JEZEBEL:
Heya, Avid Fans! Welcome to the next episode of Cat and Muse! One of these days, the Muse of Tragedy will return to her rightful place here as producer of the Internet’s only character-run talk-radio show (that we know about). But until Melpomene figures out her priorities, I’m afraid she’s on hiatus. Hmm. If she doesn’t come back, I’ll need to rename this show. Open to suggestions…

Before anything else, Jackie’s asked me to make a public service announcement. Later today, she’ll be randomly selecting the five winners of her Hit the ROAD sweepstakes. (Sweepstakeses?) Stay tuned.

And now, without further ado, our next guest on Cat and Muse has gone from Southern Belle to Demon Hunter. [GLANCES AT COMPUTER] And no, Tyhitia, I don’t mean you, sweetie.

This is a different sort of demon hunter. She’s the heroine in Jaci Burton’s latest in the Demon Hunter series, HUNTING THE DEMON. Romantic Times crows: “Burton is back with another intensely sexy and action-packed adventure. The war between the Sons of Darkness and Realm of Light enters round two with all the passion and verve of the first. Sassy, sexy, supernatural thrills!” Sassy, sexy and supernatural? You know it’s got to be fabulous!

Avid Fans, give a hotter than hot welcome to…Shay Pearson!

[APPLAUSE]

Heya, Shay!

SHAY:
Howdy, Jez!

JEZ:
Before anything else, sweetie, some ground rules. One, you will not attempt to kill the interviewer. That’s just poor form. Two, I will not attempt to kill you. I’m a former demon, and I’ve got nothing against a gal who takes down idiotic evil creatures (and only the idiotic evil creatures). Three…ah, [BLEEP] it. Two’s enough. Agreed?

SHAY:
I solemnly swear. And I was a Girl Scout, so my word is my honor. You can trust me on this.

JEZ:
[ARCHES EYEBROW]

SHAY:
Honest.

JEZ:
All righty…From southern belle to demon hunter. My, my. That must have been a Hell of an adjustment to make. Why’d you become a hunter?

SHAY:
Seemed like a really good idea at the time.

JEZ:
Heh. I’ve heard that before…

SHAY:
I was always trying to ‘find myself,’ and wandering aimlessly from career to career, adventure to adventure, was a great way to do it.

JEZ:
Some people try Hare Krishna. You opted for demon hunting.

SHAY:
Yeah, that was it for me. I knew I’d found home. I fit with these people. They’re family. Don’t ask why. You know how it is. Sometimes things are just right, ya know?

JEZ:
Gotcha. What’re you, five-foot-four?

SHAY:
And a half. Don’t pick on short people.

JEZ:
Sweetie, you’re taller than I am. Natural blonde?

SHAY:
You betcha, honey. No dyes, chemicals or otherwise.

JEZ:
You explore caves and collect daggers. You realize this is a joke about hot, moist caverns and long, piercing instruments waiting to happen, don’t you?

SHAY:
The caverns were actually icy cold, though they were wet at times. Sometimes dry. No lube jokes, Jez, please.

JEZ:
You know me well…

SHAY:
The long piercing instruments aren’t getting anywhere near my hoo-ha, thank you very much.

JEZ:
“Hoo-ha”? Bless me, I love that! [GIGGLES] And I’d wager you don’t mind having certain…long…piercing…instruments inching close to your hoo-ha…

SHAY:
[GRINS] Well…..

JEZ:
Give me five words that describe guns.

SHAY:
Ooooh Fun Mmmmm. Hard. Hot. [FANS SELF] Thanks. Now I’m all perspiry. And yes, that’s a word.

JEZ:
What about sex? Five words that describe it…or your favorite positions…or…

SHAY:
Can I use the same five words as before? Because that would surely sum it up for me.

JEZ:
Cheater.

SHAY:
Okay, I’ll be creative. Nic. Nic. Nic. Nic. Nic. [GRINS]

JEZ:
So…Nic. Yum! Tell me true: didn’t you plan on shtupping him from the moment you first saw him in those delicious board shorts? Or did you really think it was all about luring him back to your Goody Goody headquarters?

SHAY:
My mind was always on my work. And how I could work Nic out of those board shorts.

JEZ:
[BURSTS OUT LAUGHING]

SHAY:
I have never, ever thought about sex when I’m working. Until I met Nic.

JEZ:
What tips do you have for gals who want a certain fellow’s attention? What should she do? And don’t tell me that she has to kill a demon or two.

