Today, I have a very interesting guest with me. It wasn’t easy getting this interview as he really doesn’t like to draw attention to himself (not). Normally, I interview my victims guests in a public arena, but this particular interviewee asked I come to his place. Want to know where that is?
Would you believe me if I told you a crypt?
Yep, I arrived a bit ago in the still blackness of night and was greeted outside the mausoleum by two goblin-like creatures. They escorted me inside and down the grey steps to a room that could have come right out of an Austin Powers movie. In the center of the room, perched on a Texas-sized blood-red beanbag chair, sits my host: a seven-foot, creature with green ears, and horns that stick out of his over-sized, orange-brown head. He motions to me with his funky claw-hand thingy to take a seat on a large couch. I do as he says because quite frankly, the dude is scary, even if he is wearing nothing more than a red and blue striped bathrobe that barely covers his behind.
I reach into my bag and pull out my pad and pen when, to my surprise, two teens stroll into the room. I know right away who they are: Mac and Winn. Perfect. All my pre-thought interview questions just got tossed out the window…well, not really since there isn’t a window, but if there was…
Oh, never mind. I clear my throat. “Emm, thank you for granting me the opportunity to meet with you Suze.”
Winn and Mac sit next to me on the couch, one on each side. My insides rattle like a leaf on a tree but I keep my cool. Suze simply nods and puts on a baseball cap backwards.
I can’t help but smile. He looks ridiculous but I’m not going to say anything.
“So Suze, what’s your 411? What’s your ish with Winn?” I glance at the handsome guy to my right. If I was his age, I’d be interested. Just saying.
Suze makes some sort of noise that reminds me of a horse snort. It’s enough to get my attention. “411?” he says. “Whaszat?” He scratches his head. “Is that the number you call for emergencies? Does that mean you’re going to call me for emergencies? Me? Ooh!” His eyes go wide. “Can I be a paramedic and save people?”
“Um,” I chuckle and shake my head. “I don’t think so.”
“So why’d you ask if I wanted to be one?”
“I didn’t ask. I wanted to know what your relationship is with Winn. I mean, are you guys best buds? Have you been friends long?”
“Buds? Well … if I had to pick any flower, I’d call him a rose because a rose of any other name would smell as sweet.”
I’m pretty sure I have a blank stare on my face. Just keep going, Jenny.
“Let’s try a different question. What’ is like being a demon?”
“Demon! Who’s a demon? You?”
I laugh and point to myself. “Me? Oh, no, I’m not a demon, but I have it on good authority you are. Emi said so.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. So, what kind of demon are you?”
“Me? I’m Abbaddon.”
“Ah, a destroyer. Sweet.” My stomach just tied itself into a knot. “Don’t get to see many of you around these parts.”
He shifts positions. “Parts is parts.”
I look away while he adjusts his robe. “Yes, well, let’s talk about something else shall we. What do you like to eat? Being a demon you must like meat. Do you care for fish? Do you like your food raw and wriggly like Gollum. Maybe with lots of garlic?
“Gollum? Oh, I don’t know about that. He’s scary. Ewww.” Suze shivers. I wonder if Gollum would be impressed. “Vampires don’t like garlic, did you know that?” Suze says. “They are the hardest to eat and give me heartburn.” He rubs his chest up the middle.
Ah yes. Vampires. I was wondering when we’d get to that. It’s always about the vampires. Time to change tactics again. “So Suze, tell me about your pad, your crib, your crypt.”
A smile gleams across his basketball head. “It’s soft. And I can … I can …” He motions me forward and leans in. “I can change up my whole crib with a snap of my finger. I have fun gettin’ it ready for Mac. She never knows what to expect. Like … what would you like it to be like? I can make it like that! But none of that modern art stuff.”
“Hmm, how about a cabin in the woods.”
Snap and voila folks. I’ll be doggone if I’m not in a freaking cabin in the woods. Not too bad. Not to bad at all. I sit back and get a little more comfy.
“What’s your favorite article of *clears throat* clothing?”
