[APPLAUSE]

Hi, Mel!

MELPOMENE:
YO.

JEZ:
I’ve been crushing on our next guest ever since WICKED GAME debuted last year. The new book, BAD TO THE BONE, scored a starred Publisher’s Weekly review, which is a very huge deal. Says PW: “In Smith-Ready’s espionage farce sequel to 2008’s Wicked Game, Ciara Griffin and her vampire DJs face another threat to their Maryland radio station 94.3 WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll. When the Family Action Network (FAN) disrupts WVMP’s Halloween broadcast by pirating their signal and jamming it with antivampire rhetoric, Ciara swears revenge. Under the aegis of the International Agency for the Control and Management of Undead Corporeal Entities, Ciara turns spy and infiltrates the cult’s fortress, armed with her wits and her vampire-healing “antiholy” blood. Aiding her are a crew of hip vamp buddies and vampire dog Dexter, whom she rescues after finding him chained to a cross outside a FAN enclave. Smith-Ready pours plenty of fun into her charming, fang-in-cheek urban fantasy, which frequently skirts the edge of parody.”

Boys and girls, say hello to one of the stars of Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP series…the vampire DJ, Shane McAllister!

[APPLAUSE]

Heya, Shane!

SHANE:
Hey, Jez. Thanks for having me on your show.

JEZ:
Thrilled you’re here, sweetie.

SHANE:
Your studio is pretty kickin’. It’s always nice to get out of my own little box, safe and opaque as it is. [CHECKS WATCH, LOOKS NERVOUSLY AT WINDOW]

JEZ:
Heh. Loving the way you fill out those ripped jeans, by the way.

SHANE:
They’re one of a kind. Jeans don’t really break in until they’re about three years old. By that point, you know each other like best friends. Also, they get those nice vents in the knees.

JEZ:
Me, I prefer when men wear chaps. Minus the jeans.

SHANE:
Uh, yeah. Thanks for the image. So a lotta people buy pre-worn, pre-ripped jeans, but that’s just bull[BLEEP]. That’s like buying a mail-order bride. You gotta work for that level of comfort and happiness.

JEZ:
Avid Fans, now might be a good time to mention that Shane is a man of the 1990s. Literally. So, sweetie, what goes against your fashion sensitivities?

SHANE:
It’s not a matter of fashion, it’s about comfort. So by this point I only own one or two ties, hidden in the back of the closet. I used to wear tuxedos all the time when I was a wedding DJ, and I swore I’d never wear another tux until the day I got married.

JEZ:
Mmm. Hopefully, it’ll be a long, long time before we see you in a tux.

SHANE:
Let’s see, what else. I can’t remember the last time I used a comb. Those things just destroy your hair, anyway.

MEL:
GIVE ME DOWN TO THERE, HAIR. SHOULDER LENGTH OR LONGER.

JEZ:
Mel agrees. Can’t comb those ringlets of hers. What other can’ts do you have, Shane?

SHANE:
I can’t wear hats. Every hat makes me look like Kid Rock.

JEZ:
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. So, for those listeners who aren’t familiar with BAD TO THE BONE, give us a one-line description.

SHANE:
Whoa, one line? Ciara’s more of the marketing maven, but I’ll give it a shot.

JEZ:
Good man.

SHANE:
In BAD TO THE BONE, Ciara and I fight a bunch of extremist whack jobs who hijack our station’s signal and try to set us on fire, and in our spare time we try to figure out all this relationship stuff, while taking care of our new vampire dog.

JEZ:
Hmm.

SHANE:
OK, that hook sucked. How about “Semi-reformed con artist and her OCD vampire boyfriend take on stake-wielding, torch-tossing [BLEEP]heads”?

JEZ:
Love it!

SHANE:
[SCOFFS] Yeah, Hollywood’ll be calling any minute now.

JEZ:
Don’t skip ahead, sweetie. That question’s later. What’s the worst thing about your situation in the book?

