Grace Meridan
Author Interview - Grace Meridan
Author of The Reflection Game
Chicago is being stalked by a murderer who doesn’t just kill — they orchestrate. Each body is found with a single Tarot card and a message scrawled in cryptic prose. For detective Audrey Holliday, the clock is ticking. Every symbol, every card, is a puzzle she must solve before the next victim is claimed.
But just as the killer’s twisted pattern begins to emerge, Audrey’s world shatters.
She has a twin sister she never knew existed.
Eve De la Gardie is a renowned psychiatrist — brilliant, composed, and a master of the human mind. But when Audrey walks into her life, everything starts to unravel. Their connection runs deeper than blood. And it’s becoming terrifyingly clear: the killer isn’t choosing victims at random… they’re circling in.
Now the sisters must confront not only their past, but a murderer who knows their secrets. Intimately. Obsessively. And the final card? It won’t just reveal the killer’s identity — it will seal their fate.
Author Interview - Grace Meridan
Author I draw inspiration from:
Anne Rice - The Vampire Lestat and The Witching Hour, Alice Hoffman - Seventh Heaven, Anna Karenina, White Oleander, Gone Girl, Jodi Picoult - The Pact, Memoirs of a Geisha
Author Interview - Grace Meridan | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In my yard on my hanging egg chair
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Akasha (Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice).
I wouldn’t waste my precious trapped-in-an-elevator minutes with small talk. I’d ask her to turn me! Why settle for being turned by some moody, “just a few centuries old” vampire when I could get the upgrade package from the oldest of them all? Her blood would make me stronger, faster, and frankly, more fabulous than any younger vampire could. Then I’d convince her to mentor me. Have her teach me ancient languages, pass down centuries of secrets, and maybe give me a crash course in how not to lose my mind when you’ve got forever ahead of you. When those elevator doors finally open, we wouldn’t just be exiting, we’d be making an entrance.
Author Interview - Grace Meridan | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
As a teenager, I fell in love with Anne Rice. Her vivid detail and lush storytelling pulled me into entirely new worlds, and her characters felt like people I knew (complex, flawed, and unforgettable). I’ve also always been obsessed with identical twins. So, when the idea for my book hit, it started as this “two sisters from two different worlds” scenario. Sure, it sounds cliché. Until you stir in occult themes, mysticism, morally complicated characters, and banter sharp enough to draw blood. Writing this was my way of paying it forward and giving readers the kind of escape I once found curled up with a book, flashlight under the covers, pretending I was asleep.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback? My favorite. Yes, they’re bulky, but they’ve got this “I’m important” energy. They’re the book equivalent of a velvet rope. Holding one feels like you’ve scored something rare.
Paperback? Adorable, portable, and the kind you can stuff into a tote without crying if it gets a little scuffed. Because let’s be honest here, scuffed means loved.
E-books? Ridiculously convenient. Your entire library in one hand. But, call me old-fashioned: there’s nothing like curling up under a blanket on a chilly autumn night with the smell of paper and a real spine to crack.
Audiobooks? I’m picky. I don’t listen often, but when I do, I want the cinematic treatment (voices, music, sound effects). That’s exactly why I went all in on production for mine. If I’m going to be in your ears, I might as well make it worth your time.
The last book I read:
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Reading Verity felt like opening a door I knew I shouldn’t and then leaning in anyway. lol What starts as a simple ghostwriting gig spirals into an addictive little nightmare when a hidden manuscript surfaces, dripping with confessions that blur the line between truth and manipulation. It’s dark, twisted, and just voyeuristic enough to make you feel complicit. I didn’t just read it. I devoured it. All while wondering if I was the one being lured into the trap.
Author Interview - Grace Meridan | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Paper for plotting and scheming. Its the way to go for outlining chapters, scribbling connections, and plastering sticky notes everywhere like a conspiracy theorist with better handwriting. Those last-minute ideas? They go on paper before they have a chance to slip away. But when it comes to the main manuscript, it’s all computer. I like the speed, the search function, and the joy of hitting “delete” instead of wearing a hole through the page with eraser shavings. Plus, it makes revisions a lot less like surgery and more like shapeshifting.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Mina Harker of Bram Stoker's Dracula. She's the kind of friend who, to me, keeps her cool when everyone else is losing theirs. She is a good mix of intelligent, steady, and quietly formidable. I wouldn’t be plotting world domination with her; I’d be trusting her with the things I can’t tell anyone else. She’s the person you call at midnight because you need perspective… or an alibi. I think we’d balance each other perfectly. Her calm to my occasional chaos. That’s a friendship that could last through just about anything, even the undead.
