TWILIGHT THURSDAY

A CUPID INTERVIEW

My guests today are, Emily Pawes and Captain Alan Silvestri – please, have a seat on our lovely couch! – from the lovely pirate haven of Tortuga, in the Kraken’s Caribbean. Their tale can be found in The Kraken’s Mirror a novel creation by Maureen O. Betita.

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, Captain Silvestri, tell our readers how you two first met. Was it by your design, or hers?

Silvestri: Excuse me, you paired us up? I hate to disappoint you, but my dearest Emily was brought to Tortuga by the Great Albino Kraken. I had no idea he was such a romantic, but evidently, he knew this woman was for me!

Cupid: (glares a moment at the pirate before turning to the woman) Emily, would you say it was love at first sight or did you find him repulsive?

Emily: First sight? That’s a bit complicated. I’d been blind blasted for watching the vampires waltz and when he ‘rescued’ me I never actually saw him. I had no idea what he looked like, but he had a friendly voice and he felt nice and he said all the right things. (casts a look at the pirate) And wrong things. If I’d known he was the enemy of the crew who’d taken me in and sheltered me, I’d have likely found him repulsive. (snickers) Or not! He knows how to…kiss a woman…

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?

Emily: When I found myself facing the bi…uh, terrible woman…who had cursed him, I’d just had my heart broken so working with him was the last thing on my mind. But the alternative of freezing to death and watching a friend fall under her spell… I did what needed to be done. Of course, I’d been set up.

Silvestri: I didn’t set you up! I tried to keep you from her palace, I wanted Mick to help me. Putting you in danger was never part of the plan!

Emily: No! Just Mick! Da…nged pirate!

Silvestri: Now now, it all worked out… As for how I felt when I realized I needed Emily to work with Mick and I to break my curse and save us all…I was terrified she’d balk. Or get hurt. I also knew she’d do it, because she is a singularly loyal woman. (tilts head at Emily, who sighs and smiles crookedly)

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”?

Emily: I suspected it, but after he shattered my heart to pieces…(snorts at Silvestri) Honestly, not until I’d returned to my time and world did I realize that even if he drove me insane, I didn’t want to live without him.

Silvestri: (smiles at her and takes her hand, winks) I knew long before that. I knew after Emily spent a night on my ship, The Immortal, that I cared for her more deeply than I could admit.

Emily: It was when I kicked you, right? (laughs)

Silvestri: I think it was when you soothed me after my nightmare.

Emily: Oh, yeah…when you got all secretive the next day. *snort

Silvestri: I had a lot on my mind, realizing I had fallen in love? (Emily smiles in forgiveness)

Cupid: Captain Silvestri, what would you say was your biggest obstacle to overcome before you could settle into a relationship with Emily.

Captain Silvestri: Her conviction that one (hold up a finger), she was too old for a passionate relationship. And (holds up two fingers), she was convinced I was a delusion and she was insane.

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

Emily: (glances at Silvestri, leans close to him) He thinks he brought us together, he really does!

Silvestri: (whispers back) Humor him.

Emily: (leans back and smiles brightly) Oh, well, the Great Albino Kraken and … Captain Jezebel, who I think knew we were secretly meeting and looked the other way.

Silvestri: Mama Lu, the Tortuga magic woman and my dear friend, who counseled me on how to court this stubborn woman.

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. Emily, how would you end this sentence, "I wish Captain Silvestri would _____?" *leans forward to eagerly hear your response*

Emily: You said this was a PG13 interview! (she thinks a moment then slowly smirks) Play cards with me again.

Silvestri laughs wickedly.

Cupid: Cards. (Looks from one to the other, Emily is looking totally innocent while Silvestri’s eyes have narrowed and he is stroking his beard) Something tells me these were special cards. Captain Silvestri, would you prefer to give Emily a bubble bath or a back massage? Why?

Silvestri: The last bath I gave her proved quite distracting and rewarding!

Emily raises hand: Massage!

Silvestri considers: How about a …front massage?

Emily blushes and slowly lowers hand.

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. Silvestri, what would Emily say is your aphrodisiac? *waggles eyebrows*

Silvestri replies without pause: Green apples.

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

Emily: Oh, he’s right! What would I say? (tilts her head a moment, thinking) Wine?

Silvestri’s rebuttal, if there is one: Or rum.

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

Silvestri: I think she’d say…touching my lips with her fingers. And she’d be right.

