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Hey, friends! I know most of you know that I’m a HUGE A.S. King fan! So when Penguin asked if I would want to ask her a question to feature on my blog…. well, I first fangirled for ten minutes, and then I replied back saying yes! And the question that I asked was who is A.S. King’s favorite character in Dig and why! 

This is a hard question to answer when a book has nine main characters and another handful of secondary ones. And because I tend to live in the gray spaces of life, the idea of “favorites” is hard for me. I’m going to answer this from the hip and see what I come up with.

I do love Malcolm. Poor kid. He’s going through a lot and I love his outlook on life, poverty, history, and the future.

I adore CanIHelpYou? because she is both so honest and so not-honest at the same time. She’s being made to live in a house she will never fit into, with a mother who is so abhorrent to her that she will do anything to get out of there, even if it’s not all that legal.

The Shoveler—he’s dear to me because he’s the one who started this whole thing. He was the first teen character to come to me and although he was stubborn and took a while to trust me, he eventually did tell me what was going on. I like how his brain works, even though it may not be the healthiest thing. I’m glad he’s aware of it. His inner-dialogue is authentic.

Oh, Loretta. I never saw her coming. I had no idea what she was about for years as I wrote, but she always had something new to show me. I feel for her. I know she lives in a sort of alternate world and I know why. And that’s sad. But she’s also so darn happy when she’s with her fleas and on stage. I just want to hug her for a year. She’s so precious to me.

But oh, The Freak. She strung me along for years. Didn’t tell me her secrets until page 350. And I love her. I love what she represents and how intensely she loves and how frank and foul-mouthed and smart she is. I can tell you that for me, she was my favorite to write, usually, and I was always excited when she showed up. Even if it made no sense to me at the time.
I should add that I do love Marla and Gottfried for what they reveal about the family as the book goes on. They are not my favorites as people, but since I wrote them very-very first, they are good vehicles for the story and I think they do their job well.

Wow. This sounds like I am reviewing cars or something.

So, it looks like The Freak wins. But only for today. Favorites are fleeting and there are too many to choose from here. But for me, The Freak is the bearer of the right news—all the right news—and she turned out to be the catalyst for so many other parts of the book. When you write the way I do, by the seat of my pants, you need at least one character to lead you. I didn’t know it would be The Freak. I couldn’t figure her out for so long. But once she told me everything, I couldn’t have asked for a better guide.

Thanks for having me on the blog and for asking me this question and making me think about this. I appreciate it! –Amy

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I am so excited to review Dig for you all! I know that it’s probably going to make my best of the year list! Also, it is officially out today! So, I hope you all are able to pick up a copy from a bookstore or the library! Happy reading, friends!

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