SHANE:
Geez, where to start? Those nutjobs would interrupt our broadcast whenever a woman was on the air—whether it was a recording artist or Regina, our female DJ. She got even harder to live with than usual, because she had nothing to do for weeks but simmer.

JEZ:
[BURSTS OUT LAUGHING]

SHANE:
Plus I had to take her shift, since none of the other DJs understood her music. She’d sit there in the booth with me, tell me what to play and what to say. Like I don’t know my punk and Goth? I grew up with that stuff. Okay, technically, I grew up with hair metal, a fact that Regina never fails to point out every day, but after college I went back and learned all about punk.

JEZ:
Great stuff. I loved the 1980s. Missed most of the 1990s, due to a little…misunderstanding Below. My former job wasn’t very forgiving of mistakes. But it sounds like that was the worst thing for you: job-related insanity.

SHANE:
Not even close. After Dexter the dog got Ciara evicted, she went to live with David.

JEZ:
[SCANS NOTES] David. The station manager. Got it.

SHANE:
That drove me [BLEEP]ing crazy, knowing their bedrooms were literally feet apart. They’re both too decent to ever let things get…you know.

JEZ:
Heh. I do indeed.

SHANE:
But he’s got that human thing going for him. I can’t give her that.

JEZ:
Oh sweetie, trust me. The human thing can be very overrated. [SLIDES CLOSER] So tell us some of the good stuff that happens to you in BAD TO THE BONE.

SHANE:
Finally shacking up with Ciara.

JEZ:
[SLIDES AWAY] Oh goodie.

SHANE:
I hope that doesn’t count as a spoiler.

JEZ:
Nah. If it did, our Spoilalert would have sounded. Right, Mel?

MEL:
[CHECKS SPOILALERT; GIVES JEZEBEL A THUMBS UP]

SHANE:
I love not having to leave her at five in the morning to keep from catching myself on fire. I love sleeping beside her. I love knowing that ‘home’ is where she is.

JEZ:
How lovely.

SHANE:
And in the book, there was this one night, she came to the studio while I was on the air and…

JEZ:
[PERKS UP] And?

SHANE:
Nah, I probably oughta just let you read about it.

JEZ:
[SIGHS] Fine, fine. Get a girl worked up, why don’t you? What’s one ridiculous thing that happens in the book?

SHANE:
That’s an easy one. See, there’s this inherent discord between me and Ciara. She grew up sort of a nomad, traveling across the country with her fake faith-healer parents. Never put down roots, never had a stable home.

JEZ:
[NODS] So she’s afraid of trust and commitment.

SHANE:
It’s not that. She doesn’t know how to load a dishwasher.

JEZ:
Hah! Okay, spill. You and Ciara. Who’s on top? Or are there other preferred positions?

SHANE:
[CHUCKLES] It depends on the prevailing mood.

JEZ:
Ooh!

SHANE:
That’s all I’ll say. Despite appearances, I am a gentleman.

JEZ:
Aw. Well then, what’s your romantic fantasy?

SHANE:
Um. [FOLDS ARMS; UNCROSSES AND CROSSES LEGS, ANKLE AT THE KNEE] Are guys supposed to talk about this? I mean, I’m allegedly Mr. Sensitivity and all, but even I have my limits.

JEZ:
Since when does “supposed to” stop a sexy beast like you?

SHANE:
It’s not a fantasy. More like a secret plan. You’ll all know when it comes true. [PAUSES] If it comes true.

JEZ:
Got to have faith, Shane. Which is better: sex or chocolate?

SHANE:
[BLANK LOOK] You don’t usually interview men, do you?

JEZ:
Sweetie, you’d be stunned by some of the answers I get. From men and women.

SHANE:
Well, since you asked, chocolate to vampires tastes like that paste we used to use in elementary school. Remember that stuff they’d give us before they’d trust us with glue?

JEZ:
Is it anything like massage oil?

