Lucky enough to get an interview with Anton Slayne

The Dragon's Den by Graeme Rodaughan




I was seriously considering reviewing my third book, ‘The Dragon’s Den,’ when the opportunity came up to interview one of my main characters. It was an offer too good to refuse, I might be able to get some real, ‘behind the scenes,’ insight into the book to share with my readers.

Anton Slayne has graciously given time out of his busy schedule for an interview, and here it is.

I’m sitting with Anton Slayne at Patrick O’Malley’s Irish pub, in his home town of Boston. Anton’s almost half way through completing his role as the main character for The Dragon’s Den and has agreed to give an interview to discuss progress so far.

ME: “So let’s begin Anton, how did you get the MC gig for the third installment of The Metaframe War series?”

ANTON: “Well it was a close thing. Li Wu, nearly got the role after a strong showing in A Traitor’s War, but the old geezer running the show finally decided that my part is the real deal. So, I’ve got the MC gig.”

ME: “There have been some controversial reports that you’re not the MC, and never will be.”

ANTON: “What!?”

ME: “Some commentators have suggested that Chloe Armitage, is in fact, the real MC. What do you think of that?”

ANTON: “Read my lips. Chloe Armitage is the ‘ARCH-NEMESIS,’ not the MC. … I don’t know how often I’ve gotta say this - she’s not the MC, I am.”

ME: “Hmmm, OK, let’s move on. It’s been suggested that you have ‘daddy issues.’ Is this for real, or are people just making it up?”

ANTON: (Shakes head) “Well? What can I say? I’m just a big kid really, but I’ve finished boot camp, and killed my first vampire. In this book, I really get my game face on, and start kicking ass. … ‘Daddy issues,’ - they’re a thing of the past.”

ME: “The Dragon’s Den is almost entirely set in the United Kingdom. What’s it been like working in another country?”

ANTON: “You’re kidding me. No, none of it’s been done in the UK. We’re all working out of a disused warehouse south of Boston. The SPIKE 512 is a cardboard cutout with ‘Vamp Air’ written on the side. The Blackwidow’s are scale plastic models of Apache gunships. Our guns are made of wood. That tightwad of an author is not going to stump for tickets to England. I mean look at us, we’re in a pub in Boston, do you think we would be here if we were working in the UK?”

ME: “I guess so. Moving on, what are relationships like amongst the crew?”

ANTON: “Very professional, across the board, except for Chloe Armitage - she's a complete prima donna. The rest of us are busting our humps, working twelve hour days to get everything right, and she just swans in when she has a scene, no preparation, no rehearsal and just ad-libs her lines. I just don’t get how she gets away with it.”

ME: “You don’t like her very much do you. Is that because she's playing the part of a vampire.”

ANTON: (Scowls) “Hell no, it’s because she steals every scene she’s in and she gets all the best lines.” (Looks at his watch) “Well, I’ve gotta call it quits - gotta get back to the warehouse.”

ME: “The next scene?”

ANTON: “Nah, Peter’s doing a Bar-b-Que and a keg.” (Leaves)

And there you have it. It seems that working on The Dragon’s Den is not quite what it seems for Anton Slayne. We will have to wait until the book is published in January 2018 to see if Anton Slayne really is the main character and has shaken off those persistent rumors of ‘daddy issues.’



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