SHAY:
A good man can see through the bullshit to who you really are. Be yourself and put it on the line. If he’s worth having, then he’ll love the real you, flaws and all.

JEZ:
Your Dear Creator has a penchant for writing passionate scenes that make readers’ fingertips catch fire from holding the book. Here’s the question everyone wants to know: Does your Dear Creator exaggerate the nookie…or does she skimp on the details? What was it really like between the sheets with Nic?

SHAY:
I think my Dear Creator was exasperated with Nic and me. We had some serious between the sheets action, and she kept screaming, “No! Damn you two. Not again. Plot. I need to move forward with the plot! Would you two quit dropping down and screwing like rabbits? For the love of God, I’m on deadline!” Hehehe. She was pissed.

JEZ:
That’s awesome.

SHAY:
Then again, she always says her characters control the story. So not our fault that once we started…..

JEZ:
Damn straight. All right, let’s cut to the chase about demons. They’re lying, evil bastards, the lot of them. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their spiffy qualities. What about the demons you’ve encountered? Can they hide among the humans? Any telltale signs that give them away? You know, like maybe spooky music that suddenly plays just before they appear?

SHAY:
Well, it depends on the demon. Now I have to be careful here, because Nic is part demon, ya know. And he looks human. Lots of them look and appear human. But—some of them smell….bad. Really bad.

JEZ:
I showered, I swear!

SHAY:
Some of them look as bad as they smell—like rotting garbage. So no difficulty telling those demons apart from humans—it’s not like you’ll find them hiding out at your local Starbucks.

JEZ:
Maybe it depends on the Starbucks. I’ve heard there are some deadish types who really thrive on the stuff. But I bet we’ll hear more about that next year. So, what’s better: slaughtering demons, or eating chocolate?

SHAY:
Depends on whether I’m PMS’ing or not. If I’m in a really vile mood, then demon killing takes care of my frustrations. Otherwise, nothing beats chocolate.

JEZ:
In HUNTING THE DEMON, were there any parts of the story where you were like, Jaci, sweetie, what the Hell are you making me do? Or were you and your Dear Creator in sync the entire time?

SHAY:
Are you kidding me? She tortured me, all the time.

JEZ:
Yeah, Creators have a tendency to do that. [GLARES MEANINGFULLY AT THE COMPUTER]

SHAY:
We fought constantly. There was this one scene where Nic…

JEZ:
What? What?

SHAY:
Well, I just don’t even want to rehash it. It was awful what she wrote. The woman is evil. EVIL.

JEZ:
Hmm. Note to self: Have Lower Downs put Burton on the watch list. So, sweetie, if you had your way, what would you change about HUNTING THE DEMON?

SHAY:
More sex. Less angst. Much less torment of me and Nic. Fewer demons. Vile bastards. Present company excepted of course, Jez.

JEZ:
[WINKS] Of course. Tell me one thing in the real world that you wish you could change.

SHAY:
There’s too much real evil, too many people who think only of themselves. Too much heartache. We need to think of others and their plight, and realize how good we really have it. Share the wealth. Pay it forward.

JEZ:
Aw. How noble. [ROLLS EYES] Here’s a good question—what’s more frightening: a hybrid demon, or a hybrid demon’s body odor?

SHAY:
It’s true, their smell could darn near kill you, but the demon itself is much, much worse.

JEZ:
Heh. Demons are like that. Spelunking: really all about the caves, or a code word for a favorite sexual position?

SHAY:
Hehehehehehe.

JEZ:
If HUNTING THE DEMON went the way of Hollywood, who’d play you on the big screen?

SHAY:
For me, I think Reese Witherspoon.

JEZ:
What about Nic—who should play him?

SHAY:
For Nic? Hmmm. Ryan Reynolds, I think. Hard abs, chiseled features. Yummm.

JEZ:
Yum indeed! Finally, if you could be evil for one day (without worrying about the state of your immortal soul), what would you use your infernal powers for?

SHAY:
The complete, utter and forever destruction of pantyhose, including wiping the memory banks of every woman who has ever worn them, and any man who think a woman should. They’re torture devices and should be banned.

JEZ:
Not that there’s anything wrong with torture devices…

Avid Fans, give another hot round of applause to the star of Jaci Burton’s latest Demon Hunter novel, HUNTING THE DEMON, the fabulous Shay Pearson!

[APPLAUSE]

You can purchase HUNTING THE DEMON and the first book in the series, SURVIVING DEMON ISLAND, at Amazon, B&N.com, and fine bookstores near you!

Until next time, love your inner demon—no matter what the demon hunters may say. Ta!