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?

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?

Lexi: Of course, what else could I do? Not that what I found made a whole lot of sense to start with, but eventually the pieces started to fall into place. I’d never met a real live ghost before. Well, you know what I mean.

Iris: I heard there were actually a few ghosts living in your sister’s house. What can you tell us about that?

Lexi: Yes, there were. The ghosts of dead children actually, it was creepy as all get out. The first contact I had with them was hearing them sing.

Iris: What were they singing?

Lexi: [starts singing in a quavery, child like voice] Take the keys and lock her up, lock her up, lock her up. Take the keys and lock her up, my fair lady.

Iris: That is creepy. What did you do about it?

Lexi: I tried talking to my sister Allie, but she pretended like she didn’t hear it. I’m surprised they didn’t cart me away to the looney bin when I told the cops about it.

Iris: Cops. That would be Detective Gabriel Ryan, right?

Lexi: [she brightens visibly] That’s the one. I’d probably be dead if not for him.

Iris: Judging from the smile on your face I’d say he’s a keeper. Tell me more about him.

Lexi: Oh, he’s… like hot fudge sundaes and Christmas rolled into one.

Iris: That good, huh? Maybe I should call the police the next time I’m feeling lonely.

Lexi: I never thought I’d be into a cop, you know? I always went for the artistic type, or techy guys. But he’s not like you’d think a cop would be at all, he’s actually really nice.

Iris: Apologies to our readers in the law enforcement branches out there, the views expressed in our interviews do not necessarily reflect the views of the Between the Scenes with Iris segment.

Lexi: Oh… I didn’t mean anything by that…

Iris: It’s okay, you were saying?

Lexi: Um, just that Gabriel was very helpful in helping us find Chloe and getting to the bottom of what was going on. He kept an open mind, which not everyone does these days, and he was very understanding with my little um… handicap. [she wiggles her gloved fingers and then her face lights up again as she remembers something] Oh and he’s a fantastic kisser… I probably shouldn’t have said that, I hope he doesn’t get in trouble. [her forehead puckers with worry]

Iris: There you have it folks, cops are people too. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but I’ll ask him if it’s a problem when I see him. So can you still hear the ghosts, now that you saved your niece?

Lexi: No, they’re gone now. [the lights flicker suspiciously and she frowns] At least, I thought they were…

Iris: I think it’s a good time to wrap up for today. Thanks for reading, guys. Stay tuned for the next Between the Scenes interview with Gabriel, from The Touch.

*If there are other characters you’d like Iris to interview, or burning questions you wish she’d asked, please drop her a line in the comments section here, she adores fan mail.

** The picture above is not an actual depiction of Lexi, merely an interpretation of the author’s vision of the character.

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?

Adam: Christ, Sam can’t keep his mouth shut… I didn’t say she wasn’t being looked after, I’m just not… I can’t be with her right now. It’s for her own protection.

Iris: But you want to be?

Adam: [His eyes unfocus for a moment as if he's remembering something before they return to the present] It doesn’t matter what I want. New topic please.

Iris: Okey doke, you mentioned before about coming when called. If that’s the typical M.O. for angels, how come you’ve been giving Mercy the cold shoulder? You don’t have to be with her to protect her, right? You could still drop by and make sure she’s okay.

Adam: That’s complicated.

Iris: Because of what happened to your wife?

Adam: We’re not going to talk about that [His eyes flash intensely and it's clear that's a dealbreaker. I can see a little of what scares the hell out of demons behind that easy smile.]

Iris: Yeah, okay, no problem. But um… you know she’s kinda worried about you, right?

Adam: She’s worried about me? [I appear to have surprised him, bonus points for me!]

Iris: Well, I that’s how I took it. She asked how you were, but then changed her mind, she said she doesn’t care what you have to say.

Adam: Yeah, that sounds about right [He doesn't seem upset though, a smile plays around his lips as he thinks about her] Well, you can tell her, that I’m just fine, if she wants to worry, she should try worrying about herself.

Iris: That brings me back to the prophecy again, is she in danger?

Adam: That girl seems to fall into some kind of danger every time she turns around. [He mutters disgustedly] But I’m working on it. [Before I can ask him what he's working on to keep her safe, a shriek is heard from the outer office, followed by a series of shouts and the lights flicker] What’s all the commotion?

Iris: Oh, there are some people waiting to be interviewed, it has something to do with ghosts, they’ve been freaking out the staff all morning. Don’t worry about it.

