Roari Benjamin's Blog: Character Interview: Samantha Marquet

Today, I share an interview with Sam, catching up with her on what's happened since The Shadow Watcher, before A Shadow in Doubt....

Q: When we left you at the end of The Shadow Watcher, you were in kind of a strange place, wouldn't you say?

Sam: My apartment?

Q: No, I mean, emotionally.

Sam: Strange is a nice way of putting it. (smiles) Honestly, if not for Artemis keeping me connected to reality, I might convince myself it was all a dream. She's helped me keep my sanity.

Q: Some people might consider your relationship with your cat crazy....

Sam: You mean some people think I'm a crazy cat lady?
Only people who don't have a cat would find our relationship strange.

Q: But, back to how you were feeling....

Sam: I guess finding out your parents kept things from you isn't easy at any age, but, I completely understand why they did it. I mean, if I found out as a teenager, I probably would've run away, shaved my head, gotten a million piercings .... I don't know. I listened to heavy metal anyway, but never dyed my hair black, you know? I don't think I would have been mature enough to handle it. If it was all I'd ever known, I might have resented not having a normal life. And, I, for one, couldn't imagine growing up in the Society - can you? No, far too many rules. I'm beyond thankful for the twenty-seven normal years I had.... But, yes, I'm still a little upset sometimes.

Q: It sounds like a lot of internal conflict.

Sam: Yes, but it's mostly internal.

Q: How does it feel to know what will happen in the future?

Sam: If I find out, I probably couldn't tell you, because it might alter something. (smiles) Then again, maybe it won't, because you might still act the same as you would have otherwise, in effect changing nothing. Who knows? The point is, I haven't been to the future, I only know what they decide I can know and they like keeping me in the dark, so, I can't tell you, because I don't know.

Q: Not even your romantic future? Surely you know what you're going to do about that....

Sam: (laughs) You're a funny one. I'm finding no one "knows" what they're going to do until they do. One thing I've learned about Michael, everything he does, he does for a reason.

Q: And you think his reasons are good?

Sam: (laughs again) I would have to know what his reasons are before I could judge them.

Q: That seems only fair. What about your relationship with Bailey?

Sam: (sighs) You know, if you'd asked me before that night in September, I would have told you he was perfect. And, I guess he still is, it's just-

Q: You met Michael?

Sam: Yeah.... And it's all terribly, horribly confusing because he's been incredibly wonderful since Mom's fake death. But, the fact he may be connected to the BOAs makes everything more complicated.

Q: The Brotherhood of Asclepius?

Sam: (nods) They're almost as good as the Society at keeping themselves hidden. They're old school, keep everything on paper, no electronic communication, so it's been tough for Alec and the others to get more on them.

Q: Are you still in immediate danger from them?

Sam: Apparently I've been in immediate danger from multiple angles from my first breath. (smirks) So, yes. Which means I have to keep up the relationship with Bailey - he may lead us to more information.

Q: Besides your love woes, how else has learning the truth changed your life?

Sam: Honestly, day to day, not much. I still work at the Keg. I suppose the biggest change is I've dropped the content writing gigs. Dave, my agent, is on me to start my next book. Jayden and I have been getting self-defense training from the Zhous. Other than that, I'm just waiting for the next move from the Society, which is to wrap up the investigation from the attack, and Neve's trial.

Q: How do you feel about going back?

Sam: Nervous, but ready, I think.

Q: What do you think the outcome of the trial will be?

Sam: That's what I'm nervous about. I'm not going to allow an execution, that I do know. The rest I'm pretty sure I can handle, whatever it may be.

Q: So, you really don't know what your future holds?

Sam: (winks mischievously) Only time will tell....

Sam's story continues in A Shadow in Doubt