SHANE:
Um, no, not the better massage oil brands. I guess you wouldn’t remember paste, since you didn’t grow up as a human.

JEZ:
Skipped right past the pimple stage. Just lucky that way.

SHANE:
Very lucky. So no contest. Sex is better than chocolate, before and after death.

JEZ:
Mmm. I love it when a man is so…decisive. So, in BAD TO THE BONE, were there any parts of the story where you were like, Jeri, sweetie, what the Hell are you making me do? Or were you and your Creator in sync the entire time?

SHANE:
Mostly we’re in sync, at least by the final draft—she puts some absolutely senseless [BLEEP] into those first drafts.

JEZ:
Heh. Must be a Creator thing.

SHANE:
But there was one scene in BAD TO THE BONE where I hated the rule about older vampires being so much stronger than younger ones. A certain hippie really needed his ass kicked.

JEZ:
If you had your way, what would you change about BAD TO THE BONE?

SHANE:
[GLANCES AROUND; LEANS CLOSE TO JEZEBEL] I would’ve had the Steelers lose that game to the Ravens.

JEZ:
You are such a tease. You know that, right?

SHANE:
I know, it’s total blasphemy for a fan like me, and it would mean changing the course of real human events. But at least David would’ve kept his clothes on.

JEZ:
Wait. Say what now?

SHANE:
Next question.

JEZ:
Yeah. You’re definitely a tease. Mm, mm, mm. [CLEARS THROAT] If you could make Jeri do anything, what would it be?

SHANE:
I would make her tell me and Ciara what’s coming up in the next book, BRING ON THE NIGHT. Usually, we know all about it ahead of time because it’s already happened to us. But this one takes place in Spring 2010, so we have no clue. Which makes me nervous. I think big things are going to happen, and not all of them good.

JEZ:
Oh, sweetie. My condolences.

MEL:
[PUTS ON FUNERAL DIRGE]

JEZ:
Come on now, Mel. It could be better than that.

MEL:
[CHANGES CDs—PUTS ON DEPECHE MODE’S “WAITING FOR THE NIGHT TO FALL”]

JEZ:
On that note, tell me one thing in the real world that you wish you could change.

SHANE:
I’d repeal the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It let big conglomerates buy up as many radio stations as they wanted. That’s why all the stuff you hear on most radio stations sounds the same.

JEZ:
Yeah, I remember getting the memo about that. One of the major demons of Greed got a huge promotion because of that…

SHANE:
I can believe it. It’s not just annoying and depressing for music lovers, it’s dangerous. You know that emergency broadcast system, the one that plays the booooooooooop! noise every once in a while?

JEZ:
Sure.

SHANE:
Well, there was a chemical spill in North Dakota a few years ago, and the 911 people told everyone to tune into the local radio station for emergency information. But guess what? No one was there. The company that owned all six stations in Minot was broadcasting a canned radio show from another city! Someone died because of it. [BLEEP]ers.

JEZ:
Ouch.

SHANE:
Sorry, I don’t mean to get on a soapbox, but that’s why we need stations like WVMP. Not just for great music, but in case some major emergency ever happened in Sherwood. [HORROR CROSSES HIS FACE] Oh, [BLEEP]. I hope I didn’t just give Jeri any ideas.

JEZ:
Not that a little emergency every now and then can’t be fun…What about in the publishing world? Would you change anything there?

SHANE:
[COUGHS] I think I’ve said enough about media consolidation. I won’t bite that hand.

JEZ:
Smart lad. If BAD TO THE BONE goes Hollywood, who should play you in the movie?

SHANE:
Ciara answered that one when you interviewed her. I bow to her wisdom. And like she said, they can make me from Belfast instead of Youngstown if they want. One urban war zone is pretty much the same as the rest.

JEZ:
Nice. So I understand that people can contact you and Ciara directly, not just go through your Dear Creator. Is that right?