Adam: I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. [a wolfish grin appears]

Iris: Yeah I’ll just bet you’re not afraid of much. Look, just say I happened to run into Mercy again, is there anything you’d like me to tell her?

Adam: Tell her… [a wistful look comes over his face and then he hangs his head in regret or sorrow] Tell her to stick close to Sam and the Cop. There’s a bumpy ride up ahead.

Thanks for reading, guys. Stay tuned for the next Between the Scenes interview with Lexi, from The Touch.

*If there are other characters you’d like Iris to interview, or burning questions you wish she’d asked, please drop her a line in the comments section here, she adores fan mail.

** The picture above is not an actual depiction of Adam, merely an interpretation of the author’s vision of the character.

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?

Sam: [His head tilts to one side as he studies me and the hairs on the back of my neck start to stand up] You’re a vibrant turquoise with flecks of purple, quite lovely in fact. It marks you as a highly energetic person, deeply spiritual and caring.

Iris: Um, thank you. Is that what you were doing in that alley with the guy who attacked you and Mercy? What was his name… Weatie? Meting out justice?

Sam: Indeed. His soul was riddled with darkness and evil, he deserved to be struck down. [He nods earnestly, completely convinced of his authority to do so]

Iris: Only instead he knifed you and then Mercy. How did that happen?

Sam: [His head hangs in shame, like a sad little boy] I was distracted when she entered the alley. If I had only kept my head, she might not have been injured at all.

Iris: You can’t blame yourself for something like that, chance accidents happen all the time. [He doesn't appear to be very soothed by my words] Are there many fallen angels walking around on the city streets?

Sam: I’m not at liberty to say.

Iris: Fair enough, but there’s at least you and Adam. The two of you go way back, don’t you? It seems like an odd friendship, you’re both so different.

Sam: There was a time when we were not so different, but our paths diverged when we became among the fallen. [His face is so open and honest, I can't help but ask him about it]

Iris: what ah, what did you do that got you cast out of heaven?

Sam: [No such luck, his face instantly shutters and he begins to rise from the chair] I’d rather not discuss it, perhaps I should go…

Iris: No, no, no wait! It’s cool, you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to. Just tell me to shove it and we’ll move on, okay?

Sam: Tell you to shove what? [His head tilts again in confusion]

Iris: Um, nevermind, moving on… Let’s talk about Mercy. [He visibly brightens with that change in topic] Are you her guardian angel?

Sam: No, nothing so formal as that. I’d never seen her before that night she was attacked in the alley trying to help me.

Iris: That was quite a gift to a total stranger. Why did you do it? Give her part of your Grace if you didn’t know her at all?

Sam: [There is a long pause as he muddles his way through it] I… hardly know. I only know that I couldn’t allow her to die, not when her only error in judgment was to come to my aid – a stranger as well. She would have surely died had I not intervened. I had to use my Grace to heal her before it was too late.

Iris: Did you know that some of your Grace would end up rubbing off on her when you did it?

Sam: No, I had no idea. [He seems very insistent on this point]

Iris: Would you do it again?

Sam: Most certainly. [This time there is no hesitation at all]

Iris: Even though now you’re in hot water with God and the heavenly host?

Sam: I have long been out of their good graces, the rewards far outstripped any negative consequences.

Iris: Namely now that Mercy is “something new” you like to say. Is that just a fancy way of saying she’s part angel now?

Sam: There has never been any like her before, but I draw comfort in the knowledge that she has borne it remarkably well.

Iris: You like her a lot, don’t you?

Sam: I do, she is numbered among the few I call friend in this world.

Iris: What about as something more?

Sam: I don’t understand. [Again, he blinks, utterly baffled]

Iris: Well, you give a girl part of yourself, that’s gotta create quite a bond between you. Are you sure your feelings don’t run a little deeper than friendship?

Sam: [His head turns to one side as if considering it, but doesn't offer any kind of response]

Iris: Moving on… What can you tell us about where Adam’s been hiding out?

Sam: I have no idea, I’m not the boss of him.

Iris: I beg your pardon?

Sam: Is that not the right phrase? He does not share such things with me, he comes and goes as he pleases.

Iris: But he is still around, right? You have been in touch with him?

Sam: [He goes very still, a nervous look on his face] Maybe…

Iris: What did he tell you about what’s coming after Mercy? It sure seemed to freak her out.

