We’re back! After a
brief hiatus, the series of character interviews returns with Marianne Reed,
the star of Loraine Hudson’s “The House on Beale Street”.
Here’s a little bit about the book.
A dream house in a
small town. A cup of coffee on her porch. Her dog at her feet. What could
possibly go wrong? Plenty. Bumps in the night, unwelcome visitors, an angry
friend, and a lingering threat from a local robbery leave Marianne Reed
wondering if her new home might become a nightmare.
The
question is: Is it new-house jitters, or is danger just around the corner?
Tell us a little
about yourself:
Nice to meet you all! My name is Marianne Reed. I recently moved
from Peoria, Illinois, to a small house on Beale Street in Burtonville,
Illinois, thinking—wrongly, I might add!—that it would be quiet and peaceful in
Burtonville, allowing me the freedom to pursue some small, personal wants.
I have a giant dog, Rowdy by
name, but you shouldn’t allow his name to fool you into thinking he expends a
particle of energy on anything he doesn’t wish to. He’s (usually) a lazy boy,
but he’s my wonderful friend and partner. I love him to pieces, and through
some of my adventures in Burtonville I’ve discovered a side to Rowdy that isn’t
lazy in the slightest.
One more thing: I’m a widow. My husband was killed in Afghanistan some
years ago. I am close to my
step-daughter, Natalie, who is a graduate student at the University of
Illinois.
Here is a picture of me.
—weird
that it’s on a hairstyles URL! https://lovehairstyles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/hairstyles-for-women-over-50-new-style-gray-color-long-bob-side-swept-straight-334x500.jpg
This picture isn’t super current,
because I’ve since begun wearing my hair short and curly. One question I always have is whether I
should cover my gray or not. I’ve started to several different times, but I
always seem to decide against it. What
do you think?
Although my move to Beale Street
hasn’t quite turned out the way I
expected, I still love it here, have made some new friends, and am turning my
little house into the kind of place I’ve always wanted.
How did your
background get you involved in this novel?
Well, I really didn’t mean to get
involved in the way that I’ve been involved, and I have absolutely no background
in solving mysteries! I moved to
Burtonville for a new start—to let me do some whimsical, silly things, all for
me, in the peace and quiet of a small town.
Little did I know that life in a small town at times can sometimes be
anything but “peace and quiet!”
Right after I moved into my new
home, I discovered there had been a robbery next door, and after that someone
started setting fires in town. I seem to
find myself in the midst of all the excitement, even though I never look for
it; however, I’ve been able to get myself out of some pretty scary situations,
and I can hold my own on the mystery front!
Who came first, you
or the author?
Oh, I
definitely came first. Lori Hudson, the
author, discovered me when she was thinking back to visits she made to Wyanet, a
small town in Illinois. I think Burtonville
reminds her a lot of Wyanet, and when she found out about me, she started
writing my stories. She has a lot more
to tell, and she’s working on more stories now.
By the way,
Lori’s full name is Loraine Hudson, but since we know each other so well, I
call her by her nickname.
What’s your greatest
strength? And of course, we want to
know the opposite, your greatest weakness.
Well, if this were a job
interview, I’d employ the usual workaround and turn my weakness into a strength
but since this isn’t an interview for
a job (or is it?), I’ll just be straightforward. My greatest strengths are that I’m courageous
and strong and smart, and that I have a wonderful support system: Rowdy, my
dog, of course; my wonderful step-daughter, Natalie; my good friends, Louise
from Peoria, and Ashley, whom I met after I moved to Burtonville; Duffy,
another wonderful friend from Peoria; the Prairie City Sheriff’s Department and
that great-looking Brad (who, in fact, is now more than a friend, although we
keep it on the DL so Brad doesn’t get teased mercilessly by his colleagues in
the Department).
