Character Interview | Meet Marie LaValle from Death by Dreidel by Susie Black #cozymystery #characterinterview #humorousmystery
- N. N. Light
- Jun 4
- 9 min read
Hello Y’all. Allow me to introduce mahself. Ah am Marie LaValle, the ghost of the dearly departed wife of Buddy LaValle. Our precious baby girl Justine and I were killed several years ago by a drunk wrong-way driver in a head-on car crash on I-10 in New Orleans. Justine and I cain’t move on and rest in peace in the Great Beyond until we are sure that Buddy won’t be alone and sad for the rest of his life. Buddy always spoke highly of Holly Schlivnik. Ah knew Buddy loved me, but call it a woman’s intuition, Ah thought there was more to his feelings for Holly than he let on. So, Justine and I are tryin’ our hardest to make Ms. Holly see the light and marry mah Cajun boy. Buddy said Holly had a good head on her shoulders, but ah declare that the woman is a little slow on the uptake. So far, despite mah best efforts to convince her, Ms. Holly hasn’t gotten with the program yet and is two-timing mah Buddy by dating another man along with mah Cajun boy!
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Marie: Not bein’ dead.
What is your greatest fear?
Marie: That Holly Schlivnik won’t pull her head out of her butt and marry mah Cajun boy.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Marie: Jealousy.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Marie: Dishonesty. Ah have no use for some Yahoo who insults mah intelligence by lyin’ through their teeth and thinking that just because I talk with a Southern accent I am as dumb as a box of rocks and they can get anything by me.
Which living person do you most admire?
Marie: Dolly Parton. There is a humble woman who made it big but never forgot where she came from. She pays it back by payin’ it forward.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Marie: When Ah was alive, Rocky Road Ice Cream. Now that Ah’m dead…being able to fly, go through buildings, show up and disappear and move things anytime I feel like it, and scare the crap out of people who annoy me for the fun of it and just because I can.
What is your current state of mind?
Marie: Out of this world.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Marie: Patience.
On what occasion do you lie?
Marie: When tellin’ the truth hurts somebody’s feelings. Like when Ah was a young whippersnapper and mah Mama wore that hideous bright orange Mumu she got in Hawaii that made her look like a big old flowery pumpkin with legs. When she asked me how she looked, Ah miraculously kept a straight face and said she looked gorgeous. Of course, if I’d a said what ah really thought, she’d a whupped mah butt.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Marie: Mah limited wardrobe. Heck, if Ah knew getting’ killed meant Ah would be stuck wearin’ the same damn boring outfit for eternity, ah would have dressed up more for the occasion that day and worn something a helluva lot more eye-catchin’ than them old faded jeans and Buddy’s LSU sweatshirt.
Which living person do you most despise?
Marie: The damned bartender who kept serving drinks to the drunk driver later who drove on the wrong side of the Interstate and plowed into mah car at 100mph.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Marie: A trifecta of passion, a wicked sense of humor, and the understandin’ that a happy wife means a happy life. Oh, and of course, he’s got to have a great butt.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Marie: Compassion.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Marie: “Are you jes’ dumber than a box of rocks or what?” “Bless your heart.” “Land sakes alive.”
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Marie: It’s a tie. Mah husband Buddy and mah precious baby girl Justine.
When and where were you happiest?
Marie: In the maternity delivery room when Justine finally decided after mah eight hours of bein’ in labor it was time for her to make her grand entrance into the world.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Marie: It’s a toss-up between being a Texas hold-‘em poker card shark and playing the banjo.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Marie: Ah wish the Good Lord had equipped me with a bodacious set of boobs instead of mah pathetic two bumps on a log.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Marie: Bringin’ Justine into the world and mah kick-ass shrimp and sausage gumbo that will set your hair on fire.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Marie: Now, see here is where I thought if there was one benefit to dying, reincarnation would have been it. Ah always saw mahself as a Queen and was hopin’ to come back as Cleopatra. But so far, much to my disappointment, it hasn’t happened.
Where would you most like to live?
Marie: When Ah was alive, Ah always fancied livin’ in Tahiti and dancin’ around in one of them grass skirts with coconut shells coverin’ mah tah-tahs.
What is your most treasured possession?
Marie: Justine.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Marie: That I couldn’t save Justine’s life.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Marie: Mah tenacity.
What do you most value in your friends?
Marie: Respect, loyalty, and most of all, honesty…no matter what, tell me what they think, not what they think I want to hear.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Marie: Queen Elizabeth I.
What is it that you most dislike?
Marie: Pantyhose and Brussels Sprouts.
What is your greatest regret?
Marie: Not bein’ able to say a proper goodbye to Buddy and tell him how much Ah love him.
What is your motto?
Marie: Never underestimate a woman.
Thank you, Marie, for such a fun interview. I feel like I understand you more. Readers, scroll down to read all about Marie and the rest of the characters in Susie Black’s new release.
