I did a character interview for one of the leads in Haunt of the Wilds (gay romance/adventure fantasy novel) yesterday, so it’s only fitting I do one for the second lead. It’s a coincidence that their names happen to land next to each other in the alphabet, but useful in this case. Haunt of the Wilds is on pre-order for only .99 right now.

De’vii – Character Interview

Eleven dogs—twelve if I count the houndmaster—sprawl across my office. Huge, beautiful creatures. Muscled. Intelligence shining from their eyes and their teeth baring dangerously whenever I shift too close to one or other of them.

“Protective, aren’t they?” I say to the houndmaster.

He shrugs, a feral grin spreading on his face. “Only natural. That’s Kat’s pup you keep almost hitting with your chair.”

“Oh!” I quickly readjust, moving away from the nearby smaller dog. I wouldn’t have called him a pup, but he was definitely still growing given the size of the others. Then I clear my throat and check my notebook. “So, De’vii…”

He scowls and points down by my feet where my boots have come quite close to the sole gray wolf among his pack. She growls but doesn’t move. I immediately tuck my feet under my chair and hold down a return glare, deciding not to mention the fact that I could barely breathe in my own office without almost touching one of his dogs.

“Right,” I say. “Why don’t you tell me about what makes your dogs special?”

De’vii snorts, then slouches on the bench seat, his hand absently rubbing the hound beside him. A salt and pepper dog with probably the gentlest disposition of them all. “You mean what makes them different than the puny creatures you live with?”

“I guess,” I hedge.

“For starters, they are smarter. More than most humanoids as well.” He laughs a little mockingly. “Though that’s not as hard as most think. And, of course, we can communicate within our combined consciousness, making us a perfect fighting unit.” He lifts his lip in a slight challenging snarl.

“I would imagine. From what I’ve heard, people—meaning other houndmasters—greatly prefer you on their side in a fight.” As De’vii’s grin returns, I add, “But they also balk when I ask whether they enjoy working with you. Why is that? I would have thought you’d have plenty of houndmasters wanting to work with you.”

De’vii releases a quiet growl, the sound echoed by his pack. “Because they’re biased cowards. Afraid I’ll go wild on them.”

“Would you?”

His response is nothing but a self-satisfied smirk. Continue reading →