Frolic, our clockwork boy from Boots for the Gentleman and now the
sequel, A Grimoire for the Baron, is here for an interview today. We
hope you’ll enjoy getting to know him a little better! Also, please
leave a comment to win a copy of either ebook!
So Frolic, tell us a little bit about yourself. That’s an interesting hair color. Where are you from?
Frolic:
Well, I guess I’m from Halcyon. That’s where I was made, as far as I
know. My silver hair is unusual, isn’t it? Sometimes Reg wants me to
cover it up so I don’t attract too much attention. And sometimes it
makes people think I’m a faerie, even though I’m not.
Do you have any special talents or skills?
Frolic:
I’m pretty fair with clockwork and machinery. I guess I can understand
how it works since I’m a clockwork myself. I really like making
clockwork animals, especially cats. They’re my favorite. I’m stronger
and much more durable than a human. It takes a lot more to hurt me.
And…um. Well. I’m not sure if I should say this.
What?
Frolic: Well, Querry taught me everything he knows about, um, infiltration. I’ve become a pretty fair thief.
How did you meet Querry?
Frolic:
Querry found me in a hidden room in the basement of the doll maker who
made me. I waited there for a long, long time, and I was lonely, so I
was so happy when Querry agreed to take me with him. He protected me
from the beginning, since I didn’t know much about the world. We’ve had
so much fun since then. We’ve had bad times too, but we got through them
together. I really like making love with Querry and Reg. Oh, I
shouldn’t have said that, should I? I’m still learning how much to say
and how much to keep to myself. I’m sorry.
And Reg?
Frolic:
Reg has been Querry’s best friend since they were children. He helped
us when we were in trouble, when the Grand Chancellor wanted to find me
and use me as a weapon. Now I’m happy to say he’s my best friend too,
along with Querry. Reg is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. I know
he’ll always take care of me.
That’s an interesting necklace. Why a metal feather?
Frolic:
This is all that’s left of the clockwork angels I was designed to
oversee. They were destroyed, and now I’m the last of my kind. I… I
don’t really want to talk about this anymore.
How did the tragic events in Halcyon affect your relationship?
Frolic:
Well, it was hard and we all lost many things we cared about. We can
never go back to Halcyon. I think Reggie misses it most. But we still
have each other, and I know we can face anything as long as we stay
together.
Your name is very whimsical, who named you and why did they pick it?
Frolic:
I chose it myself! My creator never got to naming me, as far as I know.
I liked the sound of that word right away and felt like it fit me.
So you have a connection to the fey. Has that been difficult?
Frolic:
It’s been very confusing since Querry’s gentleman used his magic to
repair my heart. I’ve always been a combination of magic and clockwork,
but now I understand how magic works, and I can understand the fey
language. I see and hear strange things, like the voices of the rain and
the wind. I don’t really know what to make of it all. I wish I had
someone to talk to about this, someone who knew about magic.
What’s the faerie gentleman like?
Frolic:
I’m afraid of him. Querry isn’t, but then Querry isn’t afraid of
anything. I think Reggie hates him. He’s very beautiful, though.
What’s next for you and your companions? What do we have to look forward to?
Frolic:
We’ll be setting off for uncharted lands with Baron Starling soon. I’m
not sure if I like Baron Starling yet. He keeps a lot of secrets. Reg is
afraid it will be very dangerous, but Querry is as confident as ever. I
don’t know. I worry about Reg and Querry getting hurt. I’m looking
forward to something to take my mind off wondering why I was created,
and I’m looking forward to talking to the baron’s faerie steward, Tom
Teezle. Maybe he can help me make some sense of all the new things I see
and hear. I just want the people I love to make it home safely.
You
can read all about Frolic, Reg, and Querry’s next adventure in
A
Grimoire for the Baron, available here:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3283
The trio’s first adventure
, Boots for the Gentleman, is
available here:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2483
Here’s the blurb and an excerpt from the book. Enjoy!
Former
archivist Reg Whitney, expert thief Querry Knotte, and the clockwork
boy known as Frolic are fugitives from Halcyon living on a small island.
While Reg is content to lead a safe and settled life, there is trouble
in paradise: Querry is bored, and Frolic can’t help but ponder his own
existence.
When Querry and Frolic get caught breaking into Baron
Starling’s villa, all three men are bamboozled into accompanying
the baron on a quest for arcane knowledge. But their jungle destination
holds more danger than anyone on the expedition expects.
