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Category Archives: Between the Scenes

Back on Track!

I know I’ve been a little radio silent lately apart from announcing books coming out. For those of you who’ve followed me for a while, you know that in addition to putting out 4-5 books per year, I also work 40 hours a week at a full time job. I try not to talk about my job here (this is a happy place), otherwise this blog would be peppered with a lot of negativity. Suffice to say, it’s been kicking my ass more than usual lately. I knew this was coming, so I scheduled myself a break between books for the month of September. Even though I’m chomping at the bit to get the next Mercy book started, I can’t manage cramming anything extra in right now between work, family and the renovations we’re doing at home (don’t get me started on the condition of my bathroom right now). The good news is, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I haven’t started writing, but I’ve got the content for Child of Mercy pretty well outlined, so I can hit the ground running when I do start it. Even more importantly, I’m starting to see a point in the future when I can chuck this job and retire to write full time. This is both scary and exciting to contemplate, and hopefully the dream becomes a reality before I implode from stress.

You might have also noticed I’ve stopped posting about my resolutions lately. I’d given up a new thing each month and started exercising 5 days a week. Things chugged along pretty well for half the year and then in June I ran into a brick wall. After a little family tragedy, I pretty much jumped off the wagon and didn’t look back until well into July. Looking back at the first half of the year, the things I gave up and added exercise looked good on paper, but hadn’t translated into any real weight loss for me. I did feel more active from the exercise, but there were clearly more things I needed to be doing than giving up just one thing per month. So, I declared a reboot in August and now I’m back on track. Instead of giving up single things, I’ve gone back to the old proven method of tracking my intake and exercising more. So far it’s working better, I’ve lost about 11 pounds and my energy is much better.

BTW, do you guys like the “between the scenes” interviews I used to post? I didn’t get much feedback, so I stopped doing them. But I recently had a good comment requesting more, so I thought I’d put it out there. Are you interested in seeing “interviews” with characters from some of the books? Or is that only mildly interesting and my time might be better spent elsewhere?

What about some “deleted scenes” from Mercy for the Damned? Would you be at all interested in reading a couple of scenes that didn’t make the final cut?

Between the Scenes with Iris – Lexi from The Touch

Five minutes with Lexi from The Touch

Iris: Iris here, I’m talking to Lexi Morgan, artist and amateur sleuth of late. Thanks for joining us today, I know you’ve been through a lot lately.

Lexi: Yeah, it’s no problem. I’ve never been interviewed before.
You’ll have to smack me if I say something stupid, okay?

Iris: You’ve got a deal. Now I noticed the gloves. Interesting fashion statement.

Lexi: It’s not so much about fashion as it is for protection.

Iris: You have a thing about germs? It’s spiders for me.

Lexi: Ooh I hate spiders too! [her face scrunches up adorably] But no, it’s not a germ thing. Didn’t your people tell you? I thought that was why you wanted to talk to me. I can see things whenever I touch an object, like who held it last or what they were doing, stuff like that.

Iris: Yeah? That’s fascinating, and it works on anything?

Lexi: Yep, any object. It comes in handy when you want to know who drank all the milk and put the container back into the fridge. [she grins]

Iris: I’ll keep that in mind if I ever come over to your place. So if I gave you this pen…

Lexi: I’d rather not… [her hands ball up into fists]

Iris: I promise, I didn’t do anything nasty with it.

Lexi: I believe you, but I’d rather not go down that path. The next thing I know there’ll be a line around the block with people asking me to touch things.

Iris: But you did use your gift in order to help find your niece when she went missing, right?

Between The Scenes With Iris – Adam

Five minutes with Adam from Angel of Mercy

Iris: Iris here, I’m talking to everybody’s favorite fallen angel Adamiel, or Adam as he goes by these days. Thanks for joining us today, I know you like to keep a low profile.

Adam: You called, I came. [He shrugs nonchalantly, reclined in the chair with lazy grace]

Iris: If only it was always that simple. Are there many fallen angels living among us? Sam shot me down on this one.

Adam: I haven’t taken role lately, but there’s a fair number of us, yeah. Most of them keep to themselves though, they’ve got notions of working off their sins or something. [A roll of the eyes is given]

Iris: But not you?

