Characterfest interview #10 with Phaeton by Jillian Stone

Please welcome Phaeton with Jillian Stone 

Jillian Stone

Bitten by Paranormal Romance Characterfest

The Seduction of Phaeton Black

The Moonstone and Miss Jones

Title: Interview with an Antihero: Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator

Jillian: You are the most misunderstood character I have ever written. Why is that?

Phaeton: I suspect it’s because you wrote me in the fine tradition of the Byronic hero. To quote Lord Macaulay, he is a “man proud, moody, cynical, with defiance on his brow, and misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet...” Phaeton adds with a wink, “capable of deep and strong affection."

Jillian: May I finish the thought in Byron’s own words? “That man of loneliness and mystery, scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh.” I also gave you a strange profession, paranormal investigator––care to elaborate?

Phaeton: One might say it is my only other area of expertise after absinthe and lovemaking. A dubious sort of skill foisted upon me from birth. I am able to communicate with gorgons and goddesses, wraiths and demons, succubae and seraphim, bloodsuckers, shape shifters. I could go on...

Jillian: Why is it, do you think, that I didn’t give you special powers to battle these creatures?

Phaeton: I am a man who lives more by his wits than his brawn. I have found that one can negotiate with the darker creatures of the underworld as effectively as one can say...do business with a corporate raider. Recently, after receiving instruction from Doctor Exeter, I have learned to manipulate physical universe using potent aether, but I still rely heavily on my ability to communicate with darker side.

Jillian: In order to write a love story for you, I tossed a rather unique young woman at Phaeton Black––how are you holding up?

Phaeton: Ah yes, Miss America Jones. Enchanting, young Cajun beauty. You introduced us under rather unique circumstances. I was chasing an apparition down a dark alley off Savoy Row, and she was on the run from the filthy, thieving pirates. As I recall, she pressed a knife to my throat and demanded sex...I did my best to accommodate her.

Jillian: A rather shocking experience, wouldn’t you say?

Phaeton: Some readers do seem to be rather shocked by it. I found it to be most stimulating, as did Miss Jones, by the way. What continues to astonish me is how we find ways to arouse each other in the next two novels of the series, as well.

Jillian: You have quite a reputation as a lover. How did you become such a master of the amorous arts?

Phaeton: It’s simple, really––giving pleasure to women arouses me nearly as much as receiving it. When a woman is arching her back, writhing and moaning my arms––let’s just say I respond readily to such sweet messages.

Jillian: There are essentially three plots interwoven into The Seduction of Phaeton Black. There is a blood sucking Egyptian goddess wreaking havoc all over London. Then there is the added task of getting America’s stolen merchant ships returned to her––as well as the love story. Do you have a favorite part of the novel?

Phaeton: Besides the love scenes, I’d have to say I liked the mystery of tracking down Qadesh, the Egyptian goddess, a good deal better than being captured and keel hauled by pirates. As the reader, you can to decide for yourself, of course. This first novel in the series is quite a romantic adventure––at least it was for me, but then I play Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator.

Jillian: Without giving too much away, what can you tell me about The Moonstone and Miss Jones, which released the end of September.

Phaeton: As I see it, The Seduction of Phaeton Black as a prequel to The Moonstone and Miss Jones. The second installment is a tale of two Londons. One is the dark, and often dreary city of 1889, and the other is an alternate London––that is perhaps our future. Many new characters are introduced and the plot launches us all into a search for the Moonstone. Alarming attacks by strange creatures plague 1889 London, and alternate London is, well, there's no other way to explain it, but things appear to be unraveling. With help from the Nightshades, Miss Jones and I venture into alternate London to extract the Moonstone and close the rabbit hole between both worlds. Plot-wise, this is all I will reveal, but suffice it to say, Miss Jones and I have issues to work out, as well as you, the reader, have new characters to get to know––and dare I say, the story continues well beyond The Moonstone and Miss Jones...

Jillian: I’d like to thank Bitten by Paranormal Romance for inviting Phaeton and I to Characterfest! And I invite you all to join Phaeton and America for a couple of fantastical, supernatural romps. By the way, Phaeton has a giveaway and a question for commenters: signed copies of both The Seduction of Phaeton Black and The Moonstone and Miss Jones to one lucky commenter!

Phaeton: I can only imagine the lovely blush this will cause, but I can’t resist: Besides the bedchamber, name a memorable trysting spot from a favorite romance novel.

Brief Author Bio:

Jillian Stone is the author of The Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator series, which includes The Seduction of Phaeton Black, and the just released, The Moonstone and Miss Jones. The third sequel, The Miss Education of Doctor Exeter, is scheduled to release in July of 2013. Jillian is also the author of The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series. Watch for A Private Duel with Agent Gunn in late November!