Author Interview - Grace Meridan | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
For me, it’s always been about connection. Whether it’s through words on a page or a moment on screen, acting is just storytelling you can see, touch, and feel in real time. I love the idea of stepping into someone else’s skin, honoring the world a writer built, and then quietly leaving my own fingerprints on it. Not to steal the story, but to share it in a way that makes someone in the audience feel like they’ve been seen. If I could make even one person walk away thinking, “That’s me… I’ve felt that,” then I’d know I did it right.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Don’t make me choose! This is like picking a favorite book character (impossible and slightly cruel). The Elizabethan era had all the drama - ruffles, jewels, and enough embroidery to make your eyes water. The ’70s gave us that wild, free-spirited self-expression where you could wear fringe and feathers without anyone blinking twice.
But if I have to choose, my heart belongs to the 1940s. Think Rita Hayworth in a silk gown or Ava Gardner smoldering in a perfectly tailored suit. The 40s had this effortless glamour - structured, feminine, and utterly unapologetic. It was a time when even casual looked intentional, and the accessories alone could launch a thousand love affairs. Honestly, if someone handed me a victory roll and a red lip right now, I’d be halfway to a film noir set.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Visiting the pyramids and the Abu Simbel shrine in Egypt. This isn’t just a casual “Oh, that’d be nice someday” dream, this has been on my mind for years, maybe decades. I’ve devoured books on ancient Egyptian history, lost hours down documentary rabbit holes, and imagined what it would be like to stand where pharaohs once walked. This year, it’s finally happening.
There’s something about Egypt that feels larger than life. Monuments that defy time, artistry that still whispers across millennia, and a sense of mystery that no modern world convenience could ever outshine. And yes, I fully intend to lean into my Cleopatra fantasy while I’m there. Minus the snakebite ending, of course. Think gold jewelry, dramatic eyeliner, and the kind of slow, deliberate walk that says, I own this sand now. If I’m lucky, I’ll bring back more than souvenirs. Maybe a little piece of that timeless magic will come home with me.
My signature drink:
I’ll try just about any cocktail once. Half the fun is discovering something you didn’t know existed. But one that’s stuck with me is the Aviation. I mean, violet liqueur? I had no idea it was a thing until that first sip. It’s floral, a little mysterious, and just sweet enough to be dangerous… kind of like the best characters in a thriller. One glass feels like you’ve been let in on a secret. Two, and you might start sharing some of your own. haha
Favorite artist:
Amy Lee of Evanescence will always have my heart. Her haunting melodies and that beautiful, almost otherworldly voice wrapped in dark, rich layers… it was like discovering a world I’d always dreamed of but didn’t realize actually existed. Her lyrics felt like secrets you weren’t supposed to read, yet couldn’t look away from.
And along those same shadowed magical lines would be Tim Burton. Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride… his offbeat, crookedly charming characters made me fall in love with the strange, the imperfect, and the beautifully weird. Between Amy Lee and Tim Burton, I learned that the dark doesn’t have to be frightening, it can be gorgeous.
Number one on my bucket list:
The Grand Masked Ball at the Palace of Versailles. Not a festival, not a costume party, an all-out, ticketed, baroque fantasy where you step into candlelit opulence for one unforgettable night. Guests swirl through the Orangerie in elaborate gowns and masks while music, performances, and champagne flow like you’ve wandered into another century. I’d love to disappear into that world for an evening, silk skirts sweeping across marble floors, music echoing through the gardens, and the sense that (for just a few hours) time has escaped itself.
And one day...
I’d love to walk a red carpet for my book when it’s adapted into a film or series. A girl can dream :) No costume this time. Just my own style, polished and powerful. I’d want it to be less about the dress and more about the moment. Proof that a story born in my head can capture hearts far beyond the page.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Just that I’m endlessly grateful to anyone who takes a chance on my book and on me. Writing it was part obsession, part therapy, and every bit the thrill ride I hope it will be for readers. At its heart, my story is about the shadows we live with, the secrets we keep, and the connections that can change everything (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse).
If you see me at an event, come say hi. I’ll be the one in heels, holding an Aviation, probably telling an overly dramatic story with my hands. And if my book finds its way into your hands, I hope it pulls you in so completely that you forget the world for a little while. Then, when you close the last page, maybe you’ll feel the same thing I felt when I wrote it. A mix of exhilaration and lingering unease that stays with you long after the story ends.
Find more from the author:
Instagram/TikTok: @amidnightgrace
Website: www.amidnightgrace.com
About Grace Meridan:
Author Interview with Grace Meridan
Grace Meridan doesn’t just write psychological suspense. She unravels the human mind.
Her debut novel, The Reflection Game, plunges readers into a labyrinth of secrets, fate, and psychological warfare. Fascinated by the duality of identity and the razor-thin line between obsession and control, she weaves mysticism and psychology into every page, ensuring that each twist is more than just a shock. It’s a revelation.
A Chicago native, Grace balances her corporate career with a lifelong love of storytelling, music, and movement. A trained singer and passionate traveler, she finds inspiration in the rhythm of human nature, both the seen and unseen. Her fascination with tarot, mythology, and the mind’s darkest corners fuels her writing, bringing depth and eerie realism to her thrillers.
For those who crave stories that unsettle, haunt, and leave them questioning reality, Grace promises one thing: The Reflection Game is only the beginning.
