Interview with Amel by Mel.

Q: Amel has fans, fanatics and people who envy him. Now we’re here to dig a little deeper...

Hi Amel! Now, we’re all wondering (at least I am!) how, exactly, did you meet Perry?

A: Perry? She was kind enough to let me stay on Barmi II after I escaped from the Reetions. I was still, uh, getting the hang of being a Pureblood Prince instead of a commoner. She helped me ... adjust.

Q: Interesting, so, do you have a favourite color, smell, etc?

A: I like clean, fresh smells, like the outdoors. I like the way the air is full of story-smells on green planets, that flow along like running water. But I like some of the scents of UnderGelion, too. Like Den Eva’s, in the showers, after everyone’s finished and the whole room is still damp but drying. Or a backroom kitchen where the servants sit around an old table sharing tea or a lady’s parlour. I like creamy colors. Blues and yellows. I like all the blues in every sky I’ve ever seen on every world I’ve landed on and all the ways the clouds conspire to make pictures. Red can be exciting sometimes. And there’s something reassuring about green. I guess I like a lot of colors.

Q: Cool ... Amel are you seriously mad at Lynda for all she has put you through?

A: Lynda? Who’s Lynda? You mean there’s one person responsible for — Gods, yes! I’d be seriously mad about that! But I’m afraid my own mistakes got me into half the trouble I’ve waded through, and the rest is bad luck, bad timing and the misfortune to attract people for the wrong reasons. Or just the wrong people. I keep thinking that must be something I do, too. As soon as I figure out what, I’m going to stop!

Q: Hey, we have a personal question: Which courtesan outfit do you like best?

A: I’ve always found dancer’s sheaths comfortable. Just the stretchy outfit, not the drape. Wearing a dancer’s sheath is like being naked, but you’re not. You’re free to move and free to amaze people with movement, but at the same time you are completely covered up: neck to ankles. No pockets though. That’s a nuisance.

Q: Amel, what’s flying in a rel-ship like?

A: A lot like being locked in a hot closet for too many hours: boring and gritty and unsettling. Of course the spacescapes can be awesome, and it’s a smug feeling knowing your way around in that much nothingness -- when it isn’t humbling and devastatingly scary, of course. But on the whole, the best thing about rel-skimming, I think, is reaching dock!

Q: Well, we asked, he answered and now we know! Thank you so very much, Amel!

- Mel F.