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October 1, 2024
Ewephoric Publishing
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INTERVIEW WITH MARLENE BELL'S LATEST SLEUTH:
And a chance to win books and prizes in A Hush at Midnight giveaway.
An interview with Laura Harris – A HUSH AT MIDNIGHT
1. Laura, you've spent your adult life as a pastry chef and suddenly you're unraveling mysteries. Looking back, do you see any hints that your life would evolve like this? Did you love reading mysteries growing up? Were you especially observant or - dare I say it - nosy? Do you have any special training - maybe martial arts or military training?
Solving murders or unraveling a heinous crime never entered my thoughts on any level. Fate can drop things in our path, both good and bad. I’m a chef with a dream to attain the coveted Mechlin Star for my own restaurant one day. Being part of my family’s winery, tasting room, and restaurant was the avenue to accomplish this until the feud with my sister, DeeDee made it feel more like a wild fantasy.
The closest I get to reading in earnest would have to be non-fiction cookbooks. My formal training is in French pastry but I love cooking in general. As a matter of fact, I’m in the process of publishing my first cookbook in a few months. I do love a good mystery, though. Except when it involves someone close to home and as special to me as Hattie Stenburg was. I can’t move forward in my career plans until I find the monster who killed my friend.
2. You moved back to Texas to help your family out but what do you miss most about California?
California is a beautiful state with everything for everyone; the Pacific Ocean’s pristine beaches, majestic blue foothills and craggy mountains, tall redwood forests and big city life, as well as quaint valley towns with a rich heritage. The overall weather in California can’t be beaten, in my opinion. It’s mild temperatures hardly vary from winter to the summer months unless you’re in snow country.
My favorite place in the world is found at the 6,225-foot elevation in the high Sierra Mountains. Meeks Bay Resort near Tahoma, CA on Lake Tahoe. The cabins sit just off of the main highway that encircles the lake on the west side. I spent many family vacations there with aunts, uncles, and cousins, bunking in rustic cabins around the July 4th holiday. The aroma of native trees such as aspens and live oaks and numerous varieties of pines populate the landscape and surround that cold, clear lake. The freshest air imaginable enters the senses at high elevations. The most peaceful place on the planet! I learned to waterski in Tahoe’s freezing water. A sixty-degree mountain lake made from snow melt requires a wetsuit to swim the middle even in July. Novice skiers learn to pop out of the water quickly in an environment like that. I sure did!
3. What about Texas? What's the one thing about home that you can never get enough of?
We actually see the changing seasons in East Texas. Fall color is unbelievable in the Woodlands. A plus is living in a wilderness with nature so close to our houses where we’re home to many creatures not seen in California such as the little excavators we call, nine-banded armadillos. They’re truly prehistoric-looking with their claws on each foot and armor covering them from their pointed snouts to the tip of their tails. Their armored plates have the look of metal, too. Armadillos have terrible eyesight, so if you’re lucky enough to come across one, you can photograph them until they smell your approach. I’ve learned to stay downwind for best results. White-tailed deer enter our properties by the hundreds and a host of skunks and foxes, including the nighttime prowlers; coyotes and the occasional mountain lion share the scenic grounds. In short, the wildlife is breathtaking and plentiful. It’s a plus when they’re near enough to get great photos.
4. You worked at your family's restaurant, a friend's bakery as well as many other places during your training as a chef. Do you have a favorite dish/sweet treat you like to make?
My personal favorite are French profiteroles like those I brought to Hattie before she, uh…was taken from us. Little puffs of heaven I like to call them. Luscious cream-filled puff pastries drizzled with the finest Belgian chocolate. When I want to liven things up, I sometimes fill them with the most delectable vanilla custard and add whisps of raspberries on top before serving. Of course, whiskey replaced the vanilla flavoring for Hattie. How I’ll miss making her special desserts and the decades of letters we wrote to each other.
Texans are partial to sheet cakes, I found out. Place a sheet cake on one end of the table and offer a tempting dish of handcrafted desserts at the other end to Texas guests—and when the party is over, the fancy plate will hardly be touched. The sheet cake will be gone with only crumbs remaining. It’s taken me a while to get used to the simple desserts locals prefer, like fried pies, banana pudding, and peach cobbler. Chocolate sheet cakes are the winner I always keep in the freezer. My bakery partner, Duska Novak can plow through an entire 13x9 cake she’s made herself, and it’s gone in two days!
5. November may have just started but we've all got Thanksgiving on our minds. How do you enjoy the day? Just traditional family meal, potluck with friends, turducken, tag football games?
I’m a simple person who likes quiet time with family over rowdy football games and outdoor activities. Since Mom passed away, I’m in charge of the holiday dinner duties with Dad and his friends. We’d hoped to invite Hattie this year, but sadly, that’s not possible. It’s going to be a solemn occasion with Mom and Hattie missing from our table.
6. Speaking of football...Cowboys or Texans? Or are you a quirky Texan that roots for an out-of-state team? Or <gasp> do you not have a favorite team?
Sports and cooking aren’t the best mix for me. Since I was a child, I spent more time in the kitchen than watching games on the television. We aren’t a sports family per se with two girls and a boy who preferred science over sports. The winery duties took over for us in Northern California and so did Dad’s responsibilities at Stenburg Enterprises once he became chief executive officer. I can honestly say that my parents weren’t into sports so they didn’t push them. They allowed us to follow our own path as long as it wasn’t too far from the winery business.
7. Laura, I'm sure you know I love to read! So, tell us what do you like to read? Please tell me it isn't just cookbooks (although they can be fun).
Since you’ve taken cookbooks off the list, a close second are novels by new authors or independent writers. Writing books is arduous (as I’ve learned,) and anyone who has the time, money, and stomach to publish books on their own without a publisher’s backing deserves a chance at new readers. I’ve recently picked up an author whose written several books in an international series that spans Europe as well as countries down under. You might have heard of her; Marlene M. Bell. A Texas sheep breeder turned novelist. She has a new book out called, A Hush at Midnight. It’s not from her Annalisse series, but I’m curious to see how she describes Texas in this latest novel. I hear she has a main character with the same name as mine who is also a chef. Isn’t that interesting? I can’t wait to read her slant on Texas!
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to your readers!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like.
As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter.
Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple
levels with her creativity.
Marlene’s award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series. Her children’s picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team!, written primarily for younger kids, is based on true events from the Bell’s East Texas sheep ranch.
The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of belonging and unconditional love between a little girl and her lamb.
YOU CAN FOLLOW THE AUTHOR AT:
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Adding to your TBR?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping.
Thank you for the interview and post.
ReplyDeleteCertainly - thank you for stopping by and for commenting, Mystica.
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