Jennifer Vido: What’s the inspiration behind THE HOUSE ON PRYTANIA, the second book in the Royal Street series?
Karen White: I am currently contracted for a total of four books in the Royal Street series, so I knew while writing the first book, THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET, that I needed to make sure there were lots of opportunities for growth not just for the main protagonist, Nola Trenholm, but also in terms of storylines. THE HOUSE ON PRYTANIA starts right where the first one ended (and it’s written so that if you haven’t read the first you won’t be lost). Nola has already come through her first crisis (although it won’t be her last!), and both she and the reader believe she’s primed and ready to begin her new life in New Orleans. Except, well, forces beyond her control are just as prepared to stop her.
Jen: Let’s talk about Nola. My, how she has grown! For readers unfamiliar with this series, please give us a snapshot of this character, including her highs and lows.
Karen: We first meet Nola as a thirteen-year-old in the Tradd Street series where she shows up unannounced on her biological father’s doorstep after having dealt with her mother’s death and a long bus ride from California to face a father who doesn’t know of her existence and navigate a new city and a new family. That’s a lot of baggage for a young girl! This makes for the perfect character to star in her own spin-off series.
In THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET, Nola is now twenty-six and has managed to beat down one of her personal demons - for now - and is determined to start afresh and throw herself into the renovations of her first home, a Creole Cottage fixer-upper which comes complete with more than one past resident. Spirits don’t bother Nola since she was raised from the age of thirteen by a stepmother who could communicate with the dead. But it becomes personal when she is physically threatened and needs to face them head-on to save a friend.
Jen: How does Sunny Ryan’s return affect Nola?
Karen: At the outset, Nola is thrilled that Sunny Ryan, who was abducted as a toddler, has been returned to her family. At least until she begins comparing Sunny’s situation with her own. Sunny was missed and searched for, her grandmother and brother never giving up hope that they might see her again. Yet Nola can’t help but remember how nobody knew—or cared—that she existed and that by sheer willpower she found her way to her father and his growing family.
And there are certain aspects about Sunny that don’t sit right with Nola, leaving Nola unsure if her doubts are due to jealousy or something else entirely.
Jen: How does Beau’s big ask put his relationship with Nola on the line?
Karen: Oh, how I love Beau and Nola’s relationship! It’s so fraught with drama which makes it fun to write about. According to Nola, she and Beau don’t have a “relationship”. Still, when Beau asks Nola to revisit the biggest humiliation of her life—and one that threatened her recovery from alcohol abuse—she at first says no for obvious reasons. But when she realizes that it could mean life or death for Beau, she agrees. He’s saved her life before, after all—even though she’s always refused to accept that she needed saving. It’s a fun tug-of-war between them that will continue at least through the next two books in the series and perhaps longer.
Jen: Who is your favorite character in book two, and why?
Karen: My favorite character continues to be Jolene McKenna, Nola’s roommate, and BFF. Jolene sort of appeared in an early chapter of THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET and just continues to surprise and amuse me. She’s as Southern as pecan pie and at first glance one can easily dismiss her as being all fluff. But her witty Southernisms are as wise as they are funny, and she can change her own tire in high heels. She’s also the kind of unwavering best friend we all want and need in our lives.
A close second would be Nola’s half-sister, Sarah Trenholm. I had so much fun with her character and the interaction with Nola and the spirits with whom she can communicate that I think she’ll need to come back for more page-time in a future book in the series.
Jen: What’s on your TBR stack?
Karen: There’s more than one stack! Right now, the top three are A SLOW FIRE BURNING by Paula Hawkins, THE CLOISTERS by Katy Hays, and THE BEACH AT SUMMERLY (advance reading copy) by Beatriz Williams.
Jen: What’s the best way for readers to stay connected with you?
Karen: I’m on Instagram and on Facebook. My website is where readers