SHANE:
[NODS] Ciara got me into Twitter, and at first I thought it was lame, but now I love it. Sometimes I do live-tweets of my show’s rebroadcast. I post links to the songs so people can listen along, and I add DJ-type remarks, as much as will fit in 140 characters. Eventually I’m going to do a live show and take requests. I play some new music, but mostly late eighties/early nineties indie and alternative. On Twitter I’m http://twitter.com/ShaneMcAllister and Ciara is http://twitter.com/CiaraGriffin. We’re also on MySpace, but like a lot of people, we hardly ever go there anymore.

JEZ:
Finally, if you could be evil for one day, and you were granted spiffy evil powers, what would the powers be and how would you use them?

SHANE:
Can that day be the Super Bowl?

JEZ:
Er. Sorry, no. (Hey, even Hell has rules.)

SHANE:
Oh. In that case, I would cast a spell that would simultaneously slam a two-by-four into the face of every man who ever hit a woman.

JEZ:
How…heroic.

SHANE:
Wait, does that count as evil, or is it just Batman-style vigilantism?

JEZ:
Batman, definitely. Although I’d pay good money to see you in that latex nipple suit that George Clooney wore…

SHANE:
That good money would have to go toward making me unconscious. Remember what I said about comfort? Speaking of Batman, Ciara thinks Christian Bale should play David in our movie. Now you know why I regret that Steelers game.

JEZ:
[THUMBS THROUGH BAD TO THE BONE TO GET TO PART WHERE DAVID IS NAKED, BOOKMARKS PAGE] I wouldn’t worry, Shane.

SHANE:
If my Two-By-Four of Righteousness isn’t evil enough, I could throw in the guy who invented Muzak. Or his closest male relative, if he’s already dead.

JEZ:
Heh. Done.

Avid Fans, give another hotter than hot round of applause to one of the stars of Jeri Smith-Ready’s latest novel, BAD TO THE BONE…Shane McAllister!

[APPLAUSE]

[No, this isn't the yummy Shane McAllister. But it is his Dear Creator, Jeri Smith-Ready.]

You can buy WICKED GAME and BAD TO THE BONE at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Flights of Fantasy, Mysterious Galaxy and other independent booksellers, Amazon, and other bookstores near you.

That’s it for this episode of Cat and Muse! Until next time: love your inner demon.

[APPLAUSE]

Hi, Mel!

MELPOMENE:
YO.

JEZ:
Our guest tonight is someone who knows that “con” is the most important part of “confidante.” Says Publishers Weekly: “Smith-Ready’s musical references are spot on, as is her take on corporate radio’s creeping airwave hegemony. Add in the irrepressible Ciara, who grew up in a family of grifters, and the results rock.” Bestselling author Rachel Caine calls WICKED GAME “Strikingly original, fascinating characters, rich with as much style and rhythm as the music her vampires love.” And bestseller Kresley Cole says the book is “An addictive page-turner revving with red hot sex, truly cool vampires, and rock ’n’ roll soul.”

Boys and girls, give a musical welcome to the star of Jeri Smith-Ready’s latest novel, WICKED GAME…Ciara* Griffin!

* Transcript note: That’s Keer-ah. Not See-air-ah. Say it with me: Keer-ah. Keer-ah. Ciara. Good! Read on…

[APPLAUSE]

Heya, Ciara!

CIARA:
Hey Jez, thanks so much for having me! Don’t you just love these secret passages between fictional universes?

JEZ:
Hey, Creators have to be creative, I suppose…

CIARA:
I just hope I don’t have wormhole hair.

JEZ:
Nope, you’re good. So, a former con artist decides to get a legit job and winds up working with a bunch of vampires. My my. What made you decide to go the straight and narrow?

CIARA:
A sad story involving a sucker, a suitcase of cash, and lots of sweaty bed sheets.

JEZ:
Ooh!

CIARA:
When I say, “sad,” I mean for him, not me. Mostly. [VOICE FADES] Mostly.

