Enjoy Helen Hollick's
Interview with Vergil,
a Supporting Character
from the 5-Volume
“Legends of the Winged
Scarab” Historical Fiction Series
by Inge H. Borg
Helen:
Hello,
I believe you appear in several of Inge
H. Borg’s Legends of the Winged Scarab novels? Would you like to
introduce yourself?
Vergil: I am Vergil,
with an e. That’s how my Puerto Rican mother spelled it.
I am a
relative late-comer to Borg’s Legends, appearing in Books 4 and 5,
The
Crystal Curse and The Nile Conspiracy.
Helen:
What role do
you play in the novels?
Vergil: I turn into
a rather important character due to my special skills acquired while plying the
Southern Atlantic in search of ships. It’s how I wound up in that stinking
Venezuelan prison on Margarita Island. Twenty-five years, I got for what the
crappy Caracas court called ‘Piracy on the high seas.’ (I am sure, Interviewer,
you are familiar with the term as you seem to have a soft spot for those
engaged in the trade.)
Helen:
No spoilers.
But are you a ‘goody’ or a ‘baddie’? Or maybe you are both?
Vergil: Depends who
you ask, doesn’t it. I think I am rather good. Especially at what I do. Well,
getting caught was bad luck.
Helen:
So you
support the lead character? Who is he or she and tell us a little bit about him
or her?
Vergil: I wouldn’t
exactly say I am supporting the lead characters, high-minded archaeologists
Naunet and Jonathan Wilkins, trying to save those silly Ancient Egyptian golden
tablets from obsessed people like my new boss Lorenzo.
Rather, in The
Crystal Curse, I support Lorenzo Dominguez, the South American
billionaire and art collector; a bit of a pirate himself, to put it mildly.
After he sprung me and some of my murderous buddies from jail, he made me guard
his “guests” on board the Bucanero.
Helen:
Now be
honest – what do you really think of this lead character!
Vergil: You are
talking about that Boston boy, Jonathan? He’s always wondering if I only speak
Spanish, or if I understand English as he and his exotic-looking wife are
plotting their escape from Lorenzo. He keeps poking me in the chest, and in his
broad ‘haavaad-yaad’ accent tests me with things like, ‘Your mother’s a whore.’
But I am
smart [taps the side of his nose with his finger]. I keep my cool. Although,
one day, pretty-boy …
As to
Lorenzo? He thinks I am beholden to him, poor bugger. He plum forgets he owns a
ship. From the outside, the Bucanero
may look like a wreck, but inside, she’s a palace. Very tempting, that’s all I
can say.
Helen:
Do you like
being the ‘supporting role’ or do you wish you could have a lead part in a book
of your own?
Vergil: Naw. I am kept plenty busy, especially in The
Nile Conspiracy. Did I tell you I am very handy with weapons? Balancing
on the skid of a helo trying to shoot off a rocket launcher takes nerves of
steel—and the prospect of a juicy prize.
Helen:
What is one
of your least favourite scenes?
Vergil: Remember, I’d
been in prison for some time. So, I suggested to Jonathan I would appreciate a
little romp with his lovely wife Naunet. The ungrateful sod slams a steel door
in my face. I can tell you, I really had to hold on to my pistol (no pun
intended).
Helen:
And your
most favourite?
I have a
real good chance of getting my hands on a super ultra-modern yacht, the A&N. She belonged to a shady Russian
billionaire (aren’t they all, shady I mean). This yacht was confiscated by the
Egyptian president for his own use. He renamed her the Khamsin. As I said, I may have a real good chance …
Helen:
Thank you –
that was really interesting – I look forward to meeting you again in ‘your’
novels!
Vergil: El gusto es
mio, Señora Interviewer. Now, shall we adjourn to the Bucanero’s salon for coffee and cognac? The old ghost ship may look
decrepit from the outside - on purpose. But inside, she's fitted out like a
palace.
The ship's
owner liberated me from a nasty Venezuelan prison - and thinks I have reformed.
But you know how it is: Once a pirate, always a pirate.
Quickly now,
before the owner returns from his search for desperate art dealers to "sell" him their treasures.
* * *
Helen
Hollick is presently doing a PIRATICAL Blog Tour with
prominent authors and their fascination with those more or less lovable
rogues of the sea.Check out dates and links at:
https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/