Reg knows
their crew is made up of criminals—the kind who can’t be trusted—which
puts a strain on the trio. He’s certain the baron and the mercenary
Jean-Andre are hiding something that puts them all in danger. Querry and
the baron grow close, leaving Reg and Frolic feeling alienated.
Frolic’s friendship with a fey servant just strains the trio’s dynamic
further. Even if Reg, Querry, and Frolic survive the quest, their
relationship will never be the same.
Excerpt:
QUERRILOUS
KNOTTE had never been anything but a thief. He’d been a thief since
he’d come to understand certain objects could be traded for food, for
clothing, for weapons to defend himself, or for a night of safety behind
a sturdy door. Early on, Querry had realized no one in the world would
give him the things he needed to survive. If he wanted to live, he had
to take them, and so he had. Over time, he’d become quite good at it and
had grown to like it. It felt good to show the privileged minority
their wealth and station didn’t keep them as secure as they deluded
themselves into thinking.
Querry smirked as he leaned
against the wall of The Mermaid’s Tail, the local tavern. He watched
Frolic pack his steamer trunk with the clockwork toys that hadn’t sold
throughout the day. Querry pushed off the wall and strode across the
street to help his friend with his burden. Frolic’s pale face lit up
when he turned his golden eyes on Querry.
“Need a hand?” Querry asked.
Frolic
shook his head. “I can manage. I’m stronger than I look,” Frolic
responded with a wink. Although Frolic looked like a young man in his
late teens, he was actually a highly sophisticated clockwork himself.
Querry had seen him best men twice his size with ease.
“Is it time?” Frolic asked with obvious glee.
Querry
lifted his hand to shield his eyes as he looked out over the ocean. The
sun was just beginning to set, and the throngs of dockworkers, sailors,
and fishermen started home for the
night alongside the more
well-to-do of the village, who’d been shopping at the markets and
fishmongers or just enjoying the beach. Querry smiled and nodded. “It
certainly is.” Crowds made a wonderful place to do some light thievery,
with all those bodies jostling about, tired from the day’s labor,
thinking about dinner, distracted.
Frolic skipped into
position a few feet ahead of Querry, making a colossal show of
pretending his trunk was just a little too heavy for him. He tripped,
knocking a gentleman into Querry, who caught the man, then expertly
slipped his hand into the man’s coat, relieving him of his coin purse.
“Pardon
me, sir,” Frolic simpered, fixing the man with a puppy dog expression.
The whole scene appeared genuinely accidental. The slightly rumpled
gentleman only huffed as he hurried away.
Frolic and
Querry exchanged glances as they moved on to their next mark. Querry
smiled. He loved that Frolic shared his taste for adventure and danger.
Lately it seemed that Frolic liked it even more than before his
accident. Perhaps the faerie magic used to repair him had made him
reckless and wilder than before. Perhaps his brush with his mortality
had made him eager to squeeze every drop of experience and excitement
out of life. Either way, he clearly enjoyed the game as much as Querry.
They played out the Bump and Snatch on a well-dressed lady, who was
obviously from out of town. Querry knew they couldn’t go overboard. They
only did this once or twice a month, just to keep their skills sharp.
Any more than that, and people might start to get suspicious. But it was
just too much fun, and after the trouble they’d managed to survive in
Halcyon, Querry felt like there wasn’t anything they couldn’t accomplish
together.
Frolic bumped, Querry snatched, and the target
was none the wiser. The crowd gradually thinned, and Querry sighed.
“Looks like we’re done here,” Querry lamented.
Frolic
nodded and fell into step next to him. As they walked, Querry noticed a
perfect mark. The man emerged from a brothel with a vacant smirk, still
holding his billfold. Querry elbowed Frolic, and they shared a silent
communication. Frolic smiled and meandered over toward the target. The
smaller man slipped, tossing his trunk into the air. It landed just in
front of the big man and burst open, spilling its contents. “Oh no!”
Frolic exclaimed in his best helpless youth voice. Unaccustomed to
deception, Frolic almost always went too far, but it usually worked for
him.
“Here now, don’t worry, little fella,” the larger
gentleman said as he absently stuffed his billfold into his back pocket.
“Let me help you.”
Querry sidled up behind the man,
plucked the billfold from his pocket, and emptied it. He replaced it
just as Frolic secured his trunk.
“Oy,” the man exclaimed, spinning on Querry. “What’re you doing there?”
“Sorry,
sir. Just thought I could help you and the young fellow,” Querry
crooned, hoping he could diffuse the man’s sudden suspicion. Frolic
moved off as they’d always practiced, but his gaze locked with Querry’s.