JEZ:
Aw, we’re here for you, sweetie. Tell all. And speak clearly into the microphone.

CIARA:
[CLEARS THROAT] Con artistry is a tough habit to break, so instead of going cold turkey and getting a job as a dogcatcher or an actuary, I’m making a gradual transition through sales and marketing, where I can use all my old skills.

JEZ:
Uh huh. I notice you haven’t mentioned the vampires. I assume they’re more than just corporate leeches, right?

CIARA:
At WVMP—by the way, that’s 94.3 WVMP-FM, The Lifeblood of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Come visit us at www.WVMPradio.com, where you can hang out with the DJs on their blogs, hear our playlists, and most important, buy our merchandise.

JEZ:
Wow.

CIARA:
Um, what was the question?

JEZ:
Vampires.

CIARA:
Oh, yeah. Sorry, sometimes I get caught up in hype for hype’s sake.

JEZ:
Yeah, that’s terrible. Mel, take a note: see about merchandising for Cat and Muse.

MEL:
THE BUCK STOPS HERE.

JEZ:
Spoilsport. So, Ciara, what’s different about the vampires at WVMP than, say, in Dracula?

CIARA:
The WVMP vampires are stuck psychologically and culturally in the time they were turned. They still speak the slang and wear the fashions of their Life Time. Which makes them weird conversationalists, but fabulous DJs! No one understands an era’s pop culture better than those who lived through it, right?

JEZ:
[CHUCKLES] I love that.

CIARA:
Being vampires also makes them phenomenally hot, unlike most human DJs.

JEZ:
Phenomenally how?

CIARA:
You wouldn’t believe the way people drool over them in public. One time at a club in South Baltimore, a guy took a straight razor to his arm and offered Regina a midnight snack. Our insurance rates skyrocketed, but so did our ratings.

JEZ:
[SNORTS LAUGHTER]

CIARA:
Also, the vampires each have an obsessive-compulsive behavior that helps them cope in a world that sometimes freaks them out. Shane says these routines give them something to control—something to make them to feel sane. So I let him alphabetize my CDs and books. And my spice rack. And my nail polish. And my jewelry box. And my living room furniture.

JEZ:
Um…did you say “living room furniture”?

CIARA:
Yeah. Don’t ask.

JEZ:
O-kay…

CIARA:
As a rule, WVMP doesn’t discuss that aspect of the DJs vamp-itude with the public. Sex sells, and OCD is not sexay….

JEZ:
Hey, in the right lighting, anything can be sexy. Next question: Hard rock from the 1980s: corporate rock, bubblegum music, or something else?

CIARA:
I can bang my head to Quiet Riot or Def Leppard as well as the next person. But in a post-grunge era, it’s hard to look at them with a straight face.

MEL:
GIRLS, ROCK YOUR BOYS.

CIARA:
Will mullets ever come back in style? I think not.

JEZ:
Ah, the mullet! I had a soft spot for that.

MEL:
GIMME DOWN TO THERE, HAIR, SHOULDER LENGTH OR LONGER.

JEZ:
Ciara, you’re the expert. How many plays before a song is officially overplayed? Why do radio stations do this? Is there some vast right-wing conspiracy out there to turn everything into ARGH-NOT-ANOTHER-POP-HIT so that impressionable youth will turn off the rock ‘n’ roll finally? Or is it really just about the money? And which is more evil?

CIARA:
Huh. I wasn’t aware there was anything evil about money.

JEZ:
[WAGGLES EYEBROWS] Trust me.

CIARA:
I’m not a conspiracy theorist—my boss David is our resident tinfoil hat-wearer—but I do believe that our dumbass pop culture sedates us and distracts us from what our so-called leaders are doing. How does that bumper sticker go? “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” So without American Idol, most of our heads would explode.

JEZ:
Actually, I think watching it makes us prime candidates for a sequel to Scanners. I mean, what’s with Paula judging a performance before the singer, you know, sings? Sorry, getting off track. [SCANS CUE CARDS] What’s the worst part of your job as a marketing intern at a radio station with vampire DJs?

