APRIL 24, 2013
CHARACTER INTERVIEW LUCAS SOUL AND REID HASLEY
Here’s a little extra that I prepared for the Soul Meaning Book Tour! I am pleased to present an interview with Lucas Soul and Reid Hasley, two of the main protagonists from my novel Soul Meaning, the first book in the supernatural thriller series Seventeen. This takes place in the middle of their story, when they had a few minutes to spare while evading some immortal baddies who were tracking them. Cannot quite believe I managed to pin these two sexy men down (gulp!)…well, not literally…
AD: Hello and welcome! And how are you gentlemen today?
Lucas: Fine, thanks. We’re in a rush, so it’d be great if you could make this quick. *wipes blood from his face*
Reid: *frowns at Lucas while he reloads his Glock 19* Why did you agree to this again?
Lucas: She’s the author. I thought it would be impolite to refuse.
Reid: She’s not the one dodging bullets now, is she?
Lucas: *sighs and turns to AD* I’m sorry about this. He gets grumpy when people start shooting at him before breakfast.
AD: *clears throat* Moving on. Why don’t you tell me how you guys met?
Lucas: We met during the summer ten years ago.
Reid: Yeah. I was a homicide detective with the Boston PD at the time. The murder suspect I was chasing shot his sorry ass *indicates Lucas with a head tilt*
Lucas: Well, I was…kind of indisposed at the time.
Reid: You mean you were drunk.
Lucas: One of my closest friends just died.
Reid: Let’s not talk about that bastard. He’s one of the reasons we’re in this mess.
AD: So, Reid, what went through your mind when you saw Lucas rise again from his fourteenth death?
Reid: Well, first off, I thought, ‘How’d he survive a bullet to the head?’ Then I thought, ‘Nope, the dude definitely died. He was lying there, staring at the sky like a dead fish.’ When he started breathing again, I was like, ‘What the f***k?’
Lucas: A dead fish?
Reid: *nods* A dead fish.
Lucas: You never told me that before.
Reid: Considering what I was thinking of doing next, I thought it would be rude to start our relationship by telling you that you looked like a dead fish.
AD: Why, what were you thinking of doing next?
Reid: Well, I was getting kinda bored with the Homicide Unit. And I had been wanting to try something different for some time. When I met Lucas, I realized I had been given a once in a lifetime chance to do just that.
AD: What did you think when Lucas told you he was an immortal?
Reid: I won’t say that it didn’t come as a shock. I mean, seeing Lucas live again after that fatal gunshot wound to the head was a revelation in itself. *shrugs* I never doubted his words though. But it did make me look at the world in a completely different way.
AD: Would you rather go back to a state of ‘not knowing’ about immortals?
Reid: *grins* No. Life sure is more interesting this way.
AD: What about you, Lucas? Why did you team up with a human?
Lucas: I didn’t have much choice in the matter. Reid stalked me for an entire month after that incident. It was either give in to his demands to become my business partner, or shoot him.
Reid: You thought about shooting me?
Lucas: You can be annoyingly persistent at times. And it was only going to be a flesh wound.
AD: Is it different working with a human? You used to co-own your detective agency with your former immortal friend, Mikael Olsson, right?
Lucas: I haven’t seen that much of a difference. For a human, Reid is a very strong and skilled fighter. He can keep up with most immortals. After all, he’s a former US Marine.
AD: Reid, were you sure Lucas would come for you when you were taken captive by Cain Haus, the Crovir immortal who contacted your agency at the start of Soul Meaning?
Reid: I never doubted it for a moment.
AD: *waves away the faint mist of bromance in the air* Shortly after that, you got to see the arsenal that Lucas keeps in his apartment, as well as the collection of cars and bikes in the basement garage of his building. Did that surprise you?
Reid: Hell yes. He’s always been coy about using any kind of weapon. He keeps saying he doesn’t like violence.
Lucas: I don’t.
Reid: Why do you have so many weapons in your apartment then?
Lucas: I may not like violence, but I’m not a fool. I spent the first 350 years of my life being chased by Hunters.
Reid: What about the cars and the bikes?
Lucas: What about them?
Reid: I always seem to be driving you around. Why don’t we ever use one of your rides?
Lucas: They stand out too much. Your Chevy is more appropriate for our day to day job.
Reid: *turns to AD* And you. I have a bone to pick with you. Why the hell do you have Lucas drive like a maniac? I aged ten years on that road trip to New York!
AD: ‘Cause I like fast cars too.
Reid: *mutters something unsavory under his breath*
AD: What was that ?
Reid: Nothing. Are we almost done here?
AD: Er, no. There’s a scene in Washington when Lucas hacks into a Crovir noble’s computer. Did that surprise you?
Reid: It did, but not as much as the way he broke into the goddamn safe. I felt like I was in a spy movie or something.
Lucas: …
AD: Lucas, what went through your mind when you first saw Anna’s picture on Burnstein’s computer?
Lucas: I was…stunned, I guess. It was the first time I had had such a visceral reaction to a photograph. I couldn’t understand why I was experiencing such an intense emotion for someone I had never seen before.
AD: And when you met Anna in person?
Lucas: *smiles drily* The circumstance of our first meeting didn’t exactly lend itself to introspection.
Reid: I gotta say though, I never thought I’d see that expression on your face.
Lucas: What do you mean?
Reid: Well, on the one hand, it seemed like you were ready to kill anyone who laid a finger on Anna. On the other, you looked like you wanted to brand her with your mark.
Lucas: I did?
Reid: *nods*
Lucas: *flushes slightly* Oh.
AD: Were you shocked when you found out that you were not as alone in the world as you thought you were? That you still had people to call family?
Lucas: Yes, I was. But I wouldn’t call the entire thing a happy surprise. My family’s history does not make for pretty reading.
AD: Do you regret meeting them?
Lucas: No, I’ll never regret meeting the Bastian half of my family. As for the Crovir half…at least I know where I stand with them.
AD: Did you enjoy the HALO jump?
Reid: What HALO jump?
AD: *sickly grin dawns on face* Oops, my bad. You’re not meant to know about that yet!
Reid: *turns to Lucas* You heard anything about a HALO jump?
Lucas: No.
Reid: *grips the Glock grimly* Hey, lady, what aren’t you telling us?
AD: Gosh, would you look at the time? I must dash! Goodbye and good luck!
Reid: Hey, stop! Come back here and explain your—
Lucas: She’s gone.
Reid: *scowls* I don’t trust that woman. She looks like trouble.
*A door slams in the distance. Heavy footsteps draw closer*
Reid: Shit, they found us!
Lucas: Let’s go!