Slaying Isidore's Dragons Book Tour Kickoff - Timmy Interviews Isidore!

Welcome to Slaying Isidore’s Dragons' Book Tour Kickoff! Beginning today through April 25th, follow along for Fun Facts, never-before-seen Excerpts, Interviews, Character Interviews, interesting Blog Posts, and chances to win each of my books!

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I have the great pleasure of having Timmy on my blog again and to help me kick off the book tour he interviews Isidore! This is his first character interview and he worked incredibly hard to develop questions and, as always, his questions are thoughtful and thought provoking. Isidore brought Declan along with him today and we also have the pleasure of meeting Ashley, Timmy’s sister and best friend! For those of you who have not read the blurb on Slaying Isidore's Dragons (below), Isidore is French and Declan is Irish. In this interview, Declan refers to Isidore as mo chroí which is Gaelic for 'my heart' and is pronounced me cree.  

Let’s hear it for Timmy and his guests! Take it away, Timmy!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah the crowd goes wild!

Timmy: Thanks for joining me today, Isidore. It’s great to have you here.

Isidore: Thank you for inviting me, Timmy.

Timmy: You brought Declan with you, so I thought I’d bring my best friend, Ashley—

Ashley: Aloha!

Timmy: —Thank you for joining us, Declan.

Declan: *pauses and blushes*

Isidore: Is something wrong?

Declan: No, no. Just never done this before. It’s a little intimidating.

Isidore: Why are you intimidated? He is interviewing me.

Ashley: *cracks up*

Declan: *chuckles* Right. Thanks for having me, Timmy. I’m glad to be here.

Timmy: *smiles* Okay, let’s get started. Isidore, I know how it feels to be under the microscope and I, for one, do not like answering questions of any kind, so I appreciate your willingness to be here and the pressure I’m sure you are feeling.

Isidore: *nods appreciatively* Thank you.

::applause::

Timmy: Our mutual friend Cody says, ‘abuse doesn’t define you,’ but I have a hard time believing this. I believe in many ways my abuse not only defines me, but also made me who I am today. What are your thoughts on this?

Ashley: Wow. Start off with hard question, why don’t you.

Timmy: *glares at Ashley*

Ashley: *shrugs* Sorry.

Isidore: It is certain that what my brothers did to me is a part of me, but not all of me, nor who I wish to become. *looks at Declan* Nor is the right word?

Declan: Or, nor, doesn’t matter. They know what you mean.

Timmy: Thank you.

Isidore: Pardon. I wish to answer more.

Timmy: Go for it.

Isidore: At this time, I only begin to feel a little bit me. With Declan’s help, and my new home and mother, Sorcha, I begin to learn a little about me, who I am. I see things differently now and I see new things I have never seen before. I think it will take the little time for me to learn me. What has happened will always be a part of me, and some days are very hard for me, but I do not wish it to define all of me.

Timmy: Good answer, Isidore.

::applause::

Timmy: I have many questions I would like answered by my parents. I know I will never get those answers, but that doesn’t stop me from wondering. If you could ask your mother anything, what would it be?

Ashley: Dude, these are hard questions!

Timmy: Stop.

Declan: *laughs softly*

Isidore: *smiling* She likes to interrupt, oui?

Timmy: She wouldn’t be my Ash if she wasn’t outspoken.

Isidore: This is good. I like this. Okay. I think the questions I would like to ask my mother, she would not be able to answer. I think she found herself in a place, in a life that she did not imagine for herself or want for us, and she did not plan. She knew what was happening but could not stop it. So, like this, if she did try to answer something, it would be that she is sorry that she did not do better for me.

::applause::

Timmy: I had a friend who was very important to me when I was young. She was the only friend that didn’t hurt me and was always there for me. She died in a car accident and I struggled with her death a lot. What do you do to get through the loss of your mother?

Isidore: *sadness fills face* I miss her. I am still processing this loss. To me the pain is so great that it is hard for me. I try to focus on the good things with her and I try to keep her alive in my drawings.

Timmy: Thank you, I know that was a very hard question and I miss my friend a lot too. I have two people in my life who have helped me very much, one of whom gave me the courage to leave my past life. Do you think you would have left if it hadn’t been for Declan?

Isidore: Never. I am afraid.... No, this is not the right word. I am terrified all of the time. For me, my life is only waiting for the next pain, the next degrade of my person, the next insult, the next humiliation. I have troubles with my mind. I forget things. Sometimes I cannot know what I am to do or say. It is a constant state of...of...what is the word? Tormente?

Declan: Turmoil? Chaos?

Isidore: Ah, this is the perfect word. Chaos. This is the word in French too.

Declan: *smiles* Ill.

Isidore: *smiles* Ill, this means good.

Ashley: See? Isidore’s cool.

Timmy: *side-eyes at Ashley* Go on, Isidore.

Isidore: *looks at Declan* This cool is good?

Declan: *chuckles* Yeah, babe. It’s ill.

Isidore: Ah, okay. Thank you, Ashley. I do not believe I have ever been cool to anyone.

Ashley: You are.

Declan: You’re the coolest, mo chroí.

Isidore: *smiles* Okay, so, like this, I have no strength and, to me, I do not have the worth of a... of an... ant. I try to be a good person and I wish to be loved, but I cannot find the way to do this without Declan. I do not have the strength without him. With him, I can see a little bit of me through his eyes, the way he talks to me, the way he is always sure I am safe. I hold this close in my heart and mind, and I make the courage for me. One day, I would like to be the Isidore in his eyes.

Declan: *squeezes Isidore’s hand* You are the Isidore in my eyes, you just don’t see it yet. But you will. Give it time.

::applause::

Ashley: *looks at Timmy* Declan’s good for Isidore.

