We are delighted to welcome author Teresa LaRue to Omnimystery News today.
Teresa begins a new series this month with the publication of A Talent for Murder (Five Star; October 2015 hardcover) and we asked her to tell us more about the characters in her book. She replied with a guest post written from the perspective of her series character, Kate Spencer, titled "Feisty Southern Women".
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Photo provided courtesy of
Teresa LaRue
The South is full of strong, feisty women. I should know. I come from a long line of them. Not that I'd ever sling a bucket of ice at anyone like Camilla (my aunt's arch enemy), or retaliate with a pitcher of iced tea (Aunt Lula Mae), but I've been known to exchange a few verbal punches.
Outsiders often mistake our cheerful smiles and good manners for weakness. But that would be a costly mistake. Underneath all that hospitality can lurk a heart of gold — or ice.
The first tool in our arsenal is the "kill 'em with kindness" technique. Should it fail, we switch to the steely glare, which works particularly well at keeping offspring in line. My mother's used it on me enough times! Though, I can't complain, not if I want to keep enjoying all that fried chicken, seafood gumbo, and gooey brownies she makes.
Another technique is to talk so fast you throw them into a frenzy. Our natural rhythm being a slow, Southern drawl, it takes a lot of practice to perfect. But it's well worth the effort, let me tell you! Especially when your boyfriend demands that you stop interfering with his investigation. Did I mention Aunt Lula Mae was the main suspect in a murder, or that the victim was her arch enemy?
This is when the banty rooster stance comes in handy. While I stand a good five feet eight inches, somehow the method works better for petite women like my mother, who's been known to bring grown men to their knees.
And for those few occasions when something more physical is required, there's always the "knock 'em in the head with the nearest baseball bat" approach. My mother keeps hers, a Louisville slugger, locked in the trunk of her car, while I keep mine under the bed.
Every tool in the arsenal was deployed to keep my beloved aunt out of the slammer. That she would end up accused of murder is absurd! She's the kindest, most gentle woman I've ever known. Once, she marched into my biology class carrying a "save the frogs" sign and refused to leave until my teacher promised to cease all dissection and provide burials for every specimen.
So you see, my mother Happy and I had no choice but to plunge headlong into the investigation, despite the stern warning of my ex-boyfriend cop, who had the bad taste to, amid all that craziness, want to get back together.
Of course, our task might have been easier if Lula Mae and the deceased didn't have a long history of chasing after the same man, and if missing pieces of Camilla's jewelry hadn't turned up in Lula Mae's possession, but that's a story for another day.
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Teresa LaRue grew up in a small town along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She's worked as a secretary, assistant manager of an audio book store, and manager of a fashion jewelry store. She is an avid reader, gardener, and movie buff. She lives across the lake from New Orleans with her husband, two of her children, a dog named Bones, and a cat named Chloe.
For more information about the author, please visit her website.
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A Talent for Murder by Teresa LaRue
A Flower Patch Mystery
Publisher: Five Star
When Kate Spencer learns her aunt's fiancé is two-timing her with an old rival, she has no choice but to pass along the information to her mother. They are as shocked as the rest of the town when the rival turns up dead and the two-timing fiancé disappears.
Making matters worse, the lead investigator happens to be Kate's old boyfriend. If her aunt has any hope of being cleared, the trio must conduct their own investigation. Even if they have to alienate a few friends and tell a few lies to discover the truth.
— A Talent for Murder by Teresa LaRue
