Interview: Victoria Schmidt aka “Scruffy Rebel”

A fangirl never knows where her passion for Star Wars might take her. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed that I’d have been given a chance to write a post about some of my favorite romantic moments in the franchise for the official Del Rey Star Wars blog, much less that there would be exclusive new artwork commissioned to go along with it.

On the opposite side of the country, another fangirl who had a passion for Star Wars and the same favorite character as I did shared that love by recreating Jaina Solo through cosplay. Victoria Schmidt, also known as the Scruffy Rebel, ended up being the model who served as reference for artist Chris Trevas.

Victoria also provided the fantastic pose of Jaina Solo as Rogue Squadron pilot we currently use as the banner image for the blog and Cantina. The books have created many awesome images of Jaina as an action heroine; it’s fun to see her brought to life. As with many cosplayers, Victoria has a few other favorites, including Leia, Tinkerbell, and Leeloo. With the convention season closing in – San Diego Comic-Con is only two weeks away! – I thought it would be fun to sit down with Victoria and talk about her great cosplay and the characters that inspire her. So be sure to check out the interview.

Fangirl

Fangirl

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and the intersection of women within Star Wars fandom. She is co-author of Ultimate Star Wars and Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia from DK Publishing, a featured writer for Star Wars Insider magazine with numerous articles on the Hero's Journey. Her FANgirl opinions can be heard on the podcasts Hyperspace Theories and Fangirls Going Rogue. Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.