My weakness? I’m really not over the loss of my husband,
Duane. Even though he was killed a number
of years ago, I still mourn him, and I have a hard time imagining myself
committing to another partner (other than Rowdy, naturally!). Louise would probably say I should get some
grief counseling, but truthfully … I don’t want to stop missing Duane. He was
my great love, and I think he deserves my grief. Where does that leave me with Brad (more
about Brad later)? I’m not sure, but you
asked about my weakness, and there it is.
Or maybe it isn’t a weakness. You
be the judge!
What is it about this story that sets it apart from the others?
I believe Lori’s books about me and my adventures in Burtonville would fall naturally into the mystery genre; however, Lori has chosen not to center each of the stories around a murder. Not that murder isn’t going to play a role here and there, but she decided to try something different, and I support her! There is certainly plenty of mystery swirling around me and my little town—much to my surprise!—and plenty of thrills and chills to be had.
Tell us something about your background that may or may not be revealed in the book?
I don’t believe Lori has talked about this yet in her books, but I lost my father when I was about fourteen, and my mom when I was in my twenties. Since I have no siblings, I’ve got a very small family. I was close to them while I had them, though—and to my grandparents as well. I have fond memories of my grandmother. She was such a sweet, precise woman, and I stayed with her often when I was a young girl.
Are you the type of
person who always seeks out the company of others?
Not at all. I’m very much at home being by myself. I’ve always got some sort of project in mind,
and I like walking with Rowdy and reading anything and everything. My favorite times are sitting out on my porch
and just listening to Burtonville—people going about their days and living
their lives.
On the other hand, there’s very
little I like better than a get-together with friends, especially when we have
lava cake for dessert!
What do you do to
relax after a day’s work?
Duane made provisions for me in
the event that something happened to him overseas, which, of course, it did,
and so now I no longer work outside the home.
I was in administration at Bradley University in Peoria for quite a
number of years, which is where Louise, is employed now (she teaches and
studies tragic literature). A day’s work
for me usually involves some sort of home improvement project—I’ve been fixing
up my house on Beale Street, putting up drywall, wallpapering, painting,
etc. The next big project may be the
basement. It was a giant mess when I
moved in. With the help of Louise and
Natalie, it’s all cleaned out now, but it still needs some TLC.
Which do you prefer, music or television?
Oh music, by far. I almost never turn my television on, but I love to listen to music, especially when I’m driving and can turn it up good and loud. One of my favorite car artists is Cat Stevens. I particularly like “If You Want to Sing Out.” I sort of think it’s my theme song. Here’s a link if you want to listen and see if it’s your theme song, too J https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDq36YD1ESM
To tell you the truth, I think I
had this song in the back of my mind when I decided to move from Peoria to
Burtonville. I lived in a gorgeous home
that Duane and I decorated and renovated, but I wanted to try something
different, and my house on Beale Street is a lot different, that’s for
sure! It’s very small and when I bought
it, it needed a lot of work. My friends in Peoria were baffled about why I
decided to move, but, “if you want to sing out, sing out!” See what I mean?
Who’s your best friend and what influence have they had on your life?
Who’s your best friend and what influence have they had on your life?
That would have to be Louise
Klein, my friend for thirty years. We
met shortly after I started working at Bradley, and were instantly fast
friends. She was my matron of honor at
Duane’s and my wedding, she’s helped me, supported me, cried and laughed with
me, and fallen in love with my step-daughter, Natalie, and with Rowdy. Whenever
I have some new scheme up my sleeve, she’s always “in.” Our favorite restaurant
is Fibber McGee’s, a seafood place in
Peoria, where we always eat too much, swear we won’t have dessert and always
do, and generally solve all our and everyone else’s problems over a glass of
wine. She’s the sister I didn’t have, and
the adult friend I would kill for and would die without. It’s astounding to me
that she hasn’t met a significant other to whom she can give her heart—she’s so
bright and talented. But her love life has been a rocky road.
What has been the most romantic thing you’ve ever done or instigated?
