Meeting Dana Sebastian
Originally posted on May 3, 2008
Continued from “Being Dana Sebastian”…)
Andrea: *laughing* You mean my brother has finally decided to allow himself to be interviewed and expose his little secret? How amusing. Well, I’ll leave you to it.
Annette: *furious and embarrassed* You’re Dana Sebastian?
*Dana nods*
Annette: The romance novelist?
*another nod*
Annette: Well pardon my skepticism, but you don’t look like any romance novelist I know.
Dana: And how many romance novelists do you know?
Annette: That’s not the point! Please, can we just get to… can I just ask you my questions?
Dana: You may. Doesn't mean I might not have a few questions of my own from time to time.
Annette: Mister Sebastian, you must admit that such a career is highly unusual for a ….for a…….. How old are you, anyway?
Dana: Twenty. And that matters because…?
Annette: It just does, that’s all. Your career seems a unlikely choice for a guy in his twenties. How on earth did you get started in this profession, anyway?
Dana: It started out as kind of a joke. I used to entertain this girl in my drama class at college - used to make up sappy romance stories to entertain her while we were waiting for our cues, to alleviate the boredom. She said I should do it for a living. I thought she was joking, but it turned out that she had connections in the publishing business through her mother and she hooked me up.
Annette: And in true romantic fashion, did this “friend” then become a romantic interest for you?
Dana: Hell, no. I love her, but not in the romantic sense. She left college to look for her sister who had run away, and found her in Oregon where she ended up staying. We still keep in touch though, and she sent me a picture of a guy she's found some romance with - a cowboy no less. Never figured her for the type, but he is a handsome devil judging by that picture.
Annette: Ahhh. A ‘handsome devil.’ Really……. I see………….. well, that explains things.
Dana: Explains what?
Annette: Why you didn’t hit it off with your…. female friend. Why you write…. what you write.
Dana: Whoa now - you're assuming facts not in evidence.
Annette: But that’s neither here nor there, and will not be the focus of my article. Tell me, Mister Sebastian…do you plan to continue in this career or will you hone your skills and attempt a more serious kind of writing?
Dana: I'll keep cranking these things out as long as the money rolls in. Great selling literature and almost zero effort.
Annette: Literature? That’s what you call these?
Dana: Sure they are. Just maybe not the kind that you evidently prefer. Initially, I thought that this interview was a bad idea - wasn't sure how revealing the fact that I am a guy would affect my future sales. But now I believe I'll be enough of a novelty that my sales are gonna soar and I’ll probably be able to keep doing this until I'm eighty.
Annette: Well, aren’t you the fortunate one? All that fame and success while you’re still young enough to enjoy the fruits of your dubious….um…. labors. I’m having a hard time believing this is really your work, though. .
Dana: Are you? Perhaps I can convince you otherwise.
Annette: Yes, you do that. Quote something from your new book, “The Temptation of Something or Other….”
Dana: *reciting* He gave her little time to think and none to question, as he brought her wrist to his mouth, turning and tasting the soft skin there, his hot breath caressing her arm as it moved inexorably upward……
Her skin grew hot and her half-hearted resistance ceased…. “I’m going to make you forget everything, feel nothing….. nothing but me…. ….until you want nothing but this”….
“On the contrary," he growled. "I have no problem playing with fire. I just like to make sure that I'm the one holding the match.”
Annette: !!!!!
Annette: *jumps up, mortified* Oh! I……Thank-you-for-the-interview-I don’t-have-time-for-any-more-today-so-may-I-call-you-if-I-find-I-need-to-ask-you-anything-more-or if-I-need-clarification-on-any-of-these-details-----?
Dana: Yeah, you do that.
*And with that Annette all but runs out of the house.*