Authors Interviewing Characters: Pamela Statz
Thorn City: A Novel
Suspected murder, eclectic food trucks, and artisanal cocaine: just another day in Thorn Cit
It’s the night of the Rose City Ripe for Disruption gala—a gathering of Portland’s elite. Dressed to kill in sparkling minidresses, best friends Lisa and Jamie attend as “paid to party” girls. They plan an evening of fake flirtations, karaoke playlists, and of course, grazing the catering.
Past and present collide when Lisa stumbles across Ellen, a ruthless politician who also happens to be Lisa’s estranged mother. Awkward… When Lisa was sixteen, Ellen had her kidnapped and taken to the Lost Lake Academy—a notorious boarding school for troubled youth.
To make matters worse, Lisa’s boyfriend Patrick crashes the party to meet his new boss—Portland’s food cart drug kingpin.
These unfortunate encounters spur Lisa into making a fateful choice that traps her, Jamie, and Patrick in Ellen’s web. As earth-shattering secrets are revealed, will they survive Ellen’s schemes or be sacrificed to her blind ambition?
Pamela Statz interviews Lisa Salder
PS: Lisa, thanks for chatting with me today. And I love your dress. It’s so sparkly and fun. Are you going to a party tonight?
Lisa: Well, sort of …
[Lisa’s roommate and best friend Jamie steps into the room wearing a bathrobe and towel wrapped around her hair.]
Jamie: It’s not a party for us. We have to work. No drinking, no fun, but we do get to eat all the catering we want!
Lisa: Jamie, why are you still in your bathrobe? Don’t we need to leave in a few minutes?
Jamie: Oh shit! I still need to dry my hair. I’ll be back in five!
PS: Lisa, you’re wearing that to work? A gold sequined mini dress doesn’t seem like very appropriate attire for a business setting.
Lisa: Who are you? My mother?
PS: No, thank god. Though, I am your creator.
[Lisa rolls her eyes.]
PS: So, where do you and Jamie work?
Lisa: We’re party hostesses at events around Portland, like galas, festivals and conventions.
PS: Right on. So, as a party hostess, do you show people to their tables, like for dinner?
Lisa: Do I seriously need to describe my job to you?
PS: Yes. Explain it to me as though I were newly hatched.
Lisa: You are so weird. Anyway, no. It’s not like a restaurant hostess. Maybe the better way to put it is that we’re ‘paid to party girls.’
PS: That sounds semi-illegal.
Lisa: Well it’s not, okay? Jamie and I take our roles very seriously. It’s a really important job and it’s really hard. Like tonight, we’ll make sure the party is fun for everyone by flirting with shy guests, we’ll be first on the dance floor, and we’ll get things rolling in the karaoke tent. Which by the way, I totally hate. Karaoke is so sad.
PS: It is not sad. You’re just singing the wrong songs. Personally, I love karaoke. I own three karaoke microphones and a giant speaker. My neighbors hate me.
Lisa: I kind of hate you.
PS: That’s fine. I’m not here to make friends.
[Lisa’s phone dings.]
PS: Do you need to take that?
Lisa: No. It’s just Patrick.
PS: Who’s Patrick?
Lisa: My boyfriend. Which you already know, because you created him too.
PS: Just humor me. So, you’ve been together a long time?
Lisa: Yeah, since I was sixteen.
PS: You should break up with him and try meeting someone new. You’re still young. Sow your wild oats.
Lisa: Are you fucking kidding me?
PS: Language, Lisa.
Lisa: I do not need this from you right now.
PS: Sorry! So, what’s going on with you and Patrick?
Lisa: It’s nothing. He wants to know what I’m doing tonight. He doesn’t like this party hostess thing. I don’t think he trusts me, which is totally unfair. I’ve been nothing but the perfect girl friend for years and I’m getting sick of his jealousy. I’ll always love him, but…
PS: But what?
Lisa: It’s just he doesn’t have a lot in his life other than me and Jamie, and being his girlfriend is a little exhausting at times. I wish that he’d connect with his family again.
PS: Have you met his parents?
Lisa: No. He never talks about them. I know there’s some bad blood between them which I can totally understand. I mean, my mom had me kidnapped.
PS: Ellen Salder. Mother of the Year.
Lisa: Right? So I can only imagine that what Patrick’s parents did to him was even worse. I’ve tried asking him about it, but he always changes the subject. He thinks of me as his family, but I don’t want all of that responsibility. I have too many problems of my own. I think I need to make a big change. But I don’t want to hurt him. [She gives me a hard stare.] You aren’t going to tell him about this conversation, are you?
PS: Of course not. Though, I might write about it…
Lisa: That’s the same thing!
PS: Let’s move on. So, tell me, what was it like being kidnapped?
Lisa: Nope. Next question.
PS: It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. People will find out when they read the book.
Lisa: You wrote about the kidnapping?
PS: Obviously. It’s a crucial scene with lots of cinematic juice. When this book gets made into a movie, or a series, it’s going to be the opening scene.
Lisa: That is a clear violation of my privacy.
PS: I literally invented you. You have no privacy.
[Jamie returns, now dressed in a tight green cocktail dress that’s even more sparkly than Lisa’s.]
Jamie: Dude, we need to get going or we’ll miss the bus.
Lisa: Jamie, I’ve been ready for an hour. Anyway, who cares if we’re late.
Jamie: I do. I want that sweet cash money. Now let’s get a move on, missy.
Lisa: Can’t we just go to the corner bar and have a couple martinis? [She looks at me.] You can come too, I suppose.
PS: Sorry Lisa, I have to agree with Jamie. You need to go to that party. If you don’t, I don’t have a book.
Lisa: Fine.
PS: Thanks for chatting Lisa. Have fun and make bad choices!
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Category: On Writing
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