CIARA:
Definitely the hours.

JEZ:
Not the answer I thought you’d say.

CIARA:
I work all day, plus unpaid overtime, to bring in new ad clients and come up with new promo schemes. Then there are the all-night poker games—not mandatory, but highly recommended for getting inside the vampire mind. One has to know one’s product, right?

JEZ:
Absolutely.

CIARA:
Then of course, there’s Shane Time, which is definitely not part of the job. More of a fringe benefit. In fact, David isn’t too thrilled about it, but he’s in no position to judge, what with his own sordid, pathetic vampire love affair.

JEZ:
So is your benefits plan the best part of working with vampire DJs? Or something else?

CIARA:
It’s the coolest job in the world. Rock ‘n’ roll, vampires, playing mind games with the general public. What’s not to love? Other than the whole working part, I mean.

JEZ:
Hah! Which is scarier: a former con working a legit job, or having a vampire take a chunk out of your neck?

CIARA:
Ouch! Definitely the latter. I have a very low pain threshold, so the biting thing is a definite yuck. Other people seem to get off on it, but to me it’s like being stabbed with a pair of ice picks. Not my bag, as Jim would say.

JEZ:
Forget Jim. Let’s talk Shane. Yummmmm. Tell me true: you knew he was a vampire all along, didn’t you?

CIARA:
Well, no, because I was damn sure there was no such thing. His mesmer-eyes snagged me pretty hard before the fangs came out, but I figured it was just Lust at First Sight. And Second Sight.

JEZ:
Admit it: you sort of want him to turn you into a vampire, don’t you?

CIARA:
As Regina would say, GAG ME! No way, not in a million years. I like food. I love sunshine. I tan really well for an Irish girl. I could never give that up.

MEL:
NEVER SAY NEVER.

JEZ:
The Muse is wise. Living forever can be pretty sweet, no?

CIARA:
[SHAKES HEAD] I’d be forever stuck in 2008. Sure, this hair looks stylish now, but in twenty years? I’d still think I looked cool, while everyone else would be laughing at me. I’d be walking around the year 2030 saying, “I can haz fill-in-the-blank?” and believing Gnarls Barkley is the pinnacle of musical achievement.

JEZ:
Major protesting going on here. Red flag, methinks…

CIARA:
[SIGHS] Ask me again when I turn forty and my boobs start heading south.

JEZ:
Points for being honest! Give me four words that describe sex. Specifically, sex with vampires.

CIARA:
Dangerous, exhausting, soul-quaking, tidy.

JEZ:
[BLINKS] Tidy?

CIARA:
[NODS] When a vampire guy has an orgasm, he doesn’t, you know, produce anything. And they can’t carry disease or get a woman pregnant. So no condoms needed, which is awesome, because I hate the smell of latex.

JEZ:
Tidy. Huh. All righty then…describe your romantic fantasy. Don’t worry, it’s just us girls. You can be explicit. In fact, I insist.

CIARA:
Take Chapter 15. Subtract mosquitoes. Add sex. Voila!

JEZ:
Heh. Ever the marketer. You want to know about Ciara’s sex life? Read the book! Okay, new topic. Doing cons is in your blood. So, are you a Daddy’s Girl? Or are you looking to prove that you’re not like him at all, nope, not at all?

CIARA:
There’s no point in discussing my father. You’d have to bleep out all my words.

JEZ:
Fair enough. Given that you’re surrounded by monsters, do you believe in the boogeyman? If so, what’s his theme music?

CIARA:
I only believe in what I can see. But if there were a boogeyman, he’d slither around to Leonard Cohen’s later works, when the dude’s voice got three-pack-a-day deep and rough. Cohen’s music has this weirdly seductive sense of doom. He’s the Barry White of the Apocalypse.

