Hello fellow Wookieepdians! Today we had the opportunity to connect with the author Jennifer Brody--credited under her pen name of Vera Strange--who authored the story "Blood Moon Uprising" in the Stories of Jedi and Sith anthology, for a short interview. The story focuses on Darth Vader's time on a remote moon.

Q1: What’s your earliest memory of Star Wars, and do you have a favorite character?

A: My earliest memory of Star Wars is my father renting “A New Hope” / Episode 4 for me and my brother to watch. He was a fan and so excited to share it with us. What struck me at that age was simple—Darth Vader. He scared the heck out of me! That opening where you hear his breathing with the vapor, then he strides onto the ship and dominates. The black mask and cape. I was terrified—and I loved it. Of course, we adored the film. Then we had to wait OVERNIGHT for him to return the film and rent “Empire” and “ROTJ.” It was excruciating. It blew our little minds when he explained how he had to wait years for the films to come out in the theaters. We were on the edge of our seats only waiting ONE night.

That’s the power of “Star Wars” and what George Lucas created that resonates to this day. I like to imagine kids now watching it and freaking out at Vader and also at the reveal at the end of “Empire.” It’s a good reminder of the impact it still has.

Of course, when I got asked to write a canon Darth Vader story, I almost died. Anakin/Vader has always been my top favorite character, and in my opinion, the main character of the George Lucas films. He wanted to tell that story fully. It remains one of the greatest “fall” character arcs ever crafted in cinema, up there in my mind with Coppola’s “Godfather” films (and I don’t think it’s coincidental at all given their friendship and attending film school together, etc.).

Q2: Can you share some insights into your creative process when crafting new locations and characters in your storytelling?

A: For character work, I really meditate on “thematically” what this character represents. What are their values, goals, characteristics? Vader is so well trodden, which is both a blessing and curse. How do you do something fresh with him? Plus, there’s a lot of “hands off” canon stuff you can’t touch in this case. If I’m writing Vader’s POV (and I am known for my big villains work), then he needs an antagonist, too. I think about foils / opposites who he can face. How will these two characters be different? What puts them at odds against each other? But also–importantly–how are they similar? What do they share in common?

I came up with my new Rebel character—Kataarynnna. She came from a few seeds of ideas that grew. First, I love Wookiees and always feel there aren’t enough of them in the films and tv shows. They’re warriors, pilots, skilled technicians, oh, and they’re funny. They make great, loyal friends. I could go on and on. I loved when George Lucas showed us more of their culture and world (Kashyyyk) in the prequels. The games have some nice elements about them, too. I thought it would be fun to introduce a teen female Wookiee rebel character to the universe who could face off against Vader. Our anthology–Stories of Jedi and Sith–was targeted at the middle grade age, same as my popular Disney Chills villains series. I think it’s important to give kids characters they identify with and who inspire them. George Lucas understood this, too. Another thing I love about Star Wars is the diverse alien universe. A SW story without “aliens” doesn’t ring true to me. It’s one of the core tenants of the foundational canon.

As for the worldbuilding / setting elements, I also begin from a thematic place. The Empire represents industrialization and colonization. SW tackles a lot of these themes throughout. So doing industrial vs. nature–showing the contrast between the Empire’s war machine factories (which would always be hungry at this time period and need to be fed) and the natural worlds they conquer and subjugate felt like a strong choice. I also love moons. Typically, they’re more habitable than the planets they orbit (like in our solar system). So, I settled on a jungle moon with dense forest–and dangerous creatures–for the core setting.

Q3: I loved the small details in the work, especially the vivid description of the characters’ surroundings of the moon around them. What was the inspiration for Tsukimitsurin’s unique name?

A: I was so happy you asked this question! When you’re a writer sitting alone in your room coming up with crazy ideas, you wonder—will anyone notice this cool thing I did in this story? Tsukimitsurin is made of two Japanese words.

Tsuki essentially means moon; mitsurin means dense forest or jungle (please keep in mind I am not a linguist). I gravitated toward Japanese partially because this moon (in my mind) reminds me of hiking up into the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto on a trip I took some time ago. I’ve also read that Kurosawa was a big influence on George Lucas. So, this is my hat tip to both visionaries.

Proper names are fun Easter eggs buried in the story. I also wanted to start “Blood Moon Uprising” with the traditional Star Wars location ticker like we encounter in the films and tv shows. I was surprised that I was the only writer in the collection to do that at the beginning of my story. But it’s so iconic to the films it felt natural. It helps get you into the Star Wars mindset right off the bat, the same way the opening crawl and music hype you up at the start of the films.

Q4: It’s inspiring to see strong female characters like Kataarynnna in stories standing up to the Empire. What was your favorite part of writing her character?

