Welcome to Indigo
Vaughn the famous warlock head of security in Queen Lissabella’s Court
(The
warlock walks toward me and after a little bow, he sits on the chair opposite
mine.)
May I call you
Indigo? I know the custom in your world is to use a more formal address.
(Indigo
smiles.)
Yes,
of course. I know here people often greet each other with only one name.
Thank you for
agreeing to visit. I must say you’re a hard man to get hold of. It took weeks.
You must be very busy.
Ahh,
yes, I am busy. It is a busy time of year. The Queen’s birthday is next week
and I have much to prepare. Of course, I also live far away from here.
It’s summer where
you live.
We
are in high summer, but it never becomes very cold even in our other season.
Wet, but not cold as it does here in your part of this world.
I’ve recently read
the book, The Dreamboat. It’s a sizzling story. How do you feel about your …
personal life being available for anyone to read about?
(He
grins.)
That’s
the nature of being featured in a book. I agreed to have the story of Darian’s
and my meeting and falling in love told, so I can’t complain. I understand by
sizzling you mean our lovemaking is told in detail. On my world sex, and
lovemaking, isn’t seen as needing to be a hidden and unspoken of activity. We
don’t go around shouting about it but everyone accepts, in fact expects it to
be an important part of everyone’s life.
It’s intriguing to
meet someone who has magic. Were you born so?
Oh
yes. I’m descended from Elven peoples. In ancient times, my former world was
filled with magical people.
I’ll make the rest
of this interview fun if that’s okay with you?
I
don’t mind. I do have a playful side even though I might come across as fierce
and authoritarian in my role as head of royal security.
Before I move on to
some fun questions could I ask you if many people are afraid of you?
(He
laughs.)
I
probably instill fear in a few people, usually those who have done wrong, but
I’m not cruel even to the most unpleasant criminals. I think some fear me
because of my magic, because I take my work extremely seriously, and, though I
say it myself, I am highly competent and few if any perpetrators of felony
escape me.
You are an imposing
figure, so tall, muscular and well, frankly, beautiful.
(He
smiles at me, and yes he’s gorgeous. There’s no point in pretending otherwise.)
Do you think the
way you look has any bearing on how people regard you.
Regard
me? If you mean my being tall and muscled might add to peoples’ fear of me, if
indeed they do fear me? Maybe. I don’t know. As for being beautiful, thank you
for the compliment.
(My
turn to smile.)
Okay I’ll try to
make the rest of the questions fun.
If you were a
dessert, what would you be?
(Laughs)
A dessert … something sweet … we have a fruit pie in my world. It’s delicious.
I’d be that. Of course, the choice is easier because Darian loves that pie.
What do you do to
relax?
I
walk, usually with Darian, along the lake paths. We swim, too. Darian sings and
plays his guitar to me.
What do you look
for in a man?
I
don’t look. I’m absolutely in love with Darian. He’s my perfect man. He’s
described in the book if anyone wants details.
What is in your
refrigerator right now?
Right
now … I don’t know. (Shakes his head.) That’s a question for Milan, my
wonderful assistant.
What’s on your
bedroom floor?
A
blue and gold patterned rug. I bought it in the East of my world. It’s
beautiful and in an ancient traditional pattern handed down through generations
of the Eastern people.
What do you wear in
bed?
Nothing.
What’s your biggest
fear?
Oh,
well, I have to think about that for a second. Not that I take him for granted, I doubt it would happen, but
losing Darian’s love. It would break my heart.
What is your most
treasured possession?
Darian
is not my possession but I treasure him. I treasure my assistant, Milan. He’s
not a possession, either. What material thing do I treasure? (He frowns.)
You
know, I don’t take my wealth for granted, nor my magic, but material things,
possessions, I can replace, buy, even conjure, so I don’t think in terms of
possessions. I treasure other ‘things.’ My Queen, my world, nature around me…
(He looks at me.)
I understand.
Indigo, what
clothes do you like to wear?
I
prefer dark clothes and of course, I do have to wear some items of uniform as I
belong to the Queen’s security service.
What do you like to
see Darian dressed in?
Anything
he likes, (his piercing blue eyes mist a little) although I do like him in a
particular shirt he wore when I first set eyes on him. It shows off his
muscular chest, but also, it reminds me how lucky I am to have met him. It
always makes me smile to see him in that shirt.
Do you have a
favorite piece of music?
Darian
wrote a song for me when he thought he’d lost my love. He hadn’t, but he’d done
something he regretted and thought I wouldn’t want to see him anymore. The song
is wonderful. He sang it at court and everyone was captivated by it.
