Interview With Joshua, Star Of Underworld Lover

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In all my experience with interviewing character stars, I've never had one that made me blush, fluster, or be tempted as much as the interview I'm sharing today.  Sharon Hamilton agreed to let me visit with Joshua, star of her erotic novel, Underworld Lover.  I'll give you a little warning.  At times the topic might not be suited for those who are under 18.  But, I sure enjoyed the visit. *blushes*  Here's to an interview with a Dark Angel.

Charlene rushes to answer her cell phone and her daughter’s voice chimes over the receiver.

Daughter:  Mom, I’m about to leave school but wanted to know if Mary can stay the night? 

Charlene:  Tonight? No!

Daughter:  Okay! Okay.  I was just asking.  Why are you so testy?

Charlene:  Oh, I’m sorry.  Maybe she can stay next Friday night.  I have an interview lined up and I’m not sure how long it will take.

Daughter:  Cool!  Do I get to meet this one?  Please?  I’ll be home in just a few. 

Charlene:  Absolutely not!  In fact, stay after school.  Practice in the band hall.  Practice basketball in the gym.  Stop at Walmart and get those jeans you wanted.  Anything.

Daughter:  Wow.  I get it.  Stay away.  You know you did promise I’d get to sit in on one of these sometime.

Charlene:  Well…  *Peeks out the curtains and sees Joshua heading up the walkway*  I can’t let you meet this one.  Trust me.  *Rushes to the door*  Now, go have fun.  Use the emergency credit card I gave you.  Heck, take Mary and go to Better Burgers and see a movie.  My treat.  Just stay away from the house at all cost.

Daughter:  *Voice slow with shock*  Wooow, Mom.  Is this character that bad?

Charlene:  You have no idea.  *Hangs up as she swings the door wide*  Joshua, thank you so much for coming by!  Come in, come in.  *Nervously fumbles the latch until he steps past her into the living room* 

Joshua:  *Glances at her with a grin*

Charlene:  *Warmth rushes her and she instantly relaxes*  Can I get you anything to drink?  *heads to the cordial cabinet*

Joshua:  I’m partial to Meritage 1998 by Ravenswood Cellars.  A perfect blend of 3 great wines, perfect for an evening with Helena and another one of her pleasure partners.

Charlene:  Helena, huh?  Well, I’m afraid you won’t get her brothel’s services here.  I must say,  *chuckles*  If my mother saw me right now…entertaining the devil or  * leans her head*  dark angel.  *glances over her shoulder*  Playing with fire.  *winks*  Flirting with danger…

Joshua:  Ah!  But how would you ever know if you liked it unless you tried it?  I gave Audray the same choice I give any beautiful woman:  be young and vibrant for the rest of your life, or suffer the rigors of aging (as in everything sagging), the pain, the wrinkles.  How would you like to look like 25 forever?  Unlimited sex?  Unlimited power and pleasure?  Earth is treacherous.  Heaven is downright boring.  Or, at least that’s what I thought when I began this journey.

Charlene:  Right, Audray.  She’s really something.  I’m not surprised she took you up on your offer, considering.  Ahem.  *hands him his Meritage and settles in a chair across from him*   Tell, me.  What actually are a Dark Angel’s duties?

Joshua:  Our job is to cull the human population for people who are miserable and want an end to their suffering.  We help them make this choice, which, in my opinion, is the right choice.  The Underworld is a society of live and let live, at least until that cretin, Peter, came to power in Underworld Lover.  You see, we don’t have a true devil (although I’m very flattered you thought me so evil).  As the new Director of the Underworld, Peter thought he could change us into the fierce, fire and brimstone type of place.  My goals were to indulge in every imaginable pleasure for ever after.  Peter thought he could control, bridle me into submission.

Charlene:  Do you feel any remorse at all, preparing souls to take that step to the Underworld? 

Joshua:  Not at all.  I deliver them to their true potential.  Very few have regretted their decision.  In Heavenly Lover, I looked to bring Daniel to the Underworld so we could cut a swath throughout the female population of dark angels.  His love for his Guardian is what made him change his mind, sadly.

Charlene:  I guess it goes without saying I’ve never been to the Underworld.  What’s it really like there?  You said Peter wanted to change the place.  Aren’t there fire pits and burning souls?   Imps with pitchforks?  Does the big man, the Devil, really have horns?  Lol.  I want to know it all.

Joshua:  My dear, we are way more civilized now.  In ancient times, perhaps they succumbed to these pagan rituals, painting their bodies and wearing horns.  But now, we drink RedEx, or Sexual Apricot, have erections that last a week, and, well, love our troubles away.  No need for pain and burning, when the burning of the flesh from desire within is available to us.

Charlene:  I understand in Underworld Lover you meet someone that has you changing how you view things.  *leans forward with a smile*  Tell us about her.

Joshua:  *sighs*  Melanie.  Didn’t see that one coming.  At first I thought I could claim her, take her soul, but then things happened, and, well, I don’t want to spoil it for your readers, but our love turned into something else, and in the end, all I wanted to do was protect her from becoming the concubine of the Director of the Underworld.