What has been the most romantic thing you’ve ever done or instigated?
Back to Duane. We met at a fundraiser, started talking,
talked some more and some more, had dinner and talked still more. After all
that, we were hoarse, but still not ready to call it a night, so I asked him if
he’d like to watch the Perseid meteor shower, which happened to be at its peak
the night. We crawled out onto the
gently sloping roof of my garage in Peoria and lay there until about 2:00 in
the morning, just watching the sky and getting to know each other. Stargazing was one of our favorite pastimes,
and I enjoy it to this day.
Tell us about the one person you loved who got away.
Tell us about the one person you loved who got away.
I had a serious crush on John
Nicholson when I was in high school, but he never gave me the time of day
(LOL). Seriously—and this will come as
no surprise to you—the person I loved who got away is my husband, Duane. He, of course, didn’t get away in the true
sense of the word, but instead was tragically killed in Afghanistan. Okay, enough about that. You don’t need me getting all maudlin on you.
I can’t tell you how much I’ve
enjoyed sharing a little bit of myself with you! I hope you enjoyed this interview, and that
hearing about me will make you want to read some of the stories Lori (Loraine
J.) Hudson has written about me!
The first in the series is called
The House on Beale Street and the second is The Stars over Beale
Street.
Spoiler alert: She’s got a
third book in the works called Bones on Beale Street (and yes, there’s a
murder in that one!)
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
I peeked out the window and saw a
tall man on the doorstep, hunched against the cold and looking soaked to the
skin. While I watched, he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, glared at the
dark screen, and then put it away. He was lifting his hand to knock again when
I unlocked the door and braced my foot against it to let it open only a few
inches.
“Hi,” I said though the gap.
He looked at me, drops of rain on
his eyebrows and dewing his hair. His nose was red from cold. “Hello,” he said.
“I’m awfully sorry to bother you. Do you have a phone I can use? My car’s dead,
and so is this worthless thing.” He held up his blank-faced cell phone. “I need
to call my sister to come get me.”
“Of course.” I started to turn away.
“You can use my …”
I intended to hand him my phone
through the partially-open door, but he threw himself forward and shoved it
violently inward. The door hit my shoulder with such force that it nearly
knocked me over, and then he was in my living room, panting slightly and
pushing the door shut behind him. I managed to regain my balance at the last
minute and opened my mouth to let out a yell, but he leaped forward, hooked an
arm around my neck, held me against his body and clamped his hand over my mouth
before I could utter a squeak.
“Don’t scream!” he growled in my
ear. “Do not scream. Do you hear me? Nod ‘yes.’”
I nodded quickly, feeling bile rise
in my throat and my pulse thundering in my ears. Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I cursed myself. It’s easy to get lulled into
thinking everyone’s cozy and neighborly in a small town. Hadn’t
I been warned?
About the Author:
Loraine J. Hudson lives and writes in a small town in Michigan. The first book in her “Beale Street” mystery
series is The House on Beale Street. She released The Stars over Beale Street,
in early 2019. When she isn’t writing
mysteries, the enjoys creating “tween” and YA chapter books under her pen name,
Judith Wade, especially stories with
a little bit of fantasy or adventure.
Her most recent release, The Dragon’s Nest, is second in a series
about a young man who just can’t get the dragons out of his life. She loves oldies rock music, stained glass,
digging in her garden, playing with her dogs, horseback riding and, of course,
writing. She is active in a nationwide
thoroughbred rehab program, and is often at her most creative when taking her
own ex-racehorse out for an amble through the woods, imagining dialogues, plot
twists and new tales to tell.
Follow her on Facebook –
Check out her author page on
Amazon –
If you like ebooks, but aren’t a
Kindle user, copies for Nook, Kobo, etc., are available at:
The House on Beale Street
just came out as an audiobook – visit audible.com for details!
Thanks to Marianne for stopping by. Sounds like things in a small town are keeping her busy.
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