I like how in interviews, MRJ sometimes slips into using “I” instead of “he” when talking about Nealfire. Just a little unconscious thing that shows how into the headspace of the character he is.
there’s such a laser focus that there has never been in his life since he was a child, in terms of what he wants and how he needs to get there,
Not since he was a child trying to save his father’s soul has he been so determined to achieve something as he is now, trying to get back to Emma.