Timmy: *smiles* Yeah, he is. Isidore, I often felt like I didn’t deserve my new life and struggled with wanting to go back, not because I wasn’t happy, but because it’s what I thought I deserved. Do you ever feel this way?

Isidore: I believe the question is when do I not feel this way. It is only Declan that keeps my mind turning from this. I fall to it, he turns the thoughts back. I fall to it, he turns the thoughts back again. It is a constant work for him, I am a constant work for him.

Declan: No, you’re not. All I’m doing is showing you who you really are.

Isidore: *blushes* I wish to believe this one day.

::applause::

Timmy: Me too, Isidore.

Ashley: *one-arm hugs Timmy* You will. Promise.

Timmy: *blushes* Okay, Isidore, next question. I don’t think I will ever completely heal from everything that was done to me. It’s a part of me I can’t completely leave behind. Do you think in time you will heal?

Isidore: *sadness fills face* I wish to. I am working hard for this. I believe one day it will happen that I am better. *shifts in seat* But, like this, some holes in the heart and some small darkness in the mind will remain.

::audience awwwww::

Timmy: I agree. We get better and heal, but there are things that never go away.

::applause::

Timmy: I find it is easier for me, day-to-day, if I look at the bigger picture. I like to make goals and plan my future. What do you plan for your future? What do you want to be?

Isidore: *thoughtful* I do not see my future yet. I have a plan to stay with Declan and in my new home with Sorcha. This is the only plan I can believe for me now.

Timmy: I felt the same way when I first left. Then, slowly, I could plan a day and then two days. They sorta build when you aren’t looking.

Isidore: It is like this. Like the sun rising or the flower blooming. It is happening but we do not see it.

Timmy: *smiles* Yep, just like that. Okay, when I’m having a bad day or a hard time, one of my favorite things is when Cody or Ashley make me laugh or smile. It may be with random silliness or something real that they make a joke about. Do you feel the same way and, if so, how does Declan make you laugh?

Isidore: Oh, oui. I like to laugh. Like this, it is the good medicine. I like when Declan and Sorcha make the fun at the people who hurt me. I like when Declan asks me to do something I can do like to speak French to him though he does not understand it. I find this very funny. I ask you, would you like someone to speak a language you do not understand? This does not make sense to me.

Timmy: *laughs* Cody sucked the M off his laptop keyboard with a vacuum cleaner. It didn’t make sense to me either, but it was funnier than hell.

::everyone laughs::

Cody: *cracks up* Thanks, Timmy. Tell everyone about it, why don’t you.

Isidore: *still laughing* See? This is good. Laughter is good.

Timmy: Okay, another question. I have a much larger group of friends now than I ever had in the past. I have made many good friends thanks to social media. Along with all my new friends come new pressures. I always want to be what people are looking for, and yet I need to be me. How do you deal with all the pressure, especially now that there is a book about you and people will know who Isidore is?

Isidore: This is a good question. I feel the book puts the microscope over me and it is uncomfortable. I do not wish to be noticed. It is safer if I am not noticed. Like this, no one can hurt me. I wish to find more courage so I am not afraid, but I think the loneliness is the hardest. Loneliness is very painful. I wish to be better with people, and would like to feel that I am part of the things around me, and that I contribute to the people. So, like this, I do not have the answer except to say that I am uncomfortable with people and I wish to be better.

Declan: *one-arm hugs Isidore* You’re doing great, mo chroi. And you’re great at taking care of Caleb.

Ashley: Who’s Caleb?

Isidore: Oh. He is a friend. He is living with us now because his parents did not like that he is gay. I take care of him so he does not feel bad and have the nightmare.

Timmy: I hate nightmares.

Isidore: I do too. They are horrible. I must relive the past and I wake in pain as if they have hurt me again. It is difficult to explain, but the dreams are real to me and the pain is real to me when I wake and I cannot get the memories or the pain to go for many hours.

Timmy: I know that feeling. It takes my whole day away from me.

Isidore: It is this exactly. It is as if they continue to steal life from me. I do not like this.

Timmy: Yep. It’s really unfair that they can still hurt us after they’re gone.

Isidore: Exactly. I become very angry, then I cry, and then I am angry with me for the tears.

Timmy: Yep. It’s like a waking nightmare after that.

Isidore: Exactly. This is a very good explanation.

Timmy: Thanks, Isidore. Okay, my friend, Mel, has a question for you. She would like to know if you will tell Declan’s Alexander and Hephaestion stories to your children.

Isidore: *bursts into laughter*

Declan: *snorts* Hey, I do the best I can with what I got.

Ashley: Who are they?

Isidore: Alexander the Great and his general, Hephaestion. They were in love and Declan tells me stories when I cannot sleep. He tells me Hephaestion liked women’s clothing, including stockings and heels, but his favorite were pasties.

::everyone laughs::

Ashley: *gapes at Declan* You are cray cray.

Declan: *smiles* Hey, we do what we gotta do to keep ‘em happy, right?

Ashley: *fist bumps Declan* You know it.

Isidore: Did you know, Ashley, they have this thing called a food fight? They throw food at each other.

Ashley: Oh, yeah. We have those with jello.

Timmy: *snorts and rolls eyes* The best ones are sock fights, especially when I get them wet and throw them at you! I win!

::audience laughs::

Timmy: Thank you, Isidore, for joining me today on Cody’s blog. Declan, thanks for coming, man. And Ash, thanks for being my BFF and sister.

Isidore: Thank you, Timmy.

Timmy: Thanks for your honesty, Isidore.

Declan: Thanks for being good to him, Timmy.

Timmy: Wouldn't have it any other way and he's welcome back any time.

Ashley: Peace out.

::applause and standing ovation::

About Slaying Isidore's Dragons

Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing. 

Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.