An Interview with Dr. Amour

I first spotted Dr. Amour on the Amazon forums when she was serializing one of her romance novels. I have been trying to get an interview ever since. However, she is loath to talk about her books, sometimes even pretending to be dead to avoid it. She has finally relented to an interview as long as I don’t mention the book. I met her for coffee in St Moritz. She arrived looking slightly stressed, but opened up after chugging down on five Espressos.

How long have you been at Bonfire Academy?

I’ve been working at the Academy for going on three years now. It has been the most frustrating, challenging, and rewarding three years of my life.

Were you trained here at Bonfire Academy or somewhere else?

I was brought in to the Bonfire Academy at the age of ten and was schooled and trained here. This is the only place I know as home.

What are the most frustrating aspects of your job?

Administration. Professor Kunz can be especially difficult to work with. He doesn’t always play well with others.

Are you a full faery or a hybrid?

I am a hybrid. I am three-quarters faery, but my grandfather was a Wanderer. I attribute my constant search for truth within each of us to him.

Which kind of paranormal seek your advice most often?

I seem to attract the largest Troll audience. It may be because of their appearance or their general grumpiness; most of the other therapists tend to avoid them.

There has been a lot of talk about Rea and Noella this year. Have they been in to see you?

No, they haven’t, but they should. Thank you for reminding me. I must make a note to have them come in. Rea has gained the reputation as a troublemaker. Noella seems more levelheaded, so hopefully I can reason with her.

Being a faery, do you find it difficult to council other types of paranormals?

Not usually. I believe being a hybrid has something to do with it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses in being who we are. The trick is to find a common ground and work through it from there.

Do demons ever seek your advice? How do you protect yourself from their temper?

Demons don’t come in very often to see me. They are already convinced that they know everything and find counseling to be a waste of time.

Do you think love has a place in the paranormal world or is it all about lust?

I think love has a place in every world.

Professor Kunz was a bit disparaging when he described you as the paranormal “Dr. Phil.”  What do you have to say about that?

What do you expect from a warlock? For someone who cries himself to sleep every night, he lacks compassion.

Is there a natural animosity between warlocks and faeries?

I don’t believe so. There are bad seeds in every group, but I see real hope that one day, hopefully in my lifetime, we can all live in peace and harmony.

What are your plans for the future?

Hopefully, the Academy continues to see my work here as helpful. I couldn’t imagine being any other place.

I’d like to thank Anne-Marie Monlezun for getting into character and responding to my questions as her paranormal alter ego, Dr. Amour.

An Interview with Rea

It is very rare for Bonfire Academy to grant permission for someone to interview one of their students. However, I am a friend of the Stapple twins’ mother, and she obtained permission for me to interview Rea.

I met with Rea at my hotel in St. Moritz. When I opened the door to my suite after the first knock, there was no one outside. This went on a few times until I decided to leave the door ajar. She walked in minutes later, a large freckle on her nose glowing bright orange. I was taken aback. I had expected an unseemly creature, having the standard image of a troll imprinted in my head. But of course, she came in her human form–an impishly charming girl, her blond hair in dreadlocks, her bright green eyes sparkling mischievously.  Although I asked her to sit, she preferred to stand as we talked, skipping about the room looking through my closet and desk drawers. I ignored that until she slipped her hand into my Birkin and pocketed my wallet. She shrugged when I threw her a look, and hastily returned it. Thankfully, the remainder of the time, she just tried on some of my shoes and clomped about in them.

Rea, are you a full troll or hybrid?  

My twin and I are hybrids.  We are part troll and part fabulous faery.  When it comes to mischief, we are definitely dominant troll.

Trolls are often changelings, swapped out for a human child. Did your parents place you with a human family?  

Yes, they did, but it didn't last long!  Our human family loved us, but we were a handful!  It seems our human family didn't have all that much of a sense of humor.

Did the human family find out that you were trolls?

They suspected something was up, but wondered if the sudden change in the personality of their kids had something to do with those injections human babies seem to need.

What happened to the human twins you were swapped with? Are they still alive?

Very much alive and we are good friends now. They still live at our parents’ place. They assume they are trolls as well, but ones who aren’t able to do what normal trolls can.

Your twin, Noella, is very rarely sighted. Some even question her existence. Why is that?

I am glad you asked that.  She does exist, believe me!  Noella is the youngest and the most spoiled.  We are identical twins except for a small freckle that Noella has on her nose.   We excelled at witchcraft classes, and she learned a chant to make her freckle disappear when she was caught doing naughty things.  Everybody always looked for that darn naughty freckle, and when it wasn't there, it was believed that *REA* did it!  I did try a chant to make a naughty freckle appear once when I was in trouble, but when the freckle glowed orange, I was busted! 

You seem to be in trouble at the school all the time. Have you even been forced to have sessions with Dr. Amour?

Yes, I have, and it didn’t go well!  I thought we’d gotten away with it, but she hauled me up to her office the other day. She is OLD and can’t understand young, fun-loving, and adorable trolls!

How do you feel about demons?

I love demons!  We are impossible to catch, so even though they scare most paranormals, the trolls actually torment them! I could do without the oozing puss though.  Bleh!

You’ve been particularly active in trying to annoy Pascal. Is that your way of getting his attention? Are you interested in him?

He is a cute demon, and that is all I am saying!

With that, Rea disappeared though the door wearing my YSL Tribs. ☺

I’d like to thank Allirea Brumley for getting into character and responding to my questions as her paranormal alter ego, Rea.