ZACH: Just what I was thinking.
SHELDON: What was? That I need to ask you more questions?
ZACH: I enjoyed it as well.
SHELDON: You aren’t listening to a thing I’m saying, are you? Enjoyed what? The interview? Wait. Are you talking to me? Or are you two doing the telepathic thing? You aren’t feeling each other up mentally, are you?
LISETTE: Goodbye, Sheldon.
SHELDON: [mutters as he rises] And you think my sex stuff is freaky. [louder] Just don’t get naked until I’m out the door.
October 2016
Rendezvous with Yesterday Blog Tour
As with the character interviews from my A Sorceress of His Own Blog Tour, I opted to include this one because Marcus is a teenaged squire in Rendezvous with Yesterday.
SHELDON: Hey, man. I know you’re busy, so thank you for taking the time to do another interview.
MARCUS: Of course. Although I admit I’m a bit puzzled. We’ve already done a few of these to make the humans who work for us at the network feel more at ease around us. Did the other interviews not help?
SHELDON: They helped a lot actually. But recent incidents at the network… How should I put this…?
MARCUS: Scared the hell out of the mortals?
SHELDON: Yeah. Pretty much.
MARCUS: I can understand that. Especially since they suffered some losses.
SHELDON: Exactly. So we’re starting the interviews up again. And Marcus, when it comes to Immortal Guardians that fascinate the mortal employees the most, Seth is first on the list, but you are a very close second.
MARCUS: [beleaguered sigh] Gee, I wonder why.
SHELDON: [laughs] Dude. You have to admit your background is pretty unusual. And I’m not talking about the whole immortal thing. I’m talking about—
MARCUS: Bethany.
SHELDON: Yes.
MARCUS: I don’t know why everyone feels they need to pry into my past so often.
SHELDON: Come on, man. She traveled through time! You actually met a woman eight hundred years ago who was from this century. What was that like?
MARCUS: [smiles] Well, if I were to borrow one of your phrases, I would say it kicked ass.
SHELDON: [laughs] I’ll bet it did. You were still mortal when you met her, weren’t you?
MARCUS: Yes. It was the year 1203, I believe. And I was squiring for Lord Robert, the Earl of Fosterly.
SHELDON: According to rumor, you loved Robert like a brother.
MARCUS: I did indeed. He was an honorable man through and through. A fierce fighter who could only be bested by his older brother, Dillon. And a bit of a forward thinker for a man of his time. But then, his brother Dillon was as well thanks to his longtime association with gifted ones.
SHELDON: Okay, for the newbies at the network, would you explain what a gifted one is?
MARCUS: Of course. Gifted ones are men and women who were born with advanced DNA that lends them special talents or abilities that ordinary humans lack, such as telepathy, telekinesis, the ability to heal with one’s hands, and the like.
SHELDON: You were a gifted one before you became immortal. What gift were you born with?
MARCUS: The ability to see ghosts.
SHELDON: That is so freaking creepy.
MARCUS: Yes, it is.
SHELDON: Did Robert know?
MARCUS: No. Like many gifted ones of that era, I hid my gift.
SHELDON: Even from Bethany?
MARCUS: Even from Bethany.
SHELDON: So how did you meet her?
MARCUS: A mysterious enemy had been plaguing Robert’s lands with violence. Robert left one day to consult a neighboring nobleman, and when he returned a few days later, Beth was with him.
SHELDON: What was she like?
MARCUS: She fascinated me. She was small but strong. Brave. Fierce. As fierce a fighter as Robert. [grins] She was funny, too. So full of mischief. Sparking laughter as often as she could.
SHELDON: Did she have a hard time adjusting and adhering to the tighter social strictures of the time?
MARCUS: [laughs] What makes you think she adhered to them?
SHELDON: [grins] You didn’t think she was odd?
MARCUS: Well, her speech was certainly odd. I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but the English language has changed a great deal since the early thirteenth century. Middle English would no doubt sound to you like a foreign language. But as for her other oddities… I rather liked that she was different. I was different myself, so I believe I saw her as something of a kindred spirit.
SHELDON: [arches a brow] A rather bold kindred spirit?
MARCUS: [laughs again] Yes, but Robert loved that about her.
SHELDON: What a bizarre pairing.
MARCUS: Yes, it was. One would think a medieval nobleman and a twenty-first-century bounty hunter would find no common ground. But they fell hard for each other. No one else would have made them as happy as they were together.
SHELDON: Well, I know time is tight, so I’ll wait till our next interview to ask you how Bethany went back in time.
MARCUS: [shakes his head] You’re going to have to ask Seth that one.
SHELDON: Dude, you know he won’t tell me.
MARCUS: [grins] Not my problem, I’m afraid.
SHELDON: [sighs] Fine. Thanks again for the interview.
MARCUS: Anytime.
October 2016
Rendezvous with Yesterday Blog Tour
SETH: I see you’ve started interviewing immortals again.
SHELDON: Yeah. The mortals that work for you down at the network have been pretty anxious lately.
SETH: Quite an understatement based on what I’ve observed.
SHELDON: Well, they’re all a little shell-shocked after recent events. So I thought some interviews would help ease their renewed wariness around you guys a bit. Some of them are finding the whole all-powerful-immortal thing a tad intimidating once more.
SETH: Understandable. I have a few minutes to spare if you have any questions you’d like to ask me.
SHELDON: Really? That’d be great. I actually just finished interviewing Marcus. You know how curious everyone is about his background.
SETH: [smiles] Because he met a woman from this century over eight hundred years ago?
SHELDON: Exactly. I mean, how many people can say they’ve met a time traveler?
SETH: I can.
SHELDON: Which brings me to my first question. Bethany Bennett was a woman from our time who traveled back to the past and met Lord Robert around the turn of the thirteenth century when Marcus was still mortal and squiring for him. Is that right?
SETH: That’s correct.
SHELDON: How did she go back in time? Marcus said you’d tell me.
SETH: He said that?
SHELDON: Yes.
SETH: [arches a brow]
SHELDON: [shifts guiltily] You’re reading my mind aren’t you?
SETH: No. There’s too much weird crap up there. But Marcus wouldn’t lie about a thing like that.
SHELDON: [laughs] You aren’t going to tell me how she did it, are you?
SETH: No.
SHELDON: I thought so, but it was worth a try. So what can you tell me about Robert?
SETH: I liked him. He was a good man. Fiercely loyal to those he loved. Brave in battle. And very talented with a sword. I think, by the time Beth met him, Robert could only be bested in combat by his brother Dillon.
SHELDON: [smirks] You mean his brother Dillon… and you?
SETH: [grins] Yes. I admired both men. And Robert proved to be instrumental in helping Dillon and Alyssa find happiness together, so…