1. Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
Poor Tiberius is immensely out of his league for the entire book, but he tries so hard to be a good assistant and to be a good man. I really read a lot of myself in this character, because he has a lot of the same fears and insecurities as I would have in his situation, only I think he ended up being much braver that I am. I think having a deeply flawed person trying their absolute best to rise up and meet a situation, particularly when their problems are in many ways self-created, can really speak to everyone who has ever had to meet the mirror's eyes and accept responsibility for their poor choices and struggle through difficult times. Tiberius is the hero I want to be: through weakness, fear, insecurity, and lack of preparation or training, he keeps pushing forward and trying to become what is needed for himself and for the world. It's not glamorous, but it's noble in ways we rarely get to be.
2. Agreed. I think we all know about "poor choices" Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
I certainly believe in the paranormal, from manifesting destiny through energy work to the existence of a spiritual body that exists beyond death. I believe there are many different kinds of "ghost." I think strong energy can leave an impression or an 'echo' of someone or an event on a place or an object. I also believe spiritual beings have the ability to linger and to interact with the physical world. I believe my current house is (or rather was) occupied by several spiritual beings, whether human or otherwise. One of them loved to make noises and get me to respond to it.
Once, when I was alone taking a nap, I could hear very exaggerated breathing from on or just above the bed. I held my breath to make sure I wasn't hearing myself, but it didn't stop. This was "Luke, I am your father" like deep breathing: intentional and obvious. Finally, I said, "Okay. I acknowledge you. I can hear you. I acknowledge that you're there. Can I please go to sleep now?" Just like that, it stopped.
Another time I was in my living room with three guests. Our back door makes a very distinct noise. It's a loud creak and a bang. At the time, my husband and I always entered and left the house through the back door, so everyone who visited knew the sound. This evening, I was hanging with my girlfriends, and we heard the back door creak open and then creak closed and bang shut. We all stopped talking and they asked me if my husband was home. I said he wasn't supposed to be home for a few hours. I got up and headed to the back door saying, "Hey, honey. I thought you weren't going to be home for while, yet." There was no one there. The door was closed and locked. All four of us had heard it at the same time; we all thought my husband had come home. I imagine the trickster ghost got a good chuckle out of that one.
3. Sounds like you fit right into we experiencers. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
In every review of The Chosen One’s Assistant on Amazon, people are asking for the sequel. Naturally, I’m working on that. My next project, however, is something I’m really excited about. I’m preparing to publish my first Paranormal Romance novel under the pen name Harlee Jordan: Demon of the Emerald Isle. The main character is a fiercely independent code-monkey named Celeste who falls desperately in lust with a dangerous and mysterious Irish businessman named Donovan, who turns out to be possessed by a demon from the Amduat (the Egyptian Underworld). The story is exciting, passionate, dark, and deeply emotional. Plus, I get to dive into one of the coolest settings you possibly can: ancient Egyptian gods and magic. This is the first book in the Amduat Demon Trilogy, and the first three chapters are available for free download here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/nkjm779pvt
Excerpt:
I returned to the room and knocked, entering at the direction of The Chosen One... who stood in front of the mirror wearing nothing but his Chosen underwear and the tyrian purple cloak wrapped around his shoulders. His chest was puffed out, and his enormous, muscular limbs flexed this way and that as he posed himself in dramatic battle postures with his famous great sword. Every inch of visible skin was hairless and glistening. He had worked up a sweat admiring himself, and I could still smell the liquor on him.
"Um..." I mumbled, wondering if I should return at a more convenient—and less embarrassing—time. Much to my chagrin, he didn't stop flexing on my account.
"Go ahead and pack," he grunted as he clenched his stomach to make all of his tightly bound abdomen muscles pop. "I'll wait for the pressed clothes." He turned to the side and threw the cloak over his shoulder so he could admire his hips and backside, casting daring glances at his tiny embroidered face on the seat of his underpinnings through the polished brass.
I was certain my own face was scarlet as I skirted past him to gather up everything and return the items to the trunks that seemed the most appropriate. The entire time I worked, he didn't break from his posturing, and I wondered if it was a form of exercise for him, or if it merely exercised his ego. My work was hastened by embarrassment, and when I was done, I silently took up the first Tome of Tiberius. I turned my back, ignoring his grunting and wheezing, and flipped to chapter 3, skimming for the most pertinent pieces of information. I needed to know how to handle The Chosen One's finances.
I quickly learned it was my duty to draw up contracts when The Chosen One agreed to take a deal, enforce the contracts, and collect the fees. It was my duty to arrange for appraisers, auctioneers, and moneychangers to convert any "spoils" of The Chosen One's labors—those that he did not keep for his personal collection—to coin. It was my duty to ensure there was sufficient coin for The Chosen One to live whatever lifestyle he chose and to fund any campaign. Incidentals incurred as a direct result of a campaign—such as bribing furious husbands—came from funds before they were deposited into a bank and Tiberius' percentage was calculated. There was a list of "lifestyle" actions that came from the bank and were not considered incidentals; "donations and women" were on that list. Thus, I assumed him throwing coins into the crowd was not an incidental, either, but came from The Chosen One's own bank holdings.
"You need to plot a course for Vevesk," The Chosen One said between poses. "They have vampire stoats."
"What," I asked, slightly startled by the break in silence. "What is a stoat?"
"I think they said it was like a long rat." He glanced over at me. "Find out. And find out how to kill it."
I stared at him until his self-admiration embarrassed me enough to look away. "You don't know how to kill them?"
"I assume I cut them up enough, they'll die," he quipped. "You need to figure out how it happened so I can stop it. Evil wizard, ancient curse, typical vampirism, that sort of thing."
"I have to learn what caused this outbreak of blood-sucking long rats?" I asked, incredulously. Surely he was jesting. That was his job.
"Chapter 2," he said, stripping off the cloak so he could better admire his shoulders.
I grimaced and turned to the second chapter in the Tome of Tiberius. This detailed how I was to conduct necessary research for a campaign and successfully translate it to The Chosen One, for him to then implement that knowledge to complete his feats of heroism. I sighed deeply. "There is no university here to hold historical works, and many of the larger temples do not have any books in them at all. I will need to visit the Wizards' Guild, the Questers' Guild, and the Scriveners' Guild," I explained.
"Go quickly," he ordered without sympathy. "We leave soon."
I gritted my teeth and rose from my chair, throwing Tiberius' quill and a stack of paper sheets into my shoulder bag. It was all but impossible to do the kind of research this would require in only a handful of hours. So, I ran.
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