Character Interview: Sedona Armstrong

 

 

 

 

IINN: This is Chelsea Bingham coming to you from Independent Internet News Network. We’re here today with Sedona Armstrong to ask her about her experience in Nero’s Fiddle. Good morning, Sedona. How are you today?

 

SA: Fine.

 

IINN: Would you describe Nero’s Fiddle as a “buddy” type of book?

 

SA: Oh, no. No. Not in the least. Bev and I didn’t hit it off at first at all. She hated the fact that I was there.

 

IINN: So when did the two of you start getting along?

 

SA: (thinks) Hmm. Maybe it was when I asked her to teach me how to shoot a gun. Or maybe it was the time I shot a guy when he was trying to rape her.

 

IINN: You shot someone?

 

SA: Yeah. Well, in the foot. That way he couldn’t follow us but he’d live.

 

IINN: Wow. Sounds like things got pretty rough out there.

 

SA: Oh, yeah. The longer people were without electricity, the more desperate they got.

 

IINN: Why did you decide to join Captain Mossberg?

 

SA: Well, when I saw how she took the gun away from that Lieutenant, I knew she was a woman who wouldn’t take crap from anybody. I knew if I wanted to get back to DC I’d need to tag along with someone like her.

 

IINN: Why was it so important that you get back to DC?

 

SA: Well, that’s my home, for one thing. I have a career there and I wanted to get back to see where things stood.

 

IINN: You said –

 

SA: And there’s this cute little cat I call Elmo who hangs around my brownstone. I feed him and I was worried about him.

 

IINN: Would you do it the same if you had to do it over again?

 

SA: Absolutely.

 

IINN: How did it feel thrusting yourself in the midst of a group of people who were strangers to you?

 

SA: Well, it was definitely awkward at first. I mean, these people were already connected. Bev and the kids were family and Bev and Colt were old Marine buddies. I felt like an outsider. But then I realized: They weren’t treating me as an outsider, I was thinking of myself as an outsider. Once I realized that, I had no problem feeling like I belonged.

 

IINN: Okay. So how do you feel about the author Pen’s portrayal of you?

 

SA: Oh, I loved it. I love the changes she brought about in me. I mean, I thought I was a strong black woman from the beginning. But by the end, I was this take-charge, self-sufficient woman capable of using a gun when necessary.

 

IINN: Thank you, Sedona. This is Chelsea Bingham coming to you from Independent Internet News Network.