"Tell Me a Bedtime Story" - Interview with Devin Devasquez

Whenever you hear about "Prince's women," the same handful of names are mentioned: Vanity, Mayte Garcia, Sheila E., Carmen Electra and, if you're really informed, Susannah Melvoin. However, there are countless others who have stories worth telling, including Devin Devasquez.

Devasquez is a former Playboy centerfold who dated Prince in 1985, but remained in touch with him off and on through the late 1990s. You can read her People magazine story here. I spoke with her shortly after Prince passed, and it was one of the most important interviews for my book.

Yes, you read that right. As you know, my book is about Prince's spiritual journey, and Devasquez and I talked for two hours on the subject. Our interview demonstrates that every source is worth contacting; you just never know who is going to have the insight you're looking for, or connect you with other valuable sources. And you can't dismiss someone because they aren't well known in Prince lore.

People often complain that I don't share enough details from my interviews in my blog posts. Well, I have to give people a reason to read the book, especially so they can grasp the full story. So, unfortunately, I can't really go into the specifics of my conversation with Devasquez. What I can say is that the interview provided more support for my initial feeling that Prince's oscillation between the sacred and profane in his art was informed by an internal struggle.

In fact, as I transcribed the interview, I kept thinking of Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

I can also reveal one unrelated tidbit: Devasquez said Sheila E.'s song "Bedtime Story" was composed by Prince and the story is about Devasquez. It has a jazzy feel because Devasquez is from Louisiana.

As a biographer, it's always exciting when you find that one source's story corroborates another, especially when you weren't even trying to make that connection. That's what happened when I talked to Devasquez; her experience with Prince validated some information I received from Jill Jones.

Before speaking with Devasquez, I never thought I would help people who knew Prince find closure or make sense of their time with him. I experienced that with Devasquez as I shared some of my findings with her. It was such a cool feeling.

Finally, I am so grateful for her encouragment. I always wondered what Prince would think of my book. I guess I'll never know, but it always feels good to get approval from those who knew him.

"When you e-mailed me, I immediately felt--and I am very, very intuitive--that this is something he would want," Devasquez said. "These are the kinds of interviews and the kinds of things he would want to see out there on him now that he’s gone."


Follow me at "ericawrites" on Snapchat for updates on the book!