Suze taps his temple. The finger moves to his nose. To his chin and to his cheek. “My Superman Underoos. Mac said they aren’t in fashion, but they’re comfy, so I like ‘em.”
TMI, Suze. TMI. Change direction again. I look to my left at Mac who’s eyeing me with great interest. I don’t like it. “So, Suze, you’re Mac’s protector. How’d that happen?”
“I dunno exactly. Someone told me I was, and then Winn told me I was, and then I just was.”
“Hmm, interesting. How about you give my readers the scoop about what you and all your fantasy friends are all about.”
“Scoop? I like chocolate. And vanilla. And Mint. And chocolate. Did I say chocolate? Yeah, chocolate and mint. Mac likes chocolate too. Did you know Winn gave her a chocolate diamond and she didn’t even eat it?”
“Suze, can you try to focus for a minute, please? Who and what are all of you and why is Mac so important to you?”
He frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. “Mac’s important ‘cause she’s Mac, but I’m not supposed to say why ‘cause she doesn’t want everyone to know.”
“Okay. I can see that subject is off-limits. Who’s your girlfriend?”
“She’s a Dhamphyr. She’s like a vampire-human-combo person and she’s gorgeous. I really like her. Do you think she likes me?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never met her. Do you floss?”
“Floss?”
“Yeah, you know, string between the teeth thing after you eat?” He looks confused. “Oh never mind. “What do you hate most about your ‘job’ as a guardian demon? Like most?”
“My job? Well, I get to read a lot. My favorite book is the thesaurus and did you know there’s like a different word for every word in the dictionary in there!”
“You don’t say.” I close my notepad as I can see this interview is going nowhere fast. As I put my pen and pad away, I ask, “Is there anything interesting about yourself you want to tell us before I let you get back to your protecting and guarding?
“He flashes a big smile. “I’m absorbing, charismatic, curious, delightful, magnetic, pleasing, striking, suspicious— you get me, right? I’m interesting!”
Yeah, I got you buddy. I stand and grab my things. “Thank you for taking time to talk to me, Suze. It’s been…different. Keep up the good work.” I stop Winn and Mac with my hand. “Please. No need to get up. I can see my way out.”
I exit the mausoleum with laughter at my heels. That’s okay. I just exposed Suze to the world. I wonder if he realizes the true scope of that. Maybe it’s best for me if he never does. He is, after all, an Abbaddon.
***
Release Date: May 6, 2013
Target Reader: Young Adult
Keywords: Paranormal Romance, Romance
Demon crypts. Vampire lairs. Glowing angels. Sexy sirens. The stuff of fiction.
Or so Winn Thomas always thought.
Since being accepted into the fold of the supernatural, he knows better. None of what he imagined is true, but everything he feared is, and binding himself to his Changeling girlfriend until her nineteenth birthday will give him an education far beyond what he’d get at his human high school.
Luckily, Winn’s not giving up, he won’t back down, and he definitely isn’t going to run away with his tail between his legs. After all, only werewolves have tails. Right?
In this, the second of the 19th Year trilogy, Winn’s facing the challenge of one lifetime. If he doesn’t learn the truth about mythological creatures, his girlfriend Mac Thorne won’t either. That means, in six months, when she chooses her final form, she won’t know what to pick.
Winn, though, has his own ideas about Mac’s final selection—plans she knows nothing of.
He intends to have her pick human.
Whether she can or not.
Read an excerpt here
Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.
Ironically, those years were some of Emi’s favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she’s still in love with him to this day. She’ll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.
Want to try to win a copy of After Dark and Day After? All you have to do is go here and enter. Good Luck!
Description: In MAXWELL HUXLEY’S DEMON, when nine-year-old Maxwell Huxley and three others break free from their mountain-top “school” for gifted children – a place where kids mysteriously vanish when they turn ten – a fantastical chase around the world begins. Pursuing answers and freedom, Max unintentionally creates a new world: a world where friends and family meet their demons, where artificial beings come to life, and where nanotechnology is indistinguishable from magic. Maxwell pays a heavy price to discover what he was bred for.
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