Then Querry noticed the man reaching into his back pocket, and he knew
the situation was about to explode. He gave Frolic the signal to run,
and Frolic obeyed, hefting the trunk onto his back as he went. Querry
dashed off in the opposite direction, the angry man in hot pursuit.
“Come back here, you filthy cutpurse!”
Querry
easily outdistanced the larger, slower man, ducking into an alley so he
could slow down, so he appeared less conspicuous. He pulled a hat from
his pocket and plopped it over his distinctive black curls. He slipped
off his red vest and turned it inside out, making it a black vest. The
tiny flat he and Frolic shared with Reg was just ahead now. He skipped
happily across the street, and a hurtling form crashed into him. Querry
almost fell, but managed to stay on his feet. When he looked up, his
eyes grew wide with surprise. The big, bald man from the brothel stood
in front of him, heaving great gulps of the fishy air.
“Sorry,
mate. Chasin’ a thief,” he gasped. “Red vest. Seen him?” Querry only
nodded and pointed up the street. “Thanks, mate,” the man said, giving
Querry a friendly clap on the shoulder before running off. Querry
laughed heartily as he ascended the stairs to their flat.
He
was a thief, had always been a thief, and a bloody brilliant one, at
that. Now Querry’s beloved partner wanted him to be something else. He
could see it on Reg’s face the moment he
closed the door. Querry was still laughing, but when he saw the looks on Reg’s and Frolic’s faces, he stopped abruptly.
“You seem pretty pleased with yourself,” Reg fumed.
“Is
it wrong for me to be proud of my talents?” Querry stamped his foot and
raked his black curls out of his eyes, pushing the hat off and letting
it fall to the floor. He paced the length of their tiny, seaside hovel
in a Thalacean port, resisting his desire to kick the rickety table or
the iron frame of the bed. He spun on the ball of his foot and crossed
the little room again. It smelled of the flowers Reg had bought fresh
earlier in the day but underneath lurked the scent of rancid fish and
sea water polluted by steamships. “I’m good at what I do, and I’m not
ashamed. Are you ashamed of me, Reg?”
Reg collapsed on
the edge of their wrought iron bed, all the tensions dropping from his
slight form and his anger deflating in a drawn-out sigh. He leaned his
elbows on his knees, and his gaze dropped to the chipped, blue tile
floor. At Reg’s despair, more disturbing than his passionate arguments,
Querry swallowed his annoyance and affront and took a step toward him.
Reg looked up and pushed his long fringe out of his hazel eyes. The half
a year they’d spent under the strong sun of the Thalacean beach had
lightened Reg’s hair to the color of sunlit wheat and brought a healthy,
bronze tint to his face. With his darker coloring, Querry easily passed
for a native. No amount of heat or sun could alter Frolic’s complexion,
and he remained a flawless ivory, kissed with traces of pastel rose.
His large golden eyes widened with concern as he watched Querry and Reg,
and he rested his delicate hand on the hilt of his enchanted sword.
“I’m
not ashamed, Querry, I’m worried,” Reg said in a voice left scratchy by
his previous tirade. “The three of us are wanted criminals. We barely
managed to escape Halcyon with our lives. I just don’t think it’s
prudent to tempt fate. What if you get caught?”
“I
won’t,” Querry said, crossing his arms over his chest and lifting his
chin. He couldn’t quite suppress the smug smile pulling at the corners
of his lips. “Never do.”
“You are not invulnerable!” Reg’s voice raised as a scrap of his former anger returned.
“I never said I was invulnerable. Only that I’m good.”
“Damn
it!” Reg stood and smacked the white, plaster wall. Frolic flinched,
and Querry recoiled. Reg never lost his temper. He won his debates
through reason, calm, and cool, and Querry usually relented just because
what Reg said made sense. But Querry had been reluctantly treading the
cautious path for months now, and he itched for the night air on a
rooftop, the way his senses fine-tuned to everything as he worked. He
needed to feel that thrill, to remind himself how much more talented he
was than the privileged he robbed. He couldn’t help longing for
excitement and the challenge his illicit activities provided him. Though
he’d never tell Reg, the chance of getting caught made it all the more
delicious.
“I’m going crazy here,” he said as gently as
he could, hoping to make his partner understand. “I have to stretch my
legs, test my tools.”
