Interview with Ethan Taylor, male protagonist from Past Sins, available now from Amazon.
Me: Welcome, Ethan. Thank you so much for coming out of your usual habitat to join me today.
Ethan: No thanks needed. Happy to do this.
Me: I must say, you are a rather scrumptious looking fellow.
Ethan: Excuse me?
Me: (coughing) Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud.
Ethan: (dark eyebrow arching) Uh-huh.
Me: Seriously.
Ethan: Right.
Me: So, uh, let’s start with you telling us what you do for a living. You get to do something I’m sure I’d really enjoy.
Ethan: Restoring old houses? Really? You’d like to do that?
Me: What? Don’t you think I could handle that sort of work?
Ethan: I’m not saying that… I wouldn’t dare.
Me: So, getting back to the point, you go into older homes, historic homes, and restore them to their former glory.
Ethan: That’s the plan, but sometimes alterations need to be made, to modernize, or because damage is too severe.
Me: I assume you have a liking for history, too.
Ethan: I have to, or I don’t think I’d ever really get it quite right. But yes, history is my thing. You can almost feel the past when you’re in those houses. It’s—
Me: And when you’re in those houses, have you ever seen anything, you know, odd?
Ethan: (quiet for a moment) I’m not sure what you mean.
Me: I’ll be blunt. Are they ever haunted?
Ethan: I’d rather not comment on things that ‘go bump in the night’. Are you saying you believe in ghosts?
Me: Sure. Don’t you?
Ethan: I’ve never seen definitive proof, so…
Me: Haven’t you?
Ethan: No.
Me: Not even—(at the expression in his eyes, I stop, realizing I’ve dragged him out of the story for the interview before the events I wish to discuss). Ethan, I think we’re going to have to reschedule for, say, a few weeks out?
Ethan: (disconcerted by the abrupt dismissal) If you’d like, sure.
Me: We’re going to have a lot more to discuss at that time, I assure you. I’ll see you soon, okay?
As he exits, returning to the point in the story from which he was extricated, I almost feel sorry I’ve sent him back. But, of course, not sorry enough to change what’s coming.
