JEZEBEL:
Heya, Avid Fans! Welcome back to Cat and Muse, the Internet’s only character-driven talk-radio show (that we know about). I’m your host, the former demon Jezebel, coming at you live from the sordid depths of Jackie Kessler’s website. Our producer, the muse of tragedy, is still on vacation (lucky devil — er, muse. Oh, whatever), so it’s just me at the controls. Vroom, baby.

First, a public service announcement. Youze guys have until midnight (eastern) to enter into the pre-order sweepstakes, for a chance to win a 14 karat gold bracelet. It’s really lovely; Jackie wears one all the time, and it’s all I can do to not steal it. (If Melpomene were here, she undoubtedly would say something about biting the hand that feeds me.) Anyway, enter! Go on. I’ll wait.

Okay, done waiting. Moving on!

Our guest today is the heroine of Jana DeLeon’s UNLUCKY. Romantic Times rates the book 4.5 stars, saying: “With original, smart and comedic writing, DeLeon delivers a three-dimensional hero and heroine, a community of offbeat secondary characters, a complex and intriguing plot with a hint of the paranormal and a fascinating peek into the world of casino poker.” Fresh Fiction crows: “The setting for this novel is differently refreshing, and anyone with an affinity for casinos and card playing will enjoy the game references. Readers of Ms. DeLeon’s UNLUCKY will consider themselves very lucky to have stumbled upon such an entertaining read.” And Romance Reader at Heart declares that UNLUCKY is “Absolutely one of the best romantic suspense novels I have ever read.”

Ladies and gentlemen, give a hot, hot, hot round of applause to Mallory Devereaux!

[APPLAUSE]

Heya, Mallory!

MALLORY:
Hi, Jez. Thanks so much for interviewing me. Just don’t get too close!

JEZ:
Duly noted, sweetie. So, the world’s unluckiest woman takes a job cooling cards at a poker tournament of criminals and gets right in the middle of an FBI investigation. My, my. That’s definitely unlucky. What made you get involved in good poker gone bad?

MAL:
My boss and good friend is in a bind.

JEZ:
Ooh—he’s into B&D?

MAL:
He owes the IRS a lot of money.

JEZ:
Ah. Go on…

MAL:
And I’m ten grand short of bailing him out, saving his company, and also my own job.

JEZ:
Whew. I was worried you were totally altruistic.

MAL:
I need the money fast and have to rely on my unluckiness to try and make a quick buck cooling cards at my uncle’s casino.

JEZ:
Doesn’t sound so bad…

MAL:
[RAISES EYEBROW] My uncle is hosting an invitation only poker tournament and he’s invited only criminals to play. The dealer is an undercover FBI agent trying to bust a money launderer and he’s less than impressed with my ability to shut down a table. My best friend signed up to be a dealer and she has the street smarts of a French Poodle.

JEZ:
[SNORTS LAUGHTER]

MAL:
I’m pulled in so many different directions, I almost forgot why I signed up for this myself.

JEZ:
Yeah, okay, I see that. Anything good come from all of this?

MAL:
[GRINS] The sexy dealer that I’m paired with. He doesn’t think so yet, but I’m going to change his mind.

JEZ:
Now we’re talking! So…when you and he finally get Biblical, who’s on top? Or are there other preferred positions?

MAL:
I sorta prefer the top. Any position would be acceptable as long as it didn’t set off alarms, cause things to catch on fire.

JEZ:
I hate when that happens. So what would you say is your romantic fantasy?

MAL:
It probably sounds stupid to normal people, but my romance fantasy is actually having a romance without bringing doom and gloom to guy.

JEZ:
Nah, doom and gloom can really break the mood. Not to mention bones. Much better to break a bed. Which is better: sex or chocolate?

MAL:
Sex and chocolate syrup?

JEZ:
Sounds good to me. What’s your standard outfit?

MAL:
I’m normally a demolition foreman, so I’d say jeans, t-shirt, steel-toed boots and a hard hat.

JEZ:
Anyone else picturing the chicks from Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” right about now?

MAL:
But cooling in the casino, it’s anything short, clingy and showing cleavage.

JEZ:
Sounds overdressed to me. Then again, I have a stripper’s view of fashion, which is less is more, so there you go. So, in UNLUCKY, were there any parts of the story where you were like, Jana, sweetie, what the Hell are you making me do? Or were you and your Creator in sync the entire time?

MAL:
I love my author, but she’s hell on heroines.

JEZ:
[GRINS] Do tell!

MAL:
I’ve broken more laws, damaged more people and been in more danger in less than a week than I have been in my entire life.

JEZ:
Ooh! Fun!

MAL:
I need a vacation.

JEZ:
Aw. If you had your way, what would you change about UNLUCKY?

MAL:
Not a thing. It all works out so well in the end.

JEZ:
If you could make Jana do anything, what would it be?

MAL:
I’d make her parade around in the clothes I had to wear for the casino play.

JEZ:
Heh. If UNLUCKY goes Hollywood, who should play you and Jake in the movie?

MAL:
I would love for Eva Mendes to play me. She’s smart and sexy, and I think she could pull off a Cajun girl with style. For Jake, you couldn’t go wrong with David Duchovny. I’ve loved him since The X-Files.

JEZ:
Finally, if you could be Evil for one day, and you were granted spiffy Evil powers, what would the powers be and how would you use them?

MAL:
[LAUGHS] I DO have evil powers. If I touch you, bad things happen.

JEZ:
Really? How freaking cool is that?

MAL:
I use them every day. Just check out the opening scene of UNLUCKY and you’ll see me helping a friend hustle Yankees over pool.

JEZ:
Sweetie, stick around – after the show, we’ve got to go out drinking and compare evil notes.

Avid Fans, give it up for the heroine of Jana DeLeon’s UNLUCKY, Mallory Devereaux!

[APPLAUSE]

You can buy UNLUCKY at Amazon, B&N.com, and at fine bookstores near you! And HAPPY RELEASE DAY, JANA!!!

That’s it for this episode of Cat and Muse. Tomorrow officially launches HELL WEEK, where Jackie will be giving something away every day (who knows? Maybe dirty laundry) until THE ROAD TO HELL launches officially on November 6. And from November 6 through November 10, you will have a chance to win an iPod…if you Hit the ROAD!

And remember: Love your inner demon!