Adam: I’ve suffered plenty, believe me. If God had wanted to torture me further he would have done it. No, I believe in taking pleasure where you can.

Iris: Sounds like an enlightened way of looking at it. I gotta ask, what’s with the all in black look. Do you have a thing for Johnny Cash? Would a little bit of color hurt every now and then? [He is dressed from head to toe in black. Boots, jeans, shirt, jacket, the whole shebang]

Adam: You don’t like it? Most women do. [Those bright blue eyes flash playfully and I have no trouble believing that. In fact, it takes me a minute to remember what I'd asked him]

Iris: No, it’s a good look for you, I admit. But it sort of paints a certain picture. Are you really still the same bad boy who’s been debauching his way through the past two thousand years? Or have things changed?

Adam: I’ll just say that some things have changed, but I won’t go into detail beyond that.

Iris: Because you’re worried that admitting you have feelings for Mercy will put her in danger? [He drops a quick wink, but doesn't say anything else] Who do you think might be listening in?

Adam: You never can tell who’s paying attention. For the moment Mercy will have to get along without me.

Iris: Is that such a good idea? Aren’t there a lot of people after her? What about this prophecy I keep hearing about?

Between the Scenes with Iris – Sam

Five minutes with Samael from Angel of Mercy

Iris: Iris here, and I’m talking to Samael, the former angel of death, now one of the Fallen, who gave part of his Grace to Mercy at the beginning of our story, accidentally imbuing her with angelic powers. Wow, that’s a mouthful! Thanks for joining me today, Sam, I know you’re not always comfortable talking to people.

[I notice right off the bat, he sits with perfect posture, eyes a little wide with uncertainty maybe]

Sam: I do tend to avoid people, it’s true. I am pleased to be here though, but I’m not entirely sure what it is you want from me.

Iris: It’s okay, Sam, I won’t bite, I promise. I’ve never interviewed a fallen angel before, how long have you been living among the regular folk?

Sam: It has been close to two millenia since I was… since I began to dwell here on Earth.

Iris: That’s a long time. What do you do all day long every day? I understand you don’t sleep either, what do you do to keep busy?

Sam: I tend to my books, and there is much need for judgment among your kind. Though I no longer serve in an official capacity, I do mete out justice when I have the opportunity to.

Iris: How do you do that?

Sam: I can see the quality of their souls.

Iris: Really… what does my soul look like?

Between the Scenes with Iris – Mercy

Five minutes with Mercy from Angel of Mercy

Iris: Iris here, and I’m talking to Merceline Renault, a bartender in Seattle and part time angel. You’ve had a crazy few months, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

Mercy: Call me Mercy, please, nobody calls me Merceline but my mother. [Her nose wrinkles with distaste, and I remember she doesn't have the best relationship with her mother by all accounts] I wouldn’t say I’m a part time angel, I’m still me. I’m just… well, not entirely human anymore.

Iris: That sounds interesting, how did you get that way?

Mercy: I got stabbed in the alley outside of the club I work at, Eden. I don’t remember much about it, but when I woke up in the hospital, I was different. [Her expression grows distant for a fleeting moment with remembered pain or something else, it's hard to say] I found out later that Sam had healed me and some of his Grace rubbed off on me.

Iris: Sam is your guardian angel?

Mercy: No, not exactly. He didn’t follow me around or anything you normally think of from a guardian angel. I’d never met him before that night in the alley. For whatever reason he decided I was worth saving and he healed me.

Iris: I dunno, sounds kind of like a guardian angel to me. What kinds of things can you do with the Grace?

Mercy: I can’t fly or anything, but there are a few tricks I can do like make myself imperceptible to people and the Grace protects me from harm. I can see people’s souls now, tell if they’re good or bad, that sort of thing. Oh and my eyes turned blue, they used to be brown. [She leans close to show me]

Iris: They sure are, I was noticing them before. They’re just like Sam’s.

Mercy: Oh, Sam let you see him? That’s impressive, usually he hides from most people.

Iris: Why would he do that?

Mercy: I don’t think he’s comfortable around people for the most part, he takes the exile part of being Fallen very seriously.

Iris: But not Adam, right? Does he take anything seriously?