Author Mark Oshiro chats with StarWars.com about their forthcoming book Star Wars: Hunters: Battle for the Arena, based on the game which will be free to download for the Nintendo Switch, on the App Store and on Google Play later in 2022.
StarWars.com: As soon as I heard she was a charmer from Corellia, she reminded me of Han Solo. What existing Star Wars characters were you looking to for inspiration to capture her charisma and her strengths? What about her flaws and struggles?
Mark Oshiro: As we fleshed out Rieve, I was looking for inspiration from characters like Lando Calrissian, Jango Fett, and even Asajj Ventress from The Clone Wars. I love antagonistic people who have a reason for their antagonism. So I wanted her to be someone who, from another character’s point of view, might almost seem like a villain. As an orphan, she’s used to having to watch her own back, so one of her biggest flaws is her flat-out refusal to trust most people. It’s all part of her drive for self-preservation, but as you’ll see, it also does her a disservice.
StarWars.com: You previously wrote the account of a very sympathetic wampa in search of its clan in From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. What draws you to characters who are not routinely the focus? As someone who is queer, nonbinary, and latinx, how does your own life experience translate into your stories?
Mark Oshiro: A lot of that is rooted in what I’ve been through. People like me are so routinely ignored in mainstream fiction that I tend to be attracted to the outsiders. In Rieve’s case, it was so easy to slip into this character who has had to deal with feeling alone and abandoned. In particular, though, thanks to the suggestion and support of Lucasfilm, I got to write a character dealing with PTSD. Her past has a traumatic incident that directly influences her current state, so treating that with care and dignity was very freeing.
StarWars.com: How did you first get introduced to Star Wars as a fan? How does it feel to contribute more to the galaxy with your writing?
Mark Oshiro: My parents introduced it to me before I could actually remember watching them! Return of the Jedi came out just before I was born, and there is nothing I watched more growing up than that original trilogy. As a teenager, I discovered the novelizations and original novels, and I disappeared into the Heir to the Empire trilogy. So it is quite literally a dream come true to be able to write my own Star Wars story.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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Author Mark Oshiro chats with StarWars.com about their forthcoming book Star Wars: Hunters: Battle for the Arena, based on the game which will be free to download for the Nintendo Switch, on the App Store and on Google Play later in 2022.
StarWars.com: As soon as I heard she was a charmer from Corellia, she reminded me of Han Solo. What existing Star Wars characters were you looking to for inspiration to capture her charisma and her strengths? What about her flaws and struggles?
Mark Oshiro: As we fleshed out Rieve, I was looking for inspiration from characters like Lando Calrissian, Jango Fett, and even Asajj Ventress from The Clone Wars. I love antagonistic people who have a reason for their antagonism. So I wanted her to be someone who, from another character’s point of view, might almost seem like a villain. As an orphan, she’s used to having to watch her own back, so one of her biggest flaws is her flat-out refusal to trust most people. It’s all part of her drive for self-preservation, but as you’ll see, it also does her a disservice.
StarWars.com: You previously wrote the account of a very sympathetic wampa in search of its clan in From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. What draws you to characters who are not routinely the focus? As someone who is queer, nonbinary, and latinx, how does your own life experience translate into your stories?
Mark Oshiro: A lot of that is rooted in what I’ve been through. People like me are so routinely ignored in mainstream fiction that I tend to be attracted to the outsiders. In Rieve’s case, it was so easy to slip into this character who has had to deal with feeling alone and abandoned. In particular, though, thanks to the suggestion and support of Lucasfilm, I got to write a character dealing with PTSD. Her past has a traumatic incident that directly influences her current state, so treating that with care and dignity was very freeing.
StarWars.com: How did you first get introduced to Star Wars as a fan? How does it feel to contribute more to the galaxy with your writing?
Mark Oshiro: My parents introduced it to me before I could actually remember watching them! Return of the Jedi came out just before I was born, and there is nothing I watched more growing up than that original trilogy. As a teenager, I discovered the novelizations and original novels, and I disappeared into the Heir to the Empire trilogy. So it is quite literally a dream come true to be able to write my own Star Wars story.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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StarWars.com: As soon as I heard she was a charmer from Corellia, she reminded me of Han Solo. What existing Star Wars characters were you looking to for inspiration to capture her charisma and her strengths? What about her flaws and struggles?
