Hello! And welcome to the weekend Amaranthine interviews where YOU ask the questions!

In honor of the new book, I’m going to give everyone else some time off and conduct these interviews myself. See what a good author I am?

Jo: Today we have Jorick on the chopping block – I mean in the hot seat. We have a LOT of questions for him, so I’m going to have to break this up into two interviews. What follows is part one, and is still long, so I will try to keep his answers brief. Truthfully, that shouldn’t be hard considering how uncooperative he is.

Jorick: I’d hardly call myself uncooperative. They just usually ask…uncomfortable questions.

Jo: They ask good questions. Anyway, let’s get to it. Matthew asks: Where and what year were you born in?

J: That’s easy enough. I was born in 1533 in the Netherlands.

Jo: Okay.  Steve asks: Where did you get that name? Couldn’t you change it?

J: My parents gave it to me. I could change it, I suppose. Many do change their names when they are turned – symbolic of their new life – but I saw no reason for it.

Jo: Amber asks: Jorick, have you, ever since you’ve been turned, thought about finding a cure? Or something to reverse vampirism (if possible)?

J: No, not at all. I won’t bother lying, I’m happy with immortality. I’m not interested in a mortal death – or any kind of death for that matter.

Jo: Despite all your crap about lost souls?

J: *shrugs* Nothing is free. Immortality comes with a price. I haven’t complained about it, simply stated it as a fact.

Jo: You’re being very zen today. All right, Jennifer asks: Do you like being a vampire? What do you like most and least about it?

J: Yes, I like it. I suppose living forever is one of the perks, though when I asked to be turned it wasn’t for the long life, rather the strength. It’s very…reassuring to know that I can handle anyone necessary. As for what I like the least, it would be the inconvenience of the sun. There are many times when I’ve needed to handle things in daylight hours, and a human has not always been available or practical as an emissary. I do envy the Twilight vampires in that regard.

Jo: Do you? You didn’t feel that way when I made you sparkle.

J: Very funny. I said in that one regard.

Jo: Juli asks: You’ve lived a long and interesting existence. Would you mind naming one of your most memorable historical events that you’ve had the pleasure of being witness to? Even if it wasn’t a personal observation, I’d still be interested in hearing your point of view.

J: Hmmmmm. What you would call the Eighty Years War would be the most memorable on a personal level, though I was only present until 1568, when I left with Malick…but I don’t think my author will allow me to discuss that, as I get quite…passionate is a polite word. The American Civil War is probably the most modern occurrence that effected me in any way, though by then Velnya and I had moved to the Nebraska territory. I was often on assignments and wanted to be sure she would not be left alone in a war zone, and Nebraska seemed a safe, if barren, place for her. I was wrong, of course. I did have some assignment in the south where I had run ins with the hostilities. Of modern affairs, World War I and World War II were little more than snatches on a radio to me, and that was when I bothered to listen. I did watch the moon landing – I was in the house in Maine by then and at the time I had a small television. Of course, the landing was broadcast in the daytime, so it meant rising early. I was a little disappointed, as it was nothing like the Jules Verne-style version I had imagined.

Jo: I’m going to stop you right there. Donna says: Why don’t you tell us more about your time in Virginia – not about Oren, not about Velnya, but all about you? Tell your author to write a short story on that.

Jorick guest stars in Oren and Jesslynn’s FREE origin story.

J: There’s not really much to tell. Malick was…overbearing to say the least and I was tired of being under his thumb, so in 1814 I moved farther away. I took the plantation from a man who did not deserve it, and to be truthful was gone much of the time on assignments. Eventually it became impossible to maintain the household so I surrendered and moved back to Massachusetts where The Guild was located at the time. As for my author and a short story, I think she suffers from political correctness syndrome. As I said I took the plantation; slaves and all. Though I treated them far better than their previous master, at the same time I did not free them, nor do I apologize for the fact. Vampires still have slaves; human slaves and immortal slaves. I don’t apologize for those, either. It is as it is. But, it makes my author uncomfortable, I think, just as she refused to point out that Arowenia was really Claudius’ half-sister. As for Claudius and Arowenia, I’m not sure that either of them were aware of it, but my author certainly is.

Jo: That’s enough from you. Shaun wants to know: Jorick whom is your most feared enemy?

J: I fear no one. *Rolls eyes as Jo glares at him* I don’t. I was…concerned slightly about facing Malick because he is my master, and there is a master/fledgling connection, but I did not fear him, rather that I would be weak and fail to exact my revenge.

Jo: So in the end your most feared enemy is not a who, but a what: Your own weakness. *Jorick glares and Jo snickers* Start telling people about what *I* think, will you? Onwards. Teresa asks: What is your favorite book and why?

