Authors Interviewing Characters: Patricia D’Arcy Laughlin

Author Patricia D’Arcy Laughlin interviews Prince Michael, a male protagonist in The Sacrifices and Kingdoms Series.

Book Two, Sacrifices Beyond Kingdoms, follows the passionate love story between Elizabeth, an American-Trinidadian sophisticated activist, and Michael, a European King with hidden ambitions, and their other loves, lives, and lies. Burning with passion, danger, and intrigue, the lovers’ journeys cross continents and cultures, places and races, as they navigate secrets, societal pressures, and horrifying decisions as to whether anyone’s kingdom needs to be sacrificed in this love triangle. The story delves into thought-provoking themes of love, eroticism, religion, environmentalism, and sexism, giving it that extra dimension beyond just an ordinary Contemporary Romance.

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Patricia: Your royal highness…

Michael: Please, just call me Michael.

Patricia: Alright. Michael, you come across as the perfect man. You have the qualities that most women want in their partner. Many of my friends are trying to find you. They keep asking me questions like, “Where in God’s name is my Prince Michael?”

Michael: [chuckles] I’m here. I’m everywhere.

Patricia: [chuckles] Are you saying you’re God?

Michael: God, no! I have too many responsibilities as it is. I can’t handle that biggest one of all, though too many seem to expect it of me.

Patricia: Yours is a love story for all time, and many are asking what did you really think when you first saw Elizabeth from a distance?

Michael: I was intrigued…and I have to be honest, I wanted her. She was so beautiful, in face and body. But then, I thought she looked far too young for me, she has this turned-up girlish nose, and though tall with a perfect figure, she had the mannerisms of an enthusiastic younger lady. But meeting her right after, getting to know her sophistication, and her beauty within, I became hooked. Forever. I knew she was perfect for me. I had to make her mine.

Patricia: Wow! So would you say you’re a victim of love at first sight, or lust at first sight?

Michael: I guess both. But then, don’t they usually go hand in hand? [smiling] Well, I guess not everyone feels how I did, falling in love and desiring Elizabeth sexual…er…physically, at the same time. But call me a romantic fool, it certainly felt that way for me. No matter how old I get, I’ll always love, and want, Elizabeth.

Patricia: Even when you were so hurt, got so angry with her and for such a long time?

Michael: Yes, even then. I think one can be really angry with a loved one when one is deeply hurt but yet still love them, though, admittedly, somewhat reluctantly at times.

Patricia: How did it feel to have to share her love for you equally with her other love, Edward?

Michael: Devastating! But the shocking lesson I’ve learned from her loving him equally to me, is that a woman’s heart may know no boundaries.

Patricia: Do you think men’s hearts may also know no boundaries?

Michael: Some, yes. But most not in the same way. Some can sexually desire another woman even though they are in love and committed to another, but then, that’s usually just lust. The thing guys need to keep in mind is that our loved one is also capable of lusting after another and we’d better behave if we don’t want her to act on it.

Patricia: Do you think females are more inclined to be faithful? Are more ethical?

Michael: Elizabeth taught me that women tend to see the bigger picture and the consequences. Rather than act on impulse, they may take calculated risks. And they need a reason to stay, not just a reason to leave. The children alone didn’t get Elizabeth to go back to Edward. Her awakening to still loving him because of his risky actions was the primary reason. Edward had to go above and beyond to get her back and keep her. He had to make a lot more sacrifices for his ‘kingdom.’ As did Elizabeth also, for hers.

Patricia: You and Elizabeth have a lot of…ahem…chemistry between you…your sex life was enviable, you couldn’t get enough of each other. Was it difficult to find the time for…that, with the busy schedules you both had?

Michael: When people in love want each other so badly, the passion can be overwhelming, and you somehow make the time. But, there are so many other aspects that are really important and interesting in our story. For instance, the still ongoing discrimination against females in too many societies worldwide; Elizabeth’s equality speeches and her holding patriarchal religions accountable for the damages they are doing to humanity; Climate Change and my involvement in shaking nations up to the immediate changes needing to be made to save our planet and us; the dangers Elizabeth and I face from the terrorists, and extremists, etc.

Patricia: True, but along with your endearing romance, you and Elizabeth have a very exciting, creative, and fulfilling sex life, and that’s what a lot of people are interested in because so many don’t have that. They seem to want to live vicariously through you two. I’ve had people tell me how much your…love story…has inspired them to improve their own. Some admitted that their puritanical upbringing repressed them from really pleasurable enjoyment of their partner. Others have said it’s even opened them up to risking starting a new romance after a past heartbreak from another.

Michael: [blushing] Oh? Are you telling me I’ve been given another responsibility that I didn’t expect?

Patricia: [smiling] These remarks are not just coming from women but men too. It appears there has been a lot of… enlightenment…from your relationship with Elizabeth, in several aspects. Many, of both genders, have expressed shocks along with delights. I know your responsibilities have increased greatly, now that you’re king. Do they weigh heavily on you, especially as you no longer have Elizabeth’s help?

Michael: I was groomed from very young to eventually inherit the crown, so I was somewhat prepared to handle it, I just didn’t think I’d have to do it so young. My father’s debilitating illness causing him to abdicate early definitely stymied some of my personal plans and ambitions. Now I have to tread more diplomatically to try to implement them. Being king is a double-edged sword. On one side, I have more fame and thus influence in many things that most don’t, but I’m more criticized than a regular person. On the other side, though I have a more privileged life than most, I have lost the freedom to go after what I really want because of ridiculous restrictions. I know it’ll take time to make the necessary changes that I feel will give World Peace a ‘fighting chance,’ pardon the pun, but it is a difficult battle as long as the balance of power remains lopsided with patriarchy in charge–

Patricia: Pardon me for interrupting, but are you going to continue supporting, and protecting Elizabeth with her speeches, seeing that you have similar ideas about equality, and World Peace?

Michael: Most definitely. It’s common sense. As long as the ruling of countries continues the way they are now with only the more aggressive gender in charge, we will never progress to saving the planet. Conflicts and warring will most likely escalate, and it could take only one idiotic bully with nuclear bombs to blow us all up!

BUY SACRIFICES BEYOND KINGDOMS HERE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Trinidad of British and French ancestry, Patricia D’Arcy Laughlin is a world traveler,
international award-winning artist, and author of The Sacrifices and Kingdoms Series. She lives
in Sarasota, Florida.

Find out more about Patricia on her website https://patriciadarcylaughlin.com/

SACRIFICES BEYOND KINGDOMS

Amid treacherous trials and unyielding desires in this love triangle, does anyone need to be sacrificed?

As mysterious, unforeseen forces threaten to destroy them, three impassioned lovers—
Elizabeth, Edward, and Michael—fight to save their individual “kingdoms.”

Determined to forget the man she cannot afford to love, Elizabeth struggles to keep control of
her own kingdom. When her family is kidnapped, she is faced with making the ultimate sacrifice.

Michael’s tempestuous rage at Elizabeth battles with his passionate desire for her. To ensure the continuation of his own actual kingdom, he risks breaking all the rules, and the love triangle in which he is trapped takes a horrendous turn.

Elizabeth risks her life to continue her controversial speeches on patriarchy and gender equality.
To save one of her loves, she surreptitiously journeys into dangerous territory.

Continuing the story told in Sacrifices For Kingdoms, the lovers’ destinies take them through
European alpine peaks, American cities, Caribbean isles, and beyond. Fall in love all over again
as you uncover the truths and trepidations of these unforgettable characters in Book Two of this
epic love story.

 

Category: Interviews, On Writing