a safe place while our guide is with us. It’s peaceful and calm there.

Are you enjoying passing your story on to us through The Lilean Chronices series of books?

Yes, very much. It’s not just my story though, it’s the story of many people and many different struggles. I’m just one part of that. I enjoy it very much and it’s nice to think that my experiences can be of interest or help to someone else somewhere.

Will there be more books in The Lilean Chronicles series?

Yes absolutely. The first book has been out a little while. The second is coming out hopefully in March 2012 and the third one is still being written. I like to have a very active role in the writing and I like things to be right. I’m a bit of a perfectionist about things.

Thank you so much for letting us get to know you a bit more.

You’re very welcome, anytime.