*Doorbell rings*
*Night Mistress checks monitors* Holy smokes.
*minion peers over Mistress’ shoulder* What’s the matter, m’lady?
The Lord Mayor’s son is outside–right behind our guest! Oh, this is a disaster! I wanted everything perfect for her. *Mistress sighs* Better bring her in through the underground gate.
*Minion scampers off and Mistress eyes monitors. Minion appears on screen and says something to a young woman outside* I wish I could hear what she said.
*Minion and young woman escape the Lord Mayor*
That’s better. *footsteps outside doorway. Minion and guest step through door*
Welcome Jolene! *Mistress holds out arms and hugs Jolene* I’m sorry for the trouble outside dear. The last thing I wanted was for– *jerks finger to screen* –that man to follow you in!
First off, tell us a little about yourself and your work.

Jolene Dawe: You know, one thing I really enjoy about the advent of the Internet and, these days, with blogs, is the ability we have to get to know bits about folks we might otherwise not get to see. I really enjoy reading about other authors; I love blogs as exposure opportunities, and I think they’re an awesome tool in this distribution revolution. That said, this is generally the hardest bit of marketing for my work — talking about myself. It’s an interesting little conundrum, isn’t it?

Mistress: Come now, don’t be so shy. Can’t you tell us a little something about yourself? *Mistress smiles* There’s candy in it for you.

Jolene Dawe: I am a resident of the gloriously wet Pacific Northwest, specifically Eugene Oregon. I moved here with my partner and our pride of cats and one dog in 2008, and have been in love with the place since before day one. I’m one of the transplants who delights in our nine to ten months of rain, laughing in astonished delight when natives bemoan how grey the weather is come January . . . with vibrant green from grass and moss and lichen rioting all around, and hearty winter flowers poking up in random places. Grey? Here? Well, maybe the sky. Okay, definitely the sky . . . What is this mythical globe of fire in the sky which people speak of?

*Mistress shakes head* I’m not sure either, my dear. All I see is a pretty pearlescent white globe nightly. My minion tells me she loves your writing. Why don’t you tell my guest something of your stories?

Jolene Dawe: To date, I have two collections of short stories available. Treasures From the Deep is available via Lulu.com, a short collection of stories inspired by the myths of Poseidon. The Fairy Queen of Spencer’s Butte and Other Tales is available in print via Lulu.com  and for Kindle through Amazon — it’s a collection of stories inspired by this wonderful part of the country, where folklore and mythic tales mix and mingle, where magic and the mundane rub elbows and are both left better for it. I also have a short story in The Shining Cities: An Anthology of Pagan Science Fiction, an anthology published by Bibliotecha Alexandrina, as well as few stories published over at Eternal Haunted Summer.

From that bibliography, one might come to the conclusion that I’m pagan, and they’d be right.

Mistress: Well, all are welcome in our castle…and you know, I’ve known a pagan or two in my time. Don’t ask how long a time…. Now for the questions. What inspired The Fairy Queen of Spencer’s Butte?

Jolene: Most, immediately, the city of Eugene and its environs. More broadly, the Willamette Valley itself, the history of the Pacific Northwest, the close proximity to its past, the pioneering spirit that lingers in this make-do, make-beautiful, create and make better city. The willingness to dispose of the mold when the mold no longer fits, to make your own way while being true to yourself, to leave behind that which does not work, but to cherish that which does even after its no longer fashionable.

That, and the stories came whether I willed them or no. They were too many, too strong, too intriguing to try to ignore.

*Mistress nods* I hear that same sentiment from many writers. Now then, shar with us some of your favorites? All Hallow’s Eve or All Saint’s Day?

Jolene: Halloween! In our household we differentiate between Halloween and Samhain, though both end up being days to honor our beloved dead; Halloween is for our beloved furry dead (Howl-ween?) and Samhain for the human deceased. So, for us, Halloween is a more fun, goofy, somewhat joys (in a bittersweet way) than Samhain proper is.

*Mistress nods* Ah, Samhain, yes. I’ve been to some fantastic Samhain romps…back in my day… Dr. Frankenstein, or Dracula?

Jolene: Dracula, easily. Come on. Vampires, and vampires before they were all sexy, even!

Mistress: Yes, well, *preens* Some of us have always been sexy. How do you think I got Drac and the good Doctor fighting over me? Candy corn or chocolate?

Jolene: What is this ‘or’ of which you speak?

*laughs* All right. I’ll share with you. Are you going to dress up for Halloween this year?

Jolene: Sadly, I’m not. I think Halloween has become broken — we don’t get trick-or-treaters, they all go to the malls around here. While I firmly believe that Halloween should be a bit about confronting our mortality and poking around on the darker side of existence, being safe and responsible and keeping kids away from predators is important, and I understand the need for safety these days, but I mourn Halloween, I really do. It’s not at all what it used to be.

*Mistress nods* Yes, that’s very true. We don’t get many trick or treaters around our castle either. Just *frowns* angry mobs. What did I ever do to them?

Never mind. Next question: If you could be in any classic horror novel, or story (such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Carmilla, Turn of the Screw, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Tell-Tale Heart? The Raven?), which would it be?

Jolene: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Mistress: Oh good choice! What is it about that story that intrigues you?

Jolene: I grew up reading horror novels, and they generally don’t scare me at all, but the motif of The Headless Horseman has something to it that spooks me to my core; I love that tale!

Mistress: Where can my guests learn more about you, dear?

Right here: http://thesaturatedpage.wordpress.com/about/

Thanks for being with us tonight, Jolene. Now, don’t you worry about that Lord Mayor. Come with me and we’ll see if we can’t talk some sense into him….