It’s not often that authors get the opportunity to formally interview a character from one of their books. So when Meredith agreed to an interview about our new book, Murky Manor, we whipped out our notebook and starting asking questions. The book that tells her story will be coming out in December. We thought you might enjoy hearing a little bit about it from Meredith.

QUESTION: Hello Meredith. We’re glad that you could meet with us for this interview.

MEREDITH: It’s great to be here.

QUESTION: That’s a pretty pink t-shirt you’re wearing.

MEREDITH: Thanks, it’s a new color for me.

QUESTION: The book is about your visit to your aunt. She lives in a strange old house called Murky Manor. What did you think of the place?

MEREDITH: At first I thought the old mansion would be fun. It’s filled with all kinds of strange objects that Captain Morgan brought back from his voyages. There are rooms and stairways and alcoves just waiting to be explored. I haven’t been through all them myself. I wasn’t there very long, but I found out that I wouldn’t want to investigate some of them alone. It was good to have Tony with me.

QUESTION: Well, to start things out today, we thought we’d read a short segment from the book. This clip is the teaser on the inside cover. Could you give us a little background on this scene?

MEREDITH: Sure. It takes place in the lobby of Green Earth Condos. The manager, who Tony calls the Amazon, turned the place into a rainforest. Tony and Amari were trying to recover the cup while I acted as lookout. They had just gotten their hands on the cup, when everything broke loose.

QUESTION: Okay. Let’s see how it goes…

Meredith saw Argon emerge from the rainforest. Hot wind crashed open the front door, carrying a torrent of rain. It soaked everything in its path and flooded the marble floor. Argon rushed forward and struggled with the heavy doors.

She was soaked immediately. Her hair clung to her face. The sweeping rain plastered her clothes to her body. Branches snapped. Leaves and debris filled the air. The "Manager Out" sign skittered across the desk and flew toward the window.

Meredith turned away. Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped. Amari was rushing towards her. The cup glowed in her hand. There was no time to get out of the way. They collided.

Meredith floated in weightlessness. She pressed against a wooden railing that swept through the air in a dizzying arc. Far below, sailors clung to ropes and scrambled on a wet ship deck. Their terrified voices cried out to one another. A bank of thick fog swept over the deck and immersed the ship in darkness.

Meredith hit the lobby floor. She struggled for breath. The cup rolled past her head. A hand snatched it.

QUESTION: What’s so special about this cup? Is it like a coffee mug?

MEREDITH: More like a teacup without a handle. It’s not really a cup at all, and it caused all that chaos.

QUESTION: How do you know that?

MEREDITH: Amari told us her story. She’s from another world you know. I didn’t believe her at first. Actually, at first we had trouble figuring out what she was talking about. But even before I met Amari I suspected the cup had strange powers.

QUESTION: So how did Amari get here?

MEREDITH: She claimed she was rescued from the sea and brought here by water wisps. Creatures that seem to be made out of mist. You never knew when they would turn up. Rising out of the water or coming out of the fog. They even made Tony nervous. Amari told us she had to find the cup and take it back to her world.

QUESTION: So why didn’t you just give Amari the cup and send her home?

MEREDITH: I sort of misplaced the cup and it disappeared. It wasn’t easy finding it again. We had to work around the Amazon and her rainforest. Then Tony and I ran into some trouble at the marina. Tony was a big help in getting out of difficult situations, but no one could make the weather better. You wouldn’t believe the fog around Murky Manor. All that rain and mist made it impossible for me to look good. Seemed like every day was a bad hair day. Then we discovered that the repairman my aunt hired to do some electrical work on Murky Manor had found out about the cup and wanted it for himself.

QUESTION: It sounds like quite an adventure. Tell us where our readers can get a copy of Murky Manor.

MEREDITH: They can go to http://www.lulu.com/larsonworlds and look for Murky Manor. They can either purchase it or download a copy for free. I’m not into this just for the money, you know. But it won’t be released until December.

QUESTION: Thank you so much for joining us today.

MEREDITH: Thanks. I’m off to get a manicure. I’m thinking pink flowers on my nails would be nice this time.