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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?
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~~~Meet the Author~~~

Using my pen name, Judith Wade, I enjoy creating middle grades chapter books, especially stories with a little bit of fantasy-mermaids, ghosts and whatever else my imagination uncovers.
https://www.facebook.com/authorlorainehudson/
That would probably be Every Night Josephine! by Jacqueline Susanne. I adore dogs, and this story made me cry (a little bit) from sadness at Josephine’s difficult start in life, but mainly cry with laughter over the antics of a rescued poodle and her author “mom.” The subtitle of this book is “Jacqueline Susann tells her real love story.” Writing this has inspired me to unearth the book and re-read it to see if it has a similar impact on me so many years later.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Mostly it energizes me, because I get excited when I’ve got a good storyline going, and I tend to think about where the plot is going next and what I should change pretty much anytime I can disengage my brain from the more mundane matters of the day. When I get a good idea, I can hardly wait to go
What is your writing Kryptonite?
Here it is: Writing along, making great progress, excited about where things are heading … and then I notice a cobweb in the corner, I look for a pencil and can’t find one in the teetering pile of detritus on my desk, or a leaf the dog brought inside blows across my foot. I WISH I were tidier person, because I can’t seem to manage it, while it simultaneously drives me crazy. I seem to do my best writing when I’m either somewhere away from the clutter, I find some way to make myself ignore it (never lasts long).
Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
Not really. Only with books I’m really not enjoying to start with. When that happens, I generally set the book aside and start something new. I usually re-visit it to see if perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for that particular genre, but if I still find my mind wandering, I just stop reading. I’m thankful I’ve never experienced it – it sounds terrible!
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
My main author friends are the people in my writing group Writing at the Ledges. They provide encouragement, tips, and – so very important – often act as my beta readers. Right about the time I get into a slump (perhaps by the umpteenth distraction of a leaf blowing over my foot!) one of them will come up with a stellar writing prompt, or send me an email with an author Something, and I get a good kick-start.