The Literary Nook

The Literary Nook is thrilled to host character interviews. We’re thrilled to have here today Amelia Slater from Greg Messel’s Shadows In The Fog. She’s coming to us all the way from the great state of California. It is a pleasure to have her with us today at The Literary Nook!

Thank you for this interview, Amelia. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?
I feel I was fairly portrayed but I found out some things I didn’t know at the time. I was horrified to find out that there was a thug hiding in my closet watching me undress. I was deeply disturbed to find that out. There was also my farewell dinner with my stewardess friends. They started telling stories about all of these guys who were aggressively pursuing me. I want to clarify that stewardesses attract a lot of unwanted attention from men. I didn’t do anything to encourage these lecherous guys who were enamored with me just because I was a stewardess.

What do you believe is your strongest trait?
I like a good mystery. I like trying to figure out puzzles, which is why I have so enjoyed my brief career as a private eye.

Worst trait?
Sam would tell you that it’s my curiosity. I have to admit that my inquisitive nature has got me into a few jams.

Do you have a love interest in the book?
Do I ever. My husband, Sam Slater, and I are still newlyweds. Sam is the love of my life. I met him in the fall of 1957 and it was pretty much love at first sight.

At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?
Two gangsters grabbed me, put a black hood over my head, and kidnapped me. I kept wondering what they were going to do to me. It was the scariest moment of my life. I then had to walk a long way in a rainstorm to escape them. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.

If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?
I wouldn’t want to be Melissa Michaelis. She’s the woman that we—me and my husband, Sam Slater—have been hired to find. Her life was turned upside down. She’s been missing for three years but has suddenly resurfaced. I don’t want to give too much away, but I wouldn’t want to be Melissa.

How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?
I’m satisfied with the ending. Sam and I barely survive our encounter with the ruthless gangsters in Chinatown. I didn’t know about some of the things that happened to me while I was kidnapped and drugged in Chinatown until I read the book. That made it more frightening.

What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?
There is another book being written about us. As the new book Cable Car Mystery begins, it is the summer of 1959. I would like to spend a quiet summer at my beach house, but Sam and I don’t seem to have much luck staying out of trouble.

Thank you for this interview. Will we be seeing more of you in the future?
I’ll see you in Cable Car Mystery when it comes out later in 2015.

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