PHANTASM FRIDAY

A CUPID INTERVIEW

My guests today are, Police Inspector Michael Devane and Bethany Bradshaw-Devane – please, have a seat on our lovely couch! – from London. Their tale can be found in OUT OF HELL and AN UNSPOKEN BETRAYAL, a novel creation by Denysé Bridger.

Before we begin, I must remind everyone to please try and keep your responses to a PG13 atmosphere – the Moonlight Mistresses rules, not mine *eye roll*. Double entendres are acceptable and widely encouraged for events and phrases we don’t want our young readers to really know about. Oooh, it will be so much fun trying to guess what you’re really saying!

*Settling comfortably onto the sofa, draping his arm over the back and sipping his bubbly* That Miss Havana in Reaper’s Domain is one hot teacher and boy would I love to get into her…class! I might actually learn something…oh…did I say that out loud? *Clears throat* Sorry. Let’s get back to the interview.

You two make one fine pair! I did a wonderful job pairing you two up if I do say so myself! Then, I just love all of my matches!

Cupid: Please, Michael, tell our readers how you two first met. Was it by your design, or hers?

Michael: I was called into investigate the murder of her husband, she was my prime suspect, initially.

Cupid: Bethany, would you say it was love at first sight or did you find him repulsive?

Bethany: I think if I am very honest it was love at first sight, though in my distress, I didn’t recognize it for a very long time.

Cupid: This one’s for both of you. Since chaotic happenstance tends to put characters like yourselves in situations where they must work together or live together for one reason or another, tell us what chaotic happenstance “forced” the two of you to work or live together. How did you feel about this?

Bethany: My husband was murdered, quite brutally, and I remembered nothing. Michael understood, and he was very kind to me.

Michael: It was easy to be kind to such a gentle creature as Bethany. Bradshaw was a bastard, and abusive, if she had killed him, I don’t think I would have ever allowed the truth to be told.

Cupid: This one is also for both of you. How long did it take you to know your true feelings for the other? At what point did you know, “this is the one”?

Bethany: I knew long before the real killer was discovered, though I was desperately afraid for Michael while he investigated. Michael saw me for who I really am, and he accepted and understood me, how could any woman not love a man such as that?

Michael: *smiling* As I learned more about Bethany’s husband and what sort of man he was, I knew my admiration and respect for her strength and courage was mutating into something much deeper. But, I was an opium addict then, and there are things in my soul that I wouldn’t taint anyone so lovely with, so I resisted for a time.

Cupid: Michael, what would you say was your biggest obstacle to overcome before you could settle into a relationship with Bethany?

Michael: My fears from my failed first, the social class that separated us. My job in many ways. I had to prove her innocence for many reasons, and once that was done, I had to accept that the only thing that could ever keep us apart was me. She was braver than I, she was willing to defy conventions. I followed her and learned a great deal about courage from her quiet strength. She is a remarkable woman.

Cupid: This is for either of you. Would you like to thank anyone – other than me, of course – for getting you two together?

Bethany: *laughing* In a very strange and perhaps morbid way, my husband Robert, for having the misfortune to be killed in a way gruesome enough to warrant the attention of Inspector Michael Devane.

Michaal: You can’t forget your father, of course. Sadly, in the end, he did hang for orchestrating the crime of murder.

Cupid: I know our readers have enjoyed learning about you two so far, but I’m getting a little bored, so I’m going to heat things up. Bethany, how would you end this sentence, "I wish Michael would allow me to work more closely with him on some of his cases?" *leans forward to eagerly hear your response*

Michael: Absolutely not! The Whitechapel District is no place to bring any woman who is cherished and loved.

Cupid: Michael, would you prefer to give Bethany a bubble bath or a back massage? Why?

Michael: A bubble bath, of course, where I could bathe her with the reverence she deserves, and of course join her myself.

Cupid: How many of you remember that old show, The Newlywed Game? Well, these next questions are going to help us play a similar game. Michael, what would Bethany say is your aphrodisiac? *waggles eyebrows*

Michael: *grinning* I think she would say she is my aphrodisiac.

Cupid: Bethany, is he right? How would you have answered that question?

Bethany: He is right.

Cupid: *crosses ankles and rubs his chin* Michael, what would Bethany say is a spot guaranteed to drive you crazy with passion? Is she correct in that assumption?

Michael: There are two spots, the side of my neck, just here *indicates the spot near the pulse point* The other would be the spot just below my bottom lip, she does things with her tongue... *squirms a little in his seat* ...well, perhaps that’s answer enough.

Bethany: Always the gentleman, darling.

Cupid: Bethany, as far as you know, what is Michael’s idea of a perfect date?

Bethany: A night where we will stay at home together, perhaps sitting close to the fire, we will have dinner, wine, and make love. The servants have learned to leave us alone unless there is something of a dire emergency.

Cupid: Michael, is she correct? If not, what is your idea of a perfect date?

Michael: I can’t think of anything more perfect that the evenings we have spent just as Bethany describes.

Cupid: Michael, your turn in the hot seat. What is Bethany’s idea of a perfect date?

Michael: I’m afraid in this instance we most definitely share the same desire.

Cupid: Bethany, is he correct? If not, what is your idea of a perfect date?

Bethany: *laughing* Yes, he is. We have settled into marriage well, I’m afraid, very little of the rebel in our passion for each other. I do know we are talked about in many circles, but I suspect that is more envy than disapproval anymore.

Cupid: The next two questions are for both of you. What's the most romantic thing your lover has ever done for you?

Bethany: He saved me from the abuse and degradation of my first husband. Perhaps not romantic in the tradition sense, but to me, it is the most loving thing anyone has ever done. He also took me shopping in Paris on our honeymoon and selected some very scandalous undergarments which I wear for him often.

Michael: The most romantic thing? *thinks for a moment then smiles* Shortly before we were married, I arrived at my apartment to find her there. Candles were lit, a lovely dinner had been prepared. She undressed me and led me to a hot bath, waited on me, then stripped her own clothes off and joined me in the bath. That night, Bethany gave herself to me completely. I will never forget it. Is this interview almost over?

Cupid: If you could change one thing about your relationship, what would it be?

Bethany: He doesn’t have to be so protective.

Michael: She doesn’t have to be quite so independent.

Cupid: Have the two of you had time to settle into any Valentine's Day traditions?

Bethany: We go back to the hotel where we used to meet when Michael was still investigating my husband’s murder. It reminds us in some way of the excitement and terror we felt at being discovered. It’s quite exciting!

Michael: We also shop for gifts together, and often go to the theatre, but without friends in attendance. Not that we have many, we have been somewhat shunned by Bethany’s peers.

Cupid: Thanks to Michael and Bethany for joining us today. We hope you’ll check out their story, The Devane Files: OUT OF HELL and The Devane Files: AN UNSPOKEN BETRAYAL.

To learn more about (hero/heroine's) author, Denysé Bridger, visit: www.denysebridger.com