Welcome! Glad you could join us. Today I’d like you to meet Sera McClain, the main character in my paranormal suspense novella, Demon Gate, the first book in the Seraph Chronicles. Welcome, Sera.
Sera: Thanks for having me.
Interviewer: Tell us something unique about yourself.
Sera: I’ve got this strange mark on my upper left arm. It’s a six-winged fiery serpent. Kinda like a birthmark but not really. Not a tattoo, either. Anyway, as long as I can remember, I healed faster than most people. Can’t say if the snake has anything to do with it. When I turned 21, things really started getting weird.
Interviewer: How so?
Sera: I was looking for a place to sleep after getting locked out of the homeless shelter for missing curfew. That same night, a cathedral materialized out of thin air before me on what I knew was a vacant lot.
Interviewer: Wow. Why do you think that happened?
Sera: To be honest, I’ve no idea. And then I heard a man’s voice in my head. He needed my help. Apparently, he was a prisoner inside the cathedral and was being tortured.
Interviewer: What did he want you to do?
Sera: Break the rose window and free him. Somehow, I found the strength to do so, but now I wished I hadn’t.
Interviewer: Why?
Sera: Turns out the prisoner was an archdemon, Beelzebub. And the guards were the archangels Mikha’el and Gavri’el. And Gavri’el wasn’t happy. I’m like sorry, how was I supposed to know?
Interviewer: Not like you meant to do it. What happens now?
Sera: Mikha’el’s invited me to stay as a guest. But I’m expected to help them recapture Beelzebub.
Interviewer: How do you plan to do that?
Sera: Good question. Not like I have the ability to bring down a demon. But Gavri’el’s pretty insistent.
Interviewer: What do you think about him and Mikha’el?
Sera: Gavri’el scares me. He’s cold, dismissive, and would probably kick me out at the first opportunity. Luckily, Mikha’el’s in charge. Gavri’el may not like it, but there’s nothing he can do. And while Mikha’el is nicer, that doesn't mean he’s a pushover. At least he didn’t give me an electrical shock like Gavri’el did after I broke the rose window.
Interviewer: Well, Gavri’el is an angel of death and vengeance. Some people see him only as an angel of the Annunciation.
Sera: I didn’t know that about him. The death and vengeance thing, I mean. But it makes sense in this case.
Interviewer: Now your life has changed, what do you plan to do going forward?
Sera: First, help recapture Beelzebub. Not sure how, but we can’t let him come back with a demon army and destroy the cathedral. This is my home for now.
Interviewer: What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened to you since you broke the rose window and freed Beelzebub?
Sera: Never thought the Devil would become an ally. Except he calls himself Lucian now. He lives in the cathedral after Mikha’el rescued him from Hell, following an uprising led by Beelzebub. That’s why the archdemon was imprisoned in the cathedral.
Interviewer: Sounds like you’ve got a solid team with Gavri’el, Mikha’el, and Lucian. Best of luck bringing Beelzebub back to prison.
Sera: Thanks. I’ll probably need it.