*screen zeroes in on a great big bed with velvet curtains, clearly the interview is being taped from Hellion’s cabin; Captain Jack Sparrow is in the middle, with Hellion, ravishing and redheaded as always, on his left, and a set of gorgeous, voluptuous twins on his right. The twin on his immediate right, Dee S. Knight, is plastered against him, grinning most devilishly, but the other twin, Anne Krist, clearly seems to have been harassed into this fiasco and has her arms crossed and is hiding her face behind one hand*

Hellion: *adjusting her marabou boa and plucking a feather from her tousled hair* Okay, pirates and ‘lubbers, today is a bit of a different interview. Instead of one-on-one….

  

Captain Jack: *arms draped around Hellion and Dee, looking roguish* Oh, I like that.

  

Hellion: It’s actually a foursome. *CJ looks even more delighted*

  

Dee: *clapping delightedly and nearly coming out of her corset top* I’ve always wanted to be in a foursome!

  

Anne: *groaning behind her hand* I am in hell.

  

Hellion: So without any further ado, let me introduce you to our guests today, Dee S. Knight *Dee bounces again, once again nearly coming out of her clothes* and her sister, Anne Krist. *Anne seems to shrink a little as if she’s trying to fade into the downy comforter* Welcome, ladies, and I want to thank you for coming on the ship and interviewing with us.

 

Dee: It’s not my first time.

 

Anne: That’s not the first time you’ve said that.

  

CJ: Again, I like that. *oogling Dee’s cleavage*

  

Hellion: *subtly elbowing Jack* What Dee means is that she blogged with me last year when her book, Heat Wave, hit the stores. Heat Wave is now in print format and available to hold in your hot little hands as you sit on the beach this summer. Which incidentally is the best place to experience a Heat Wave.

  

Dee: *snuggling closer to CJ and grinning* Junior there has reminded me of a story. Two women worked in the same company. One was a little mousy, but had a good reputation. She worked in accounting. The other…well, she worked in finance and her, let’s say, her halo was a bit tarnished.

  

Anne: Like yours?

  

Dee: For whatever reasons, the boss decided to switch their places. One day, two men were strolling into the office. “Say,” one said, “I heard Sarah is moving up in finance.” “Yeah, the other said, “Tammy is going down in accounting.” The first said, “That’s not the first time that’s happened.”

  

CJ: *roaring in laughter*

 

Anne: I don’t get it.

 

Dee: She…never mind. *Dee shakes head* How the same parents raised both of us I’ll never know.

 

Hellion: That’s okay, Dee. My parents are confused how they acquired a pirate baby. It happens. *glances back at her questions as if just now realizing she’s supposed to be on task* Dee is here today in support of her sister Anne, whose new book came out July 2. The book is Burning Bridges. Ladies, would you mind telling a little more about your respective books and writing styles?

 

Dee: I’ll go first.

 

Anne: *sweetly* Age before beauty.

 

Dee: *smiling just as sweetly in return* If that’s what you choose to believe, Dear. Though must I remind you again that I am only 20 minutes older than you and we are identical twins? *winking at CJ* Heat Wave is just that: a wave of scorching hot writing by four talented authors.

 

Anne: She says, including herself.

 

Dee: *blushing* Well, I didn’t mean it like that, exactly. But all of the stories did receive really excellent reviews when they were released last summer on their own. Mine, Second Wind, is the tale of how Mother Nature forces a couple to realize what they mean to each other. I share the volume with wonderful people: Bonnie Dee, Veronica Wilde and Jamie Craig. I think all of the stories are outstanding, and as you so kindly pointed out, Hellion, Heat Wave is for sale now in print.

 

Anne: Is it my turn now?

 

Dee: *graciously bows her head and then turns her attentions to CJ’s roving hands*

 

Anne: *rolling eyes* Get a room.

 

Well, I’m thrilled to death to tell you about my book Burning Bridges. Dee had already started Passionate Destiny when I was visiting mom in Virginia. On the radio one day we heard about bags of mail found in a guy’s shed up in the mountains. He’d been a mail carrier and just decided one day he didn’t feel like working. He stuck the bags in his shed and then just forgot about them. That had been 20 years ago or something. I wondered what kind of havoc his actions caused. Did people have their electricity turned off because their bills didn’t arrive? Did someone miss the announcement of a birth or death? What about if someone had declared their love and never heard back—would that cause a broken heart that lasted for years?

 

I went home and wrote Burning Bridges in a month. I thought it was pretty good, but none of the agents and editors I sent the manuscript to were as thrilled as I. I received very nice and helpful rejections. After one agent I really admire said the premise wasn’t enough to carry a book, I mentally put it on the shelf. Then BookStrand sent out a call for manuscripts and I thought, what the heck? They contracted for it. My editor and their test reader loved it, and the first reviews have been very good. I’ve loved this book from the beginning and I’m so happy some others do, too. *wiping a tear from her eye*

 

Dee: Anne, you were supposed to tell the good folks what the book is about, not relay the history of the world.

 

Anne: Oh, yes. Sara Richards receives letters from 30 years ago which changes everything in the way she sees her life. As she sets out to unravel the tangle of lies she created, she can only hope not to burn too many bridges.

 Hellion: *laughing* You guys are a hoot. You definitely scrap like sisters. For all your differences, and they do sound vast, at the core, you two share the same values in your writing: passionate and emotional character-driven stories. Would you say this is true? What do you think you two have in common? What do you each like most about the other’s writing? Would you recommend each other?

 

 Dee: Of course, we share parents. And, uh, clothes sometimes.