Sam: I merely told her about the prophecy.

Iris: Prophecy?

Sam: [nothing but silence]

Iris: Okay, that’s about all the time we have for today. Thanks for talking to me, Sam, hopefully we can do it again sometime.

Sam: Why?

Iris: Because people are interested in what you have to say.

Sam: [a dubious expression settles over his features] If you say so…

Thanks for reading, guys. Stay tuned for the next Between the Scenes interview with Adam, the fallen angel from Angel of Mercy.

*If there are other characters you’d like Iris to interview, or burning questions you wish she’d asked, please drop her a line in the comments section here, she adores fan mail.

** The picture above is not an actual depiction of Sam, merely an interpretation of the author’s vision of the character.

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?

Mercy: [A scowl crosses her face and she shifts in her chair] I don’t want to talk about Adam.

Iris: Fair enough.

Mercy: Have you seen him? Is he okay? [Her expression softens, teeth worrying at her bottom lip]

Iris: Not yet, I’ve got an appointment to talk to him next week. Is there anything you want me to ask him?

Mercy: No. Yes, ask him… no nevermind, I don’t care what he has to say. [She waves the question away]

Iris: Yeah, I can see that… Okay, if we’re not going to talk about Adam, who should we talk about? Ben?

Mercy: Just because he’s sexy as hell doesn’t mean I’m sitting at home thinking about him…

Iris: Who, Ben is sexy as hell?

Mercy: What? [She blinks, as if she has just realized she was talking aloud] No… I mean, yeah, he’s sexy in a different way, I guess. Ben is a great guy, things are going great between us.

Iris: That’s good, he seems like a really nice guy, for a cop. He was really there for you when you were attacked by that Weatie guy, wasn’t he?

Mercy: Yeah, he was really great, he even let me stay with him for a little bit after Weatie broke into my apartment.

Iris: Yes, you said that already. So you guys smoothed out the rough patch you were going through when he thought you were hiding things from him?

Mercy: Well, to be fair, I was hiding things from him. I couldn’t just come out and tell him I was seeing angels, fallen or otherwise, let alone tell him about my Grace.

Iris: Why not? If he’s such a great guy?

Mercy: I don’t really know. Something told me he might head for the hills, and I really wanted one thing in my life to be normal, you know?

Iris: I can understand that. So everything is back to normal then? You’re still working at Eden as a bartender, and you haven’t had much contact with Sam or Adam lately?

Mercy: Not a peep until the Halloween party. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Sam walked into the bar. He is not a bar kind of guy.

Iris: So, I’m dying to ask you, what did he say?

Mercy: [She hesitates for a moment, as though she's not sure she should talk about it, and then leans forward, her voice dropping conspiratorially] He said that there’s some prophecy that talks about a demon or something trying to be reborn to the world through me. Well, someone who sounds an awful lot like me, my name wasn’t in it or anything.

Iris: Yikes, that sounds scary, what are you going to do about that?

Mercy: Honestly? I have no idea. [Her voice takes on a forlorn note and I remember she's really still in the middle of dealing with some major stuff here] I really wish that Adam was here.

Iris: I thought you didn’t care where Adam was?

Mercy: [Just like that she sits up straighter, the vulnerability gone] I don’t. Not specifically… I just need all the help that I can get.

Iris: I think you’re not being honest with yourself.

Mercy: I think you talk too much. [uh oh, I might have worn out my welcome here...]

Iris: I’m sorry, occupational hazard; I’m just calling it like I see it. And from where I’m sitting, it looks like your feelings for Adam are unresolved.

Mercy: I’m with Ben. [Those blue eyes stare me down until I change the subject]

Iris: So did you tell Ben about what’s going on? About fallen angels and demons and the prophecy?

Mercy: I’m going to. In fact, I should get going right now. No sense in putting it off any longer. [She doesn't sound too thrilled by the prospect]

Iris: Good luck. [It doesn't seem like enough, but she accepts it with a tight smile]

Mercy: Thanks. Something tells me I’m going to need it.

Thanks for reading, guys. Stay tuned for the next Between the Scenes interview with Samael, the fallen angel from Angel of Mercy.

*If there are other characters you’d like Iris to interview, or burning questions you wish she’d asked, please drop her a line in the comments section here, she adores fan mail.

** The picture above is not an actual depiction of Mercy, merely an interpretation of the author’s vision of the character.