Title: Death by Dreidel
Author: Susie Black
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Mermaid Swimwear President Holly Schlivnik attends an industry Hanukkah party to honor Rapido Swimwear CEO Leni Waxman as the Mount Cedars Hospital Woman of the Year. The guest of honor collapses and dies in the middle of the event. An autopsy confirms that Leni expired as a result of poisoning by coming in contact with a purposely contaminated dreidel. There is no shortage of suspects—Leni had no problem destroying anyone who threatened her top-dog swimwear industry position. When Holly’s business partner is wrongly arrested for Leni’s murder, the irreverent sales exec can’t mind her own beeswax. The wise-cracking snoop sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong to flesh out the real killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster and nothing turns out how Holly thinks it will as she takes on a ruthless killer hellbent on revenge.
Excerpt:
Queenie’s eyes twinkled. “Since Buddy no longer has any competition, did your mother reserve the wedding venue?”
As I opened my mouth to make a snappy reply, the temperature dropped fifty degrees. I shivered and pulled my blazer tightly around my shoulders as the two spinning whirls of freezing air I’d become a tad too familiar with spun counterclockwise as twin tornados swirled down, and landed next to me.
Grinning from ear to ear, Marie and Justine LaValle bounced around like a couple of runaway beach balls and did their high-step version of the happy dance, replete with a synchronized wave and an ass-shaking hokey-pokey-style finale.
Once they finished their routine, Marie put her thumb and index finger between her lips and blew out an ear-splitting victory whistle. If she wasn’t already an apparition, her whistle would wake the dead. She raised her arms above her head and squealed, “Praise Heaven above and Hallelujah! Our prayers have finally been answered.”
She skidded her palms across one another. “Ah say, goodbye and good riddance. It’s about time the damned fool realized the error of his ways and said adios. What took him so long to figure out he had no chance of winning your hand as long as I am around is simply beyond me.” She wagged her index finger at me. “Ah declare, that man is almost as slow on the uptake as you, and hand to God, Ah didn’t think it possible.”
Marie rubbed her hands together. “Well, as Mee-maw always said, the good Lord screwed our heads on lookin’ forward for a reason.” She clapped twice and grinned. “You better hustle your bustle Missy right fast, because we don’t have a lot of time to make all them arrangements and a proper weddin’ takes some plannin’.”
Whoa. I better put the brakes on this conversation and pronto. I shook my head at Marie, but she didn’t take the hint. If I didn’t want to look like a crazy woman talking to the air, I needed to speak to the ghosts away from the Yenta's nosy ears. I held up my coffee cup and smiled sheepishly. “Little girl, little bladder. I’ll be back in five minutes, and you guys can give me your fifty cents worth of opinion you’re no doubt all dying to share.”
The cane made an annoying clicking sound as I shuffled to the ladies' room diagonally across from the elevator bank in the mart lobby. I reached the door and prayed I’d find no one inside. I pulled open the handle and let out a sigh of relief. Praise the Goddess—nobody at the sinks and all the stall doors were open and empty.
The two ghosts floated through the door and followed me into the restroom.
Marie’s icy glare froze me in my tracks. “What the Sam Hill are you talkin’ about? Now that you’re free of your encumbrance, we can proceed to the weddin’.” Marie crossed her arms over her chest and impatiently tapped a foot waiting for my answer.
I jutted my chin defiantly. “Hold on a Cincinnati minute, lady. We’re a long way off, if ever, to making wedding plans.”
Justine’s lower lip trembled. “Why don’t you want to marry my daddy? He’s such a nice man. He’ll take good care of you the same way he took care of Mama and me.”
Isn’t this dandy? First, I’m almost killed by a maniac. Next, I’m dumped by one of my boyfriends. And now, I have two ghosts strong-arming me into a quickie marriage to the other man in my life. Geesh. I can’t catch a break.
I plastered a sincere-looking smile on my kisser and leaned over on my cane to get closer to the level of the ghost of Buddy’s baby girl. “You’re right, sweetie. Your daddy is a wonderful man and I care for him quite a bit. And maybe someday we will get married. I hope you understand that if we do, it will be when we think it’s the right time for us, not when somebody else thinks it’s the right time.”
Marie smiled wickedly. “Listen up girlie—that’s all well and good. But you better understand this: it’s no use you fighting the inevitable. Time isn’t on your side. Justine and me have an eternity to wait around here until you and mah Cajun Boy tie the knot. So, rest assured we’ll encourage you in our special way to goose the process along…for however long it takes.”
Before I could explain to Marie LaValle in vivid detail exactly where she could shove her wedding plans, the two ghosts disappeared into thin air.
Queenie walked in and glanced around the empty room. “Who were you talking to?”
Queenster, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.
Buy Links:
Amazon: Amazon.com : Death by Dreidel
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-by-dreidel-susie-black/1147055032?ean=2940184541495
Author Biography:
Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.
She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector and sailor. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
Looking for more? Contact Susie at:
Website: www.authorsusieblack.com
E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com
Social Media Links:
Blue Sky: @hollysusiewrites.bsky.social
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hollysusie1/