 

 Anne: *eyes wide* Is that what happened to my blue cashmere Ann Taylor sweater with the silver rose buttons?

 

 Dee: Focus, Dear. Seriously, Hellion, Anne portrays emotion pretty well. I mean, I cry every time I read Burning Bridges, and God knows, she made me read me over and over while she was revising. Like her, I like characterization. I always focus on characters and their feelings more than plot.

  

Anne *muttering*: Do your sexy stories have plot?

 

 Dee: Haha. Hellion, you asked if I would recommend Anne’s books, and the answer is I would! I love the way she creates emotion. Her books seem real. I want to read a book that makes me feel what the characters do, and Anne manages to do that.

 

 Anne: Well, I did pick up a few tips from you, Sis. I’ll admit it. I’d recommend Dee’s books because the sex is hot without going over the top, and it’s always part of the story. That the characters would engage in sexy behavior as they do and when they do is natural in her work. That isn’t always the case in erotic romance.

  

Hellion: I know what you mean. What projects are you both working on now? When can we expect to see a new Dee or Anne novel on the shelves?

 

Dee: I’m working on something Venessa Hart and I started years ago. It’s the story of a man just about to win his dream job when his world is turned upside down. Will he ignore the people who need him and go for the dream job, or risk all for the woman who’s invaded his dreams?

  

Anne: Ooo, that sounds good. Is it sexy?

  

Dee: Does a bee make honey? Do fish swim in the sea? Does CJ like to—

  

Anne: We get the picture. My work in progress is the first in a series called Five Card Studs. I’m finishing the first, Dealer’s Choice, about a man who does not want to get married so he dates only women he knows he could never live with—let’s say, women whose bells don’t all ring in the belfry. One of his dates thinks he’s a cousin of Spock’s when he tells her he’s a volcanologist.

 

 Hellion: *laughing* That sounds hilarious! Where do you usually get your ideas? Do you brainstorm with critique partners…or people off the street?

 

 Dee: I always have ideas that I think would make a good book. I should write them down but I always think the idea is so good I don’t need to. *tapping her chin* I wonder how bestselling ideas I’ve forgotten…?

 

Anne: I get a lot of ideas from country music, and just from driving. Put me in a car and head it east or west, and in a few hours I’ll have three or four story ideas.

  

Dee: Anne and I brainstorm, of course, but we’re so much alike it’s like talking to myself. *LOL*

 

 Anne: We have wonderful critique partners who talk plot and characters at the drop of a hat. Without them, who knows where our books would be?

  

Hellion: Let’s hear it for the CPs! Anne, you mentioned getting ideas while you drove. Which of you is the better driver? And when is the last time you two have taken a cross-country trip together? What are you two like on vacation?

  

Dee: We fight all the time on trips because we both like driving. I usually win.

 

Anne: *pouting* You never stop at interesting places when we travel. I like to add a little shopping to my trips and you just zip on down the road.

  

Dee: The purpose of a road trip is to get to your destination, not shopping. Get over it. We drove to Virginia last December and it was, “Oh, look at that Christmas shop,” or “That gift area looks interesting,” all the way. I like to get in the car and drive. It would take Anne two weeks to go coast to coast if I let her behind the wheel.

  

CJ: I like a fast woman.

 

 Dee: *purring* And I like a man who takes his time.

 

 Anne: Criminy!

 

 Hellion: Where is your favorite place to shop? What do find yourself always buying, even though you might have a dozen of them already?

 

 Dee: I love searching out new things at AdamandEve.com. Whoo! The toys they have! A woman could stay in orbit all the time spending wisely there—and I do.

 

 Anne: So that’s why we never have any batteries in the house!

 

 Dee: *stroking CJ’s arm* Not that a woman has need of toys with you around, Captain.

 

 CJ: I should say not! But a bit of rum is never amiss… *gropes Dee as she giggles*

  

Anne: *sighing with disgust, then crossing her arms and looking away* I’m a sucker for QVC. I love their jewelry shows and would spend thousands of dollars if I had it.

 

Hellion: Well, you know what they say: diamonds are a girl’s best friend. If you had a Sunday to yourself, how would you spend it?

  

Dee: We usually have Sundays to ourselves. Well, with Jack of course. Funny, I never thought before how that’s a good start to a ménage story.

 

 Anne: Don’t even think it! I don’t sleep late usually, Hellion. I get up, have a cup of coffee and often a bagel. Later, we go out for breakfast, then we watch TV shows I’ve taped during the week. Maybe we take a nap. Lazy days together are the best.

  

Dee: I still think a ménage between two sisters and one of their husbands would make a good book. One sister would be adventurous and the other shy. Just like us, Anne!

  

CJ: *staring at Hellion curiously* Are you blushing, Hellie? *looks at Dee in awe* I can’t even make her blush, and believe me, I try. Hard. *Hellion blushes harder*

  

Dee: No need to blush, Sweetie. I wouldn’t make you one of the sisters, though CJ here would make a great husband in the story. Would you like to be I bed with two women, CJ?

  

CJ: Well, there’s four of us now. *roguish grin* Four’s a nice round number. Once I was in bed with five women, and that was a bit tricky, but I think I have the kinks worked out and I’m sure I could….

  

Anne: Hellion, do something!

 

Hellion: *covering CJ’s mouth* Jolly good, okay, I think it’s time to wind this up, shall we? I’m sure the crew and ‘lubbers have questions and comments for Dee and Anne. Okay?

 

Dee: Ask away, everyone!

 

Anne: Yes, please. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.