It didn’t work. Reg stood a few
inches from Querry’s chest, his fists balled beside his hips and his
full lips trembling. “Try thinking about someone other than yourself for
a change! What do you think would happen to me and Frolic if you got
caught? What if Frolic is with you? Do you think it’ll take long before
they realize he isn’t human? What do you suppose they’ll do to him?”
“I taught Frolic! He knows what to do. Besides, I’m not forcing him to come with me. I’ve kept Frolic safe since I found him!”
“Stop
it.” Frolic interrupted them and positioned his small body between
them, looking from Querry’s face to Reg’s. “Don’t talk about me like I’m
not in the room. Please, just stop fighting.”
His
obvious distress neutralized Querry’s anger, and Reg’s tight expression
softened with sympathy. Both of them went to Frolic’s side and took up
one of his hands. They apologized in unison, but Frolic still looked
miserable. Reg stroked Frolic’s smooth cheek with the back of his hand,
and Frolic’s white eyelashes fluttered with momentary contentment.
Querry took his hand and led him to the large table that occupied over
half of their living space. The three of them sat down, and Querry
poured some strong, local wine for Reg and himself, wishing Frolic could
partake of the simple comfort a potent drink offered. With Frolic,
everything was much more complex.
“Let’s try to talk like
people who love each other.” Sometimes, naïve little Frolic astounded
Querry with his insight. Querry and Reg both nodded and looked at the
rough, wooden surface of the table, ashamed at their behavior.
Querry
reached across the table to take each of their hands in one of his. He
closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply to calm himself and just
savoring the connection they shared. “I’m sorry,” he said softly,
squeezing their fingers and delighting in the warmth and slight dampness
of their skin. Here by the southern sea, even Frolic seemed to don a
perpetual sheen of moisture, though Querry knew he couldn’t sweat. Even
so, his white, ringlet curls wound tighter and springier than ever,
curlicuing out from his face in every direction. Querry found the
disorder enchanting. Frolic always looked as if he’d just tumbled out of
bed after a bout of lovemaking.
“I’m not sorry.”
Reg’s statement surprised Querry. “What?”
“I
think you’re being foolish, Querry, and I can’t begin to imagine why
you want to take this risk. We aren’t desperate for money.”
Querry
glanced around their single-room dwelling, with the bed in the corner,
the table at the center, some cracked crockery on a shelf on the wall,
and a small, iron stove barely large enough to heat a kettle. When they
tried to cook on it, suffocating smoke filled the space. Other than
that, little filled the room beyond the bits of scrap Frolic used to
make clockwork toys to sell to tourists or entrepreneurial sailors. A
half-completed cat, with a jointed neck, hips, spine, and legs that
would move as if alive when complete, waited on the board resting across
two stone blocks that Frolic used as a workbench. Its green eyes,
indistinguishable from life, would move and roll about when Frolic wound
the toy. Bits of other, more fantastical creatures lay strewn across
the floor nearby. Unlike other toymakers, Frolic made no effort to hide
the elaborate, clockwork joints of his creations. Instead, he integrated
them into his designs, making the functional aspects part of the
aesthetic appeal. He flaunted his mechanical artistry rather than hiding
it, to devastating effect. In Halcyon, such amazing items, far superior
to anything else available, would have sold in fine boutiques for high
prices. Here, Frolic barely managed to trade his wondrous creations for
enough coin to buy a meal.
Being poor didn’t bother
Querry. He’d always been poor, had never had more to his name than a
simple room such as this. The idea of submitting to another’s authority
grated on him, though. He didn’t mind having little in the way of
material possessions, so long as he could say no one owned him. After
being an indentured laborer as a child, being beholden to no one was
very important to Querry.
As if he read Querry’s mind, Reg said, “You could find legitimate work, you know.”
Querry
bristled and sat up straighter in his wooden chair. “You really want me
to spend my days gutting fish or hauling crates? Why should I?”
Reg rubbed his forehead. “It’s an honest living, and it’s good enough for most people. It wouldn’t put us in danger.”
Reg
didn’t understand. Querry had no intention of spending his life
shoveling shit for a domineering employer. He possessed talents that
said he didn’t need to. Querry had never been indebted to anyone, and he
wasn’t about to change that. He didn’t need wealth, but he needed his
freedom more than his next breath. After their childhood of virtual
slavery in Halcyon’s factories, why couldn’t Reg appreciate that?
“Why do you have to make it sound as if I’m choosing between my love for you and Frolic and giving up my ideals?” Querry asked.
“Because, in a way, you are,” Reg answered, his gaze steady. “Which one will you sacrifice, Querry?”
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