An extremely handsome young man walks into the coffee shop
where we’d agreed to meet. He’s dressed in a gray hoodie, zipped up to his
chest and baggy sweats and plops down on the chair in front of me. Even dressed
like this it didn’t hide the fact he had the body of an athlete. Or a fighter. He’d
already gotten his coffee and taken a big gulp then yawned. It was early but
the only way to fit this in was to do it at this hour. I smiled. “Thanks for
talking to me, Maze, about your story The Ballerina & The Fighter. I know
how busy you are training, so I do appreciate the time you’re taking away from
that and of course, Ivy.”
*yawn* “No problem. Happy to talk about it. You did after
all create me and Ivy. So I guess I owe you one.” He says this with an
infectious grin on his face, inviting me to grin back.
So, Maze can you tell
the readers who might not have read the work a little something about yourself.
For instance, we know based on the title that you’re the fighter.
“Well I sure as shit ain’t the ballerina. *laughs* But yeah.
I’m a fighter, mixed martial arts actually. I guess you can say I learned to
walk and fight at the same time.”
So I take it you’ve
been fighting for a while. Are you part of a professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
club?
*Picks up his coffee and sips* “Yeah a while. I’ve been part
of an underground pro circuit for the last 6 years. And I use that word pro
loosely. The places I fight aren’t part of any government-sanctioned organizations.
It’s pro only in that you better know what the fu…sorry, ah, you better know
what you’re doing or you end up maimed or worse. And it’s even different from
most other MMA organizations here in the US. The arenas I fight in are mostly
in Asia, but I’ve been fighting primarily in Japan for the last five years. But
my opponents have mostly been from Asia, a few from North America.”
How’s this fighting
different from other MMA?
“Like most there are no real rules other than you try not to
kill your opponent. But even that wasn’t always a rule. And the kind of
fighting I do isn’t the kind you might see if you do an Internet search. We’re
not slapping gloves, we fight bare knuckles, sometimes it’s taped. And this
ain’t no wrestling match. If you want to watch men rolling around on the floor,
best look at WWE matches. What I do is the kind of fighting that was practiced
among the Shaolin monks, the Japanese samurai, but those are just a couple of
examples. I’ve studied others too. Then I take every discipline I’ve ever
learned and I created my own unique style of fighting.”
Wow. I guess that
makes you pretty hard to beat?
*grins* Undefeated. *finishes his coffee and puts it down*
So I get that this
isn’t a quite ‘officially’ sanctioned sport but the organization you fight for
is run by a Triad is that right? Can you tell the readers a little about your
involvement with them?
Yes it is and the less said about that for now the better.
Come on give me
something.
*winks* “Sorry that unfolds during the course of my story.
Hey you wrote it not me.”
Cheeky much. *Laughs*
Okay. Then can you tell us something about you and Ivy? How did you meet?
“Ahhh, Ivy. My ballerina. Ever since I saw her doing those
crazy leaps on the beach I’ve never been able to forget her. She’s beautiful
inside and out and the love of my life. She calms the animal that always rages
inside me. Which is why I should stay far away from her. But I can’t. Even
though I want to be a better person for her, and for her I try, but I will
protect her with all that I am.”
I take it she knows
you’re a professional fighter, but does she understand that it’s not quite…legal
and the extent of your involvement in that world?
“I’m doing my damndest to make sure she never finds out.”
Well Maze good luck
with that. Secrets have a habit of eventually coming to light.
“Don’t I know it. But there will be some things I’ll take to
my grave before I pull her into that dark pit with me.”
One last question.
Briefs or boxers?
*laughs* “Only Ivy knows for sure.”
Thank you for talking
to me today, Maze. And I promise it will work out.
“I’ll hold you to that, Ursie but I know you, you’ll put us
through hell first.”
*wicked grin* As to
that, I make no promises.
To read about Maze & Ivy look for The Ballerina & The Fighter (Book 1) by Ursula Sinclair available on:
Ursula Sinclair is the alter ego for LaVerne Thompson. You
can learn more about her work and the difference in the genres she writes under
each name on her website.
Or visit her at:
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