J: A good question, though it’s hard to choose a single book. Sir Author Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories are excellent. Those books about the boy wizard -while the prose are not amazing, the stories were entertaining. Dickens is always good. Let’s see. John Grisham, James Fenimore Cooper, Hemmingway has his merits, Victor Hugo, Vladimir Nabokov, Byron. Shakespeare is classic, and of course there’s Poe, “It was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of Annabell Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me.”

Jo: Sherry asks: Can you really give up the Executioners?

J: Yes. I did so before, and I will be happy to do it again. Despite the assumption that I can’t “keep my nose out of things”, I most certainly can and, should I choose to get involved, I don’t need The Guild’s backing to do so.

Jorick gets a cameo in Alexander, a FREE short story.

Jo: You are a bit conceited, aren’t you? Steve asks: Would it be possible for you to play a few tricks or have a joke, or laugh uproariously at something? What tickles your funny bone apart from satisfaction at seeing Micah in the poo?

J: Seeing Micah – or the redheaded idiot, or any number of others – suffer would no doubt elicit a great deal of amusement. Beyond that, I find many things funny. Yogi bear, for instance, is amusing, as were some of the early television shows. Red Skelton, Lucile Ball – when she and Ethel work in the chocolate factory, for example. I enjoyed the banter on Star Trek, especially between Spock and the doctor. My television broke in the seventies, and since programming had gone south I didn’t bother having it repaired, so I don’t have any “more modern” examples…MAD magazine gave me a chuckle at one time, but like TV it has also lost its humor. It’s the world that has forgotten how to be funny rather than I who have lost my sense of humor.

Jo: Maegan wants to know: Jorick, what is the most fascinating thing about Katelina to you? What is the most annoying?

J: Her contradictions are probably the most intriguing. One moment she is blood thirsty, the next she screams about peace (which is a contradiction itself as peace cannot be achieved by screaming). In some things she is incredibly naive, while in other things she is worldly and wise. As for the most annoying…her contradictions. One minute going to war is the right response, and the next she’s angry that I killed someone… I think you understand.

Jo: Yes, you’re a lunatic. Moving on. Dawn asks: In book 2 when you tried to send Katelina home do you think you would have stayed away or would you have gone to check up on her?

J: *looks uncomfortable* I’d have respected her choice.

Jo: Liar. You’d have moped briefly, then gone roaring back to Ohio. You still had the apartment paid up, and you’d have moved back in. When you realized she didn’t live across the street anymore you’d have stalked her mother’s house, and eventually followed her home. You’d have then hung around her for awhile, moaning to yourself silently and playing the martyr until you got tired of that, then you’d have manned up, knocked on the door, and told her to grow up and pack her things.

J: Which of us are being interviewed?

Jo: At this point? No one because we’re going to end it here and pick this up next week.  I do have a couple of follow up questions for Samael and Verchiel that we’re going to throw in here.

Verchiel: Sounds fun! What do you have for me?

Jo: From Donna: How can you stand working with moody Jorick?

V: Hello, Donna! *looks at Jorick* Eh, he’s not too bad. He’s more bark than bite.

Jo: And also from Donna: admit it. You love Katelina.

J: That’s not a question!

V: *looks at Jorick* Technically he’s right, it’s a statement, but there’s no need to be picky about it. Sure. I love everyone. I’m a good guy like that.

Jo: Let’s just move on to Samael. Also from Donna:  Are you sorry you were awakened?

Samael: Greetings. As to the question, no. I have waited uncounted years for this moment and at last it is within my grasp.

Jo: I suspected that would be your answer. A final question, Steve asks: What do you do to humans who don’t get your name right? Especially what do you do after you suck their blood.

S: I have no care for them, or what they call me. A name means nothing; it is only so many sounds – a label so that feeble minds can comprehend the incomprehensible, for what is more incomprehensible than an individual, a living being? As to what I do once I have drained them, I dispose of the vessel if necessary. However it is not always necessary for me to empty a mortal, as older vampires need less blood as they age.

Jo: And I think that wraps us up for this week. Tune in next week for Jorick’s Interview Part 2, where the questions are even tougher!

J: Joy.

Jo: And of course, I can’t let him have the last word, so thanks for stopping in! In case you missed it, Book Born – the awesome facebook group – is hosting a day with Joleene Naylor this Thursday. Check out my blog post for all the details.

And don’t forget that you can get your copy of Masque of the Vampire, from all major outlets:

Smashwords |Paperback | Amazon |Kobo |  Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks |Kobo |

Did you miss some of the interviews? 

• Samael
• Katelina
• Katelina’s Bonus Follow-Up
• Verchiel