Suzanne Johnson is yet another fabulous author who will attending the Coastal Magic Convention in Daytona Beach this February! Below, she shares with us an interview with both Alex Warin and Jean Lafitte of the Sentinels of New Orleans series. Check out the hilarious interview then enter to win two books in Johnson's two series!
Mr. Dog and the
Pirate:
An interview with
Alex Warin and Jean Lafitte of the Sentinels of New Orleans series.
Thanks to a brutal
holiday schedule, we accidentally double-booked interviews with Alex Warin, a
shapeshifting enforcer who works for the wizards’ Congress of Elders, and
undead French pirate Jean Lafitte, leader of the class of citizens known as the
Historical Undead—formerly famous humans kept alive by the magic of human
memory. They’ve agreed to put away their guns and talk about the current state
of affairs in New Orleans now that the borders between the city and the Beyond
have officially come down.
ALEX: I never said I’d put
away my gun. I will put on the safety, if it makes you feel better, but it’ll slow
me down if I have to shoot a pirate.
JEAN: Do not take extra
measures on my behalf, Monsieur Chien.
ALEX: Stop calling me
that. It means “Mr. Dog,” doesn’t it?
We’re doing an interview. Could the two of you hold off on
the bickering?
ALEX: Men don’t bicker.
They debate.
JEAN: Q’uest-ce que c’est
“bicker”?
Alex, what’s the hardest part of your job as head of the new
Division of Domestic Terror? Has it gotten any easier?
ALEX: Hell no. It’s
getting worse and worse. I mean, back in the good old days if a prete came over
from the Beyond and got out of line, I could just shoot him. Take Monsieur
Pirate here—I blew him back to the Beyond at least once. Now we have to
ne-GO-tiate. I hate that.
Jean, what about your new role as head of the Historical
Undead? What are the biggest challenges, and is it true that your people are
siding with the wizards?
JEAN: My people, as you
call them, are quite uninterested in the affairs of the modern world and rely
on me to make decisions for their benefit—although Monsieur William Faulkner
has become fond of what your modern folk call a “computer.” And, Monsieur
Chien, as you well know, I am a businessman, a trader of goods. I do not wish
to be called a pirate.
ALEX: Potato, potahto.
JEAN (frowns): What have matters of
cuisine to do with this?
Here’s a question for both of you. Do you think DJ makes a
good sentinel? Not many women have that job, and not many Green Congress
wizards. In fact, I think she’s one of only three in the world.
ALEX: (Grins) Green
Congress wizards are geeky, aren’t they? I swear, DJ would research a problem to
death if someone wasn’t always trying to shoot her or bite her or drown her.
Not that she doesn’t bring a lot of that on herself, but give that woman a pot
of coffee and a fast Internet connection and you could lock her in a room for
hours before she realized she was trapped.
JEAN: Drusilla has far too
many men to add complications to her life. He
and Alex look at each other and nod. She also has an unfortunate tendency
to enter situations that are utterly ridiculous and ill-advised; I speak here
of her dalliance with the elves. He and
Alex look at each other again, and nod.
ALEX (mutters): Damn, I hate it when
we agree.
JEAN (mutters): Exactement.
The stakes are getting pretty high lately, especially with
the elves. Do you foresee a peaceful resolution?
ALEX: A power struggle’s
brewing and I’m not sure the people in a position to stop it have the guts to
do what needs doing. I’m not optimistic. I think it’s going to get bad. Really
bad.
JEAN: A man must have
courage and place his convictions above his personal gain, and I do not believe
the leaders of either the wizards or elves, the largest of the factions, have
such qualities.
I think you two just agreed again.
ALEX: No, we didn’t.
JEAN: My apologies, but
such a thing is not possible.
What are you most afraid of? Alex, you don’t seem to be
afraid of much, frankly.
ALEX: Physically? No. I
know what I’m doing and I can take care of myself.
JEAN: Pardon, mon petit chien rose, but perhaps you
have forgotten some things.
ALEX: The pink dog thing
was a fluke. At least I don’t talk like a cartoon skunk.
Moving right along. What about the elves, given the turn of
events recently? They seem to be building a power base with DJ right in the
middle.
ALEX: If I wouldn’t get
hauled before the Interspecies Council I’d slaughter every elf I could get my
hands on, starting with one in particular. Maybe two.
JEAN: Only if you reached
them before myself. Perhaps we might slaughter them together.
Alex and Jean look at
each other, and simultaneous say: “No/Non.”
So what’s up with DJ and Quince Randolph?
ALEX: He’s a jackass, but
honestly, I think she can handle him.
You aren’t jealous, Alex?
ALEX: Of that overgrown Ken
doll? (Laughs.) No, believe me it’s not like with her and this damned pirate.
When DJ says she hates the pirate, she doesn’t mean it. She likes this scheming
SOB. When DJ says she hates Quince Randolph, she means it. And she can be spiteful.
Don’t tell her I said that.
Jean, what are your intentions toward DJ? Are you
seriously in search of a relationship, or is she simply a useful business ally?
JEAN, with a sly
smile:
A gentleman does not reveal his intentions in private matters, n’est-ce pas?
ALEX: Which would only
work if you were a gentleman.
Jean laughs and walks out. After a few minutes, Alex flips
off the safety on his pistol and follows. Interviewer is staying out of it.
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series from Tor Books. Royal Street, book one, came out in April 2012; River Road in November 2012. Book three, Elysian Fields, will be released on August 13, 2013.
A longtime New Orleans resident, Suzanne is a veteran journalist with more than fifty national awards in writing and editing nonfiction for higher education, including the Robert S. Sibley Award for the best university magazine in the U.S. and Canada, for the Rice University Sallyport.
Suzanne is an active member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and is a member of the Georgia, Southern Magic, and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapters of RWA.