As I touched on earlier, I love to empower younger characters. It’s important to show younger readers that they’re not powerless even against powerful forces like the Empire (this is allegorical to huge problems we face in our own world that the next generation stands to inherit like climate change). Historically, rebellions and rights movements are youth-led. Younger people are more willing to take chances and risk everything to make a better world than adults who have already bought into a system. Representation is also really important in fiction.

I was so pleased with the casting of the new films (Rey, Finn, etc.). Growing up, Princess Leia really spoke to me. I wasn’t a fan of Barbie or other dolls for girls. But George Lucas gave me a warrior princess! She’s also a rebel. A dignitary. She fires a blaster. She talks back to Vader. In subsequent films, we later learn she trained to become a Jedi (oh, I want more on this!). Strong female characters are a core part of the Star Wars universe from the start. I thought a teen Wookiee female rebel would be such a blast (pun intended) to write for this story.

I love how fearless Kataarynnna is–and how she’s fighting to save her home from colonization. I love that she doesn’t give up when she faces setbacks. I also love the part where Vader realizes her talent and tries to turn her to the dark side. I would love to write more of her story and relationship with Darth Vader, hinging off this first encounter where she captures his attention–and revenge.

I also gave them something in common. They’re both “orphans” and that’s what drives them, but to different sides. Vader realizes this, too.

Q5: Would you like to write more Star Wars in the future, and if so what character(s) would you like to explore?

A: I would love to do more with Vader! I think a standalone graphic novel would be amazing featuring Darth Vader. Anything with Princess Leia, especially as it pertains to her Jedi training. I’d love to continue Kataarynnna’s story as it unfolds to save her world and become a leader in the larger rebellion. I’d also love to develop her relationship with Darth Vader, who is coming for her. But he also recognizes her power and would love to turn her.

But my BIGGEST pet project would be to reboot the old Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear series using my Vera Strange brand. Disney Chills has been a big success and grown into a seven book series, which is also very inspired by RL Stine. Star Wars had great dark elements that would be so fun to explore in this style of story.

Stories of Jedi and Sith book signing

Q6: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers? (editor’s note: trivia and/or future projects we can leave links to?)

A: Thanks for reaching out about “Blood Moon Uprising” … the story is a favorite of mine. My recent books include the seventh Disney Chills “Circle of Ter-ROAR” featuring another iconic villain–Scar from The Lion King. So if you enjoy my Vader vibes, that might be fun. I also recently contributed a “spooky” Elsa story to “All is Found: A Frozen Anthology” for the tenth anniversary of the film.

I’m really excited to announce my new Astro Romance series debuting in September: “A Sacrifice of Blood & Stars.” This will be a trilogy. It’s a little more grounded, but has a lot of Star Wars influence. Cover reveal coming soon!

My social media: Insta & FB [at] jenniferbrodywriter and X/Twitter & Tiktok [at] jenniferbrody. My author website is www.jenniferbrody.com

My Substack/newsletter is https://jenniferbrody.substack.com

Bonus lore questions

Q1: Das Erdol’s homeworld is noted to be a cold and snowy planet – is it a planet already in the Star Wars universe? Or if not, does it have a name or was it intended to not be named?

A: I would love to explore this further and name the planet—but I haven’t … yet. I wanted her character to have contrast between where she is deployed vs. originated. I love isolated arctic environments.

Q2: What’s your favorite thing about the Chimeraleon?

A: In large part, this story meditates on a series of characters who think they’re the top of the food chain discovering that there’s potentially an apex predator that can take them down. First, Das Erdol, who Vader puts in her place and relieves of duty, then the Chimeraleon, literally an apex predator, meeting Vader, and finally Vader himself encountering Kataarynnna, who gets the better of him … this time.

The creature came about because as mentioned, I LOVE Star Wars creatures. It’s consistently one of my favorite parts of the universe. I was dying to add to the canon. I also wanted us to see “peak” Vader in action against another predator. I wanted us to feel how much he enjoys being challenged–and also how he’s a bit sad when he wins and kills the creature that the challenge is over. He relishes it.

Further, I knew I wasn’t going to kill my teen rebel, so I wanted us to feel his level of threat in the story. The creature itself is inspired by Chimera, a monstrous hybrid creature that appears in old mythology. I also wanted to seize upon the chameleon elements of camouflaging, which I’ve always been obsessed with. The jungle moon indicates that a feline-type predator that could climb would make sense, but also the lizard elements manifesting in a dragon/reptile. So, you mash all that together–and it felt like a worthy opponent for Vader to vanquish.

Conclusion

And that's the end of today's interview, was super glad we got to sit down and talk with her about "Blood Moon Uprising," and until next time, happy editing!