JEZ:
Love that. What’s your favorite outfit?

CIARA:
The smaller, the better.

JEZ:
Hah! What’s better: sex or chocolate?

CIARA:
Lately? Sex.

JEZ:
Who’re better kissers, humans or vampires?

CIARA:
I’ve only kissed one vampire, so my sample size is small. But Shane is the best kisser ever. I’m not just saying that because I taught him how to surf the web and he might be listening to this.

JEZ:
Heh. Of course not. Sawyer on LOST: lightweight wannabe con artist, or Ponzi-level brilliant?

CIARA:
Sawyer, wow. I bet we could teach each other a few tricks. Wait—did you say he was a con artist?

JEZ:
Yeah, up until he got all big brothery for Claire.

CIARA:
Huh. I was too busy checking out his, uh, hair to notice he had a storyline.

JEZ:
Heh. “Hair.” Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?

CIARA:
Anyway, I dropped that show after they killed the hobbit.

JEZ:
So, in WICKED GAME, were there any parts of the story where you were like, Jeri, sweetie, what the Hell are you making me do? Or were you and your Creator in sync the entire time?

CIARA:
I have this vague memory of getting drunk with David, then ending up on my couch with his hand up my skirt. Jeri says it happened in something called a “first draft” and not to think about it anymore.

JEZ:
If you had your way, what would you change about WICKED GAME?

CIARA:
I’d give me and Jim one more minute alone in that room, just to see what he’d do. Of course, I could’ve ended up dead or even undead, so it’s probably best I leave the writing to Jeri.

JEZ:
If WICKED GAME went the way of Hollywood, who should play you in the movie?

CIARA:
Scarlett Johansson. Did you know she just recorded an album of Tom Waits covers? I can’t wait to hear it—I bet it’s either the most delicious thing ever or a complete train wreck.

JEZ:
Heh. What about Shane?

CIARA:
Cillian Murphy all the way. Those haunting pale blue eyes are just like Shane’s. And those cheekbones—my God, I could do pull-ups off them. Maybe they could rewrite Shane’s part to make him Irish instead of just Irish-American. Then Murphy wouldn’t have to mask his sweet accent.

JEZ:
Finally, if you could be evil for one day—and, you know, not worry about the state of your immortal soul—what would you use your powers for?

CIARA:
Look, I know you’re an ex-demon and all, and you’ve been really nice to me, so I hope you don’t take offense at what I’m about to say.

JEZ:
Sweetie, it would take a lot to offend me. Go ahead: spill.

CIARA:
I’m not convinced there’s such a thing as good and evil, or that my soul is going anywhere after I bite the dust.

JEZ:
[SMILES] You are just the cutest thing.

CIARA:
As for your actual question, there’s no ‘if.’ I’ve already *been* selfish and manipulative and dishonest and generally a horrible person, for a lot longer than a day. I might not have magical powers…

JEZ:
[ARCHES EYEBROW] Might?

CIARA:
There’s a lot of stuff Jeri and I are trying to figure out together.

JEZ:
Ah. Okay. Pray continue.

CIARA:
Anyway, I’ve used my natural gifts to hurt people. Some of them deserved it for being greedy, but most of them were just stupid, which last time I looked wasn’t a crime.

JEZ:
It’s also not a sin, even though I think it should be.

Boys and girls, give it up once more for the star of Jeri Smith-Ready’s fabulous urban fantasy novel WICKED GAME…Ciara Griffin!

CIARA:
Thanks so much for having me, Jez!

[No, this isn't Ciara. But it is her Dear Creator, Jeri Smith-Ready.]

[APPLAUSE]

WICKED GAME is on sale now, at Barnes and Noble, Mysterious Galaxy, Amazon, and other fine bookstores near you! While you’re at it, check out Ciara’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/ciarawvmp and WVMPradio.com, and read more about her story at Jeri’s website.

That’s it for this episode of Cat and Muse! Until next time, remember: love your inner demon.