Tell the readers
something you’ve never told anyone before.
(Frowns)
You
mean a secret. I have many because of my work as a warlock and as head of security.
I can’t tell any in case it puts someone in danger. (Takes a deep breath) I
have nothing for you, not a thing.
I know you feature
in another story about Queen Lissabella’s court and your world. Can you tell us
a little about that story?
I
make a few appearances in my capacity as head of security. I could
inadvertently gave away too much of the plot so I can’t say much more than it’s
another love story, but also a mystery, a suspense. I can safely tell you the
title, which is String of Pearls.
Thank you for being
here. Will you choose an excerpt from The Dreamboat for our readers before you
go?
I
will. I’d like it to feature Darian. He’s been through a lot in his life and
those experiences are what led him to believe I wouldn’t want him. I’ll leave you
with a passage that shows his turmoil when he’s discovered how wealthy I am.
Goodbye then,
Indigo, safe journey home.
Thank
you, good day.
(He
stands, gives a little bow and strides out of the room.)
Read the blurb for The Dreamboat
Gorgeous,
powerful warlock, Indigo Vaughn, sells his magic spells to people looking to
make a dream come true. One night, as he gazes down on the city below from his
sky barge, The Dreamboat, he wonders why, in centuries, his own wish for a man
to love hasn’t materialized.
Beautiful,
sexy, Darian O’Harr has suffered his fair share of misery. He’s a musician and
learned long ago to sing for his supper. New to the city, he comes to Indigo
seeking a spell that will bring him the love of a handsome man.
As
soon as he sets eyes on Indigo, his heart races and his body betrays his pent
up needs.
Here
is the man of his dreams. What can
Darian do as the warlock gathers his magic to cast a spell that will bring him
another man?
Read the excerpt Indigo choose
Darian waited until Milan couldn’t
see him from the skeeter, and then he circled the grounds and took the back
gate to the path that would lead him away from the royal quarter of the city.
He sped home, walking at a pace, his cloak wrapped around him, and all the time
his thoughts spun. When Indigo had asked to see him again soon, he’d somehow
invited his lover, his love, to visit
his home. Darian didn’t know if he’d extended the invitation so that if Indigo
was going to leave him because he was poor, it would happen fast and save him
severe heartbreak, or if he hoped Indigo would accept his poverty, and his
anxiety would diminish leaving him free to love Indigo. I’ve fallen in love with him. I never saw it coming. I wonder if he
did? If he loves me, that is…
Darian passed one of the better
apartment buildings. Less ancient and better kept than the one he currently
lived in, the turrets gleamed lilac in the sun and willow trees draped over low
white walls surrounding the building. Huge pots of jasmine stood at the bottom
of the stoop. The sign he’d noticed a few days previously still hung from the
wide pillared porch. ‘Apartment vacant, apply within.’
He paused. It can’t hurt to look. He walked up the path. The rich scent of
jasmine wafted over him. He rang the bell.
The concierge showed him the
apartment. It had a long balcony overlooking a bend in the stream that wound
past the castle and fed the half-moat. Wild roses blossomed on the bank. The
morning breeze played with pale pink petals, lifting them and scattering them
gently into the sparkling water.
Darian fell in love with the
apartment. It was clean and bright with light from long windows. The pale
floors of polished wood added to the charm. It sat close to the border
delineating the royal quarter so would only take him minutes to walk to work.
“Yes, I’ll take it.” Surprise widened
his eyes as he heard the words falling from his mouth.
“Two moons’ rent up front is required
before you move anything in—one for the rent, one for security. You’ll need to
sign a contract. Any nonsense, noise, bawdy behavior, litter, damage, and
you’re out. I don’t give warnings. I don’t give back the security money.”
Darian cringed under the suspicious
gaze of the concierge. He’d expected a less alarming transaction. He only paid
weekly for the place he currently lived in. The landlord there was kinder in
manner. He thought about the invitation he’d given to Indigo. How wonderful it
would be to meet Indigo at the castle and bring him here instead of to his
dusty little rooms in the poor area of the city. “I need to bring the money
later today after I’ve collected payment for my work.”
The concierge smirked. “Work at
Temptations do ya, pretty boy?”
Darian recoiled and shook his head.
“I do not. Not that anyone who does
is … is inferior. I’m a musician.”
“Right then, if you’re not back with
payment by fifteen hundred hours the place goes to the next applicant.”
Darian nodded and backed away. He
left the building. By the time he arrived at his current dwelling he wondered
how he could amass two moons’ rent in so little time. The sum amounted to an
entire wage period. He made coffee and gazed from his pitted window at the
people passing on the boardwalk that raised them from the unmade dirt track.