Emily’s rebuttal, if there is one: I’d have said using my lips to touch something else, but I’m sticking to the PG13 rating.

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

Emily chuckles: Kidnapping the woman he’s interested in, keeping her tied up, bathing her… Oh, yeah. PG13.

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

Silvestri: In some circumstances, yes. But I actually prefer starting with a swim in a fresh water pool, nude.

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

Silvestri: Ah! A picnic by a fresh water pool, followed by swimming, nude, and sleeping after a nice long evening of dalliance under the stars.

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

Emily: I hate to say this, but he is. (leans close, “Let’s visit the pools at Caicos, soon!”) He nods with a smile.

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

Emily: Find me after I left Tortuga. Trust me, he came a long, long way!

Silvestri: Agree to the placement of a lovely bit of jewelry. (winks)

Emily: PG13! Remember! (blushes and hugs herself with a rueful shake of her head)

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

Emily: I wish he weren’t so bossy.

Silvestri: I wish she’d understand I’m not being bossy. I’m just being the captain.

Cupid: Sounds like a long standing argument! Have the two of you had time to settle into any Valentine's Day traditions?

Emily: Nope, but I’m requesting chocolates and a trip to the pools at the Caicos.

Silvestri: What is Valentine’s Day?

Emily snorts: I’ll explain later, dolt.

Cupid: Thanks to Captain Alan Silvestri and Emily Pawes for joining us today. We hope you’ll check out their story, The Kraken’s Mirror. Available now from Decadent Publishing!

To learn more about Silvestri and Emily’s author, Maureen O. Betita, visit: http://www.maureenobetita.com/



Hi, I’m Maureen O. Betita and I’m a new author with Decadent Publishing. They will soon be releasing The Kraken’s Mirror, an erotic romance set in a Tortuga straight from my imagination.

Here’s a blurb from The Kraken’s Mirror, featuring piratepunk (my personal name for the genre I write) and Silvertons! Which are H/H who never move past their prime, no matter their age.

Treated by our youth oriented society as invisible and sexless Emily Pawes attends a pirate festival to recapture the make believe magic she knew as a younger woman. She wins an interesting bit of booty at an old woman's bric-a-brac stand. The Kraken's mirror is a magical portal and transports her to a land of Hollywood piratitude, where swashbuckling heroes own iPods. With little choice, she embraces the madness, deciding she’ll play pirate until she figures out how to get home. Or wakes up in a padded cell.

Instead of men in little white coats, she encounters the handsome Captain Alan Silvestri. He is a man haunted by a strange curse. Good luck is his to command, but it comes at the cost of any place to call home or people to call family. Resigned to die shunned by all, forced to sail every three days, he begins to dream of a special woman.

When they meet, sparks fly, passion flares. He needs her to be free, but more than that, he needs her to be whole. They set sail, uncertain of who has control of the wheel, seeking to defeat his curse of good luck and discover all the Kraken’s mirror plans for them.

Excerpt – This takes place after Emily has been blind blasted and is ‘rescued’ by Silvestri, quite prepared to take advantage of her condition. ;-)

The enigmatic woman turned away from him, chuckling.

“Oh, relishing the clichés. I’m…Pawes. Call me Pawes.” She held out a hand, moving it side to side as if searching for him.

“Ah, women do like to take their time.” He pressed a quick kiss on her knuckles and slowly released her.

He detected a slight hesitation before she nodded. “Yes. While men generally are in a hurry.” She turned her face toward him. “And you?”

“Call me Alan, Miss Pawes.”

“No, Pawes or Mrs. Pawes if you like, please.” Drawing a deep breath, she tried to focus on him, then winced, closing her eyes tightly. “You were behind me. Why didn’t it hit you?”

“Because I was behind you, but I twisted my face away in time. Let me escort you somewhere quiet and buy you a drink.”

“Are your intentions honorable?” Her head tilted.

“Of course not, but not actually dishonorable. I promise to warn you if driven to some despicable bit of deviltry.” He must have impressed her, because a smile danced across her face, that upward tilt of her lips to the left exactly as he remembered from his dreams. He wondered if the rest of the details were the same.



Website: http://www.maureenobetita.com/
I blog at
http://www.romancewritersrevenge.com/ (as 2nd Chance every Friday)
http://www.castles&guns.com/ (every other Tuesday)
http://believinginsecondchances.typepad.com/2nd-chances (every Sunday)

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You can't be a pest.

She falls through the glass
Sails with Hollywood pirates
Discovers her self