The Inimitable Iona

Few characters arrive whole, but Iona Slatterly, like Aphrodite rising from the ocean foam, came fully formed. Inspired by a tiny woman I saw from across the room while serving jury duty years ago, Iona isn’t hard to spot. I never got to talk with the woman, but her image and the way she carried herself stayed with me, and years later, when I started writing SHATTERED, she just naturally found her way into the story.

Iona makes quite an impression. She has been head of security at the Otter Festival where Logan and her brother had summer jobs as kids. In this scene, Logan sees Iona for the first time in over 15 years. She hasn’t changed!

Stuffed into tiny, pink jeans, Iona perched on her tall stool next to a rickety folding table covered with parking stickers and badges, managing a growing line.  Iona had been a fixture at the festival as far back as anyone could remember. Where did one find pink jeans anyway? Probably the girls’ department at Sears.

Topping the jeans was a crisp, sleeveless white blouse with western piping, tucked in and cinched with a white, rhinestone-studded belt. The woman couldn’t weigh as much as some of her 7th graders, Logan thought.

Bleach-blonde hair, ratted into an immobile French twist with two perfect ringlets on each side, was sprayed to withstand any and all of Iona’s activities, which, if rumors were correct, were prodigious.

A solid roll of bangs sat atop starkly penciled brows. Today’s lipstick was ‘Neon Geranium’. Number two pencil tucked behind her ear, Iona’s compact body was concentrating on the list she was checking off on her clipboard. A Marlboro Light burned on the edge of a Pepsi can near her left hand.”

I am sure Iona will find her way into future installments of the Logan series!