People in this area still used ground transport and a vehicle sped by kicking
up a cloud of dust and small gravel.
Darian had showered in the sky barge.
Indigo had left him alone so that they didn’t fall on each other and have sex,
which they’d enjoyed all night, but would have been unable to resist again,
naked and close to each other in the cascade of water. He pictured his lover
laughing and his heart contracted with emotion. I must rent that apartment. I can’t bring Indigo here. I wonder if the
treasurer would pay me wages in advance. I’ll ask. The queen expected him
at the castle by noon to sing and play as she entertained guests for lunch.
Darian possessed only three sets of
clothes and he put on the last clean shirt from his armoire. He gathered the
items that needed cleaning—two shirts and a pair of pants along with two pairs
of undergarments and a cotton jacket. He stuffed them in the blue canvas bag to
drop them to the laundry at the end of the street. The woman there was good at
her job and inexpensive. A deci-coin would buy her services. He took one from
the tiny pouch of money secreted in the inside pocket of his cloak and slid it
into his pants pocket so that he could pay without showing he had other coin.
It was a trick he’d learned as a young man living on the streets of the
neighboring world’s capital.
Darian rushed to the castle early. He
sought out the treasurer and pled his case for advance wages. The keeper of
monies laughed at him. Darian slunk away. He went to the cavernous room where
the musicians practiced, rehearsed, and wrote new material. The dance troupe
filled the room with choreography, spinning, diving, and jumping, in readiness
to entertain the queen that evening.
The viola player came to him as he
stood at the door.
“Queen Lissabella is using the
southern long-room for lunch today. Since you’re new here I’ll take you.”
Darian needed a lute that day. He
still smarted from the treasurer’s laughter and denial of an advance on his
wages. He shook his head at the viola player. “I know where it is. I need to
collect instruments from the storage chamber,” he lied, wanting time alone.
The other musician shrugged and left
him.
Darian edged around the dancers. He checked his guitar in its
ornate leather case. I wonder if this
would fetch much at the pawnbrokers. Then he put it back on the shelf where
it was safer than in his apartment. He took a castle lute from the stand and
wandered out to the corridors.
Copyright E. D. Parr, Evernight Publishing
Read the blurb for String of Pearls.
Handsome, elite space pilot, Tobias Mars is completing a special
mission, when on a water planet, recently ravaged by space pirates, he
discovers Dreft Hann hiding and injured in the sand dunes.
There’s instant attraction between the two men, but honorable
Tobias believes the fact Dreft is in his care precludes him from showing his
growing love for the young man. What’s worse is his shocking discovery of
Dreft’s real identity. Even so, Tobias can’t deny his feelings for Dreft.
When head of royal security, powerful warlock, Indigo Vaughn
discovers Dreft’s secret, he anticipates trouble.
As beautiful Dreft falls in love with Tobias and dreams of
joining the elite pilot squad, trouble is brewing from someone in Dreft’s past.
Will love finally win with so many obstacles in Tobias and
Dreft’s path?
BUY
links for both books
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/the-dreamboat-by-e-d-parr/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077TB36FS
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077TB36FS
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B077TB36FS
https://www.bookstrand.com/the-dreamboat-mm
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dreamboat-e-d-parr/1127562856
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-dreamboat
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/762797
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/string-of-pearls-by-e-d-parr/
https://www.bookstrand.com/string-of-pearls-mm
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/string-of-pearls-e-d-parr/1129854008
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/906343
All Amazon
sites http://mybook.to/StringofPearls
Available
on KOBO
As an added bonus, read a deleted scene from String of
Pearls
Tobias Mars
glanced across at his co-pilot, Dante Pepper with a grin. “Hey, look at it this
way, it might be a nuisance, but on the way something great might happen.”
“Such as?”
Dante frowned as he set the craft on course for Garrus.C
“Well as we
touch down on each planet we’re greeted with gorgeous guys offering
refreshments.” Tobias laughed aloud as the craft soared into the sky.
A derisive
grunt escaped Dante. “Viridian Kaa is the only gorgeous guy I want greeting
me.”
“You’re
lucky to have found love, Dante. I’m glad for you.” The craft shot into the
stars and Tobias engaged the autopilot. “At least we only have to planet hop on
the way back with the package. Why so much subterfuge is my question?”
Dante’s
voice dropped to a whisper. “The royal prince is afraid of assassins.”
An early morning mist shrouded Garrus as they landed and took their passenger on board their craft. The prince, fondly known by the pilots as, the package, in keeping with the subterfuge surrounding the journey home, settled into his quarters.
Copyright E. D. Parr.
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