Charlene:  Why is she so special?  You’re not the only one that has noticed her.

Joshua:  So true.  But Peter only wanted her for her body.  I wanted her soul, but in the end, I wanted to protect her.

Charlene:  Why is the Director so set on having her?

Joshua:  Partly to torment me.  Partly so he could defile something pure and beautiful.  Melanie is all those things.  She gave herself to me willingly, before she knew who I was.  She loved me as a man I was not.

Charlene:  Please don’t take this wrong but with all his power and resources, how do you expect to best him?   I mean, I know you’re a powerful Dark Angel and only failed to deliver once…  *cringes as she realizes that was probably the wrong thing to bring up*

Joshua:  Yes, bested by one of those bright, shining Guardian Angels, a young waif half my size with that annoying capability to be happy all the time like chirping little birds.  This is indeed a sore subject for me.  I try to claim her in Heavenly Lover. In Underworld Lover we bury some of our past.  But I’ll say no more!

As far as besting Peter.  He has a flaw the size of himself.  His ego.  And he’s mad, truly mad.  He comes from a long line of mentally challenged men and women, who are all blinded by their own reflection in the mirror, as we will see in Book 3 coming this summer.

Charlene:  That's right, Underworld Queen.  I can't wait.  I just love these books.  And I never thought I’d be sitting in my living room having drinks and enjoying an interview with a Dark Angel.  Do stay for dinner.  *a coy smile angles her lips*  You can say grace.

Joshua:  Bless her blushing cheeks, the rosey lips she sips the Meritage in tandem with me.  May my breath bring her erotic dreams of soft beds and silken sheets and a pleasure she has never known before.  Amen, my dear.  Shall we eat?

Charlene:  Oh my word!  *Blushes deep red*  Not what I expected.  *Gulps the Meritage and chokes a little*  I, um…  *Clears throat*  I only wanted you to try real hard to say “I pray” so the readers could see you can’t actually say the word.  But…  Um…  Right.

Joshua:  Ah, yes. This is an interview, after all. I was hoping for a little….nevermind. Perhaps next time.

Charlene:  One more question.  Of all the things in Underworld Lover, what would you tell the reader is the most unexpected?  Something even you were surprised at.  *leans her head to him*  Without giving away too much, that is.

Joshua:  I was surprised that I even could consider giving up my station in the Underworld for the love of a mortal woman.  But I was even more surprised as I learned who would be taking Peter’s place.

Charlene:  Oh, yes.  I agree.  And I loved the conclusion.  Sharon did a wonderful job with your story. *Stands, setting her drink on the coffee table*  Thank you so much for being with me today, Joshua.  Before you leave, could I talk you into sharing an excerpt from Underworld Lover?

Joshua:  Absolutely any time, my dear.  The pleasure was indeed all mine.  Thanks for the wine.  I’ll take my goodbye kiss now….

Charlene:  *Unconsciously leans toward him before she catches herself.  Heat rushes her cheeks and she quickly opens the door*

Joshua:  *Smiles with a knowing gleam in his eye and turns to leave*

Charlene:  *Locks the latch and wilts against the door*  Whew.  I should have listened to my mother. 

Underworld Lover

blurb

Joshua Brandon, a legendary and powerful rogue dark angel, meets a human woman whose soul he cannot take, and finds something he has not experienced before: love. At the same time, a new director comes to power in the Underworld, who asks for a test of Josh's loyalty by delivering this very woman to him.

Melanie Worthington is back among the living, after reeling from the suicide of a close friend. She has no idea she is to become the pawn between two powerful dark angels, one who would command her as his personal concubine, and the other who would set her free.

Will their love survive the battle between the two dark angels, or will Joshua risk his own immortal life to protect the woman he loves?

Excerpt

Across the parking lot, the band of three dark angels gathered close, watching Melanie open the shop. Josh had been focusing on Felix’s face. Tears were streaming down his pink cheeks, a lost puppy dog look in his eyes. Josh knew if he ever needed a huge favor from Felix—something so risky it could mean elimination from the universe—as long as he offered up this little shop girl, Felix would brave whatever Peter and his Underworld allies could dish up. That was something extremely important to know. Josh knew everyone had a price, and it wasn’t usually about money.

Josh knew there were some things anyone would willingly die for. Unlike some of his more ruthless angel friends, he did not see it as a flaw in the DNA, a secret code Father had sewn into everything he created to ensure life would go on or that hope was never entirely eliminated. Hope was something humans felt. Dark angels focused on reality. It was simply the underlying rule. It was smart to know all the rules, big and small, in order to operate as unfettered as possible. He didn’t have to agree with them all. But he damn well needed to know them. The mistake wasn’t in breaking the rules; it was not knowing you were breaking them and what the consequences were.

There’s no right or wrong, just consequences. Always consequences to consider.

Melanie had ducked inside, not giving Josh the chance to see her face, but he saw her blond hair, pulled in a long French braid that cascaded down her back. She wore jeans and a blue, long sleeved T-shirt.

“You can’t talk to her,” Josh said to Felix, who was fixated on the front door. The younger dark angel’s breathing was strong and ragged. His hands were fluttering at the sides of his pants. “I’ll go,” Josh continued.

“Will you tell her I’m okay, that I still love her?” Felix finally looked at his mentor head on.

“But you’re not okay, Felix. You’re dead. Remember? They buried you.”

“No they didn’t, boss.” Karl inserted.  “He came to us before that. They buried a box with a couple of bags of sand.” Karl was, as usual, trying to be helpful, but he pissed Josh off anyway.

“Karl, how many days since you’ve witnessed a vaporization?”

“Please, no. I’m so sorry, sir.”

“You’ll be sorrier as you and your black soul melt in the fires of the Underworld. Shut the fuck up.”

Josh turned back to Felix. “As much as I would like to, I can’t tell her about you. Not unless you want to jeopardize her soul. Do you want me to set it up so you negotiate that with her? I can train you to do it, man.”

“No.”

“I can fix it, make it so you sit down and reason with her just like Karl demonstrated earlier.”

“No!”

“Don’t you want just a taste?”

“No.”

“Try it. You might like it.”

“Fuck no. I want her to live!”

A woman stopped at the traffic light turned and scowled.

Josh continued, “You want her little body? I know you do, Felix.”

“Yeah, but not in that way. I want her alive, not dead.”

“Sorry, man, it doesn’t work that way. But, if you claim her, she can live with you forever.”

“Yeah? Well, I think she’d hate me forever.”

Cars traveled in front of them, bifurcating the distance to the shop.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Well then, you could introduce her to Peter. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Shut up. I don’t want her to have anything to do with that guy.”

“Those are good instincts, man,” Josh said. “So, I’m being generous when I tell you I will give her a little warning, something to arm her in case Peter comes calling.” Josh waited to see if Felix would react. “You sure you don’t want to sponsor her, make her yours?”

“Absolutely not.” Felix shook his head.

Josh was pleased. He knew where Felix’s line was and he finally knew how far he could push him. It made him wonder, for just a second, where his own line was. Over the three centuries he’d lived as a dark angel he had been able to find out everyone else’s, but never his own. Part of him thought maybe he didn’t have one after all.

Is there anything I wouldn’t do for a price? He turned his attention back to Karl.

“If this kid gets any ideas, you have my permission to haul him off and summon someone to help you bring him back home, where I’ll give him a lesson of the permanent kind. But Karl, don’t test me, you understand?”

“Crystal clear, sir.” Karl was standing to attention like he’d been entrusted with the keys to the universe, with the heart of a warrior, not an ex-garbage man.

Josh then walked briskly across the street, dodging traffic, toward the gated opening. Music was playing in the background, laced with birdcalls. Colorful birdhouses of various shapes were affixed to poles grounded in large earth-filled pots.

Homes and castles for the fine-feathered things I hate. Josh saw them as nuisances and impediments to his late morning sleep. He didn’t think it was natural anything could be that happy all the time.

Pots of large showy pink and purple hydrangeas along with lemon bushes overloaded with deep yellow fruit and fragrant white blossoms formed the next line in front of the birdhouses. On the floor, tucked away randomly, were shallow pots filled with blooming spring flowers in all the colors possible. Josh’s nose itched. 

He hadn’t seen so much blooming color since his last trip to the Farmer’s Market to visit his friend Simon, the electric cellist who liked to play his sad music and pick up girls.

She’d probably like one of Simon’s CDs. He made a point to get one to her right away. Embedded in the music was a very subtle NLP message a human could not hear except subconsciously; praying for sex, praying for death.

Josh walked through the entrance and was assaulted with a big bouquet of red roses that was moving so fast he was unable to stop before impact. Immediately he felt the crush of the delicious red flora. They emitted their syrupy sweetness through petals that fell on the shoulders and blond head of a beautiful young woman with light pink skin. She looked up at his face, hers registering shock. Her eyes were wide and deep blue as the sky. He was drowning—his heart stopped for a second. The scent of thyme herbal hand cream, fresh lemon soap, and lip-gloss infused with a cherry flavor filled his nostrils. He knew that if he willed her, he could make her stand in front of him, raise her chin, part her lips for him, and beg he claim her.

And, as gratifying as it would be, he didn’t want to make her do it. At last, he shared something in common with Felix.

He wanted to keep her from being captured.

Get your copy of Underworld Lover HERE.



Check out all of Sharon's books:
Heavenly Lover
Underworld Lover
Honeymoon Bite   

About the author:

Sharon Hamilton loves all things paranormal: angels, dark angels, Watchers, Guardians, Upogenie and vampires. She also has developed a series of erotic Navy SEAL stories. Her characters follow a spicy road to redemption through passion and true love—n ot exactly what they taught you in Sunday School!  

She lives in Sonoma County, California with her husband, sixty chickens and two Dobermans, and has been a lifelong organic gardener. When she’s not writing, she’s collecting blue and green eggs and getting vera vera dirty in the mud.

Meet Sharon around the web:
Sharon's Blog
Sharon's Website
Facebook

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Until next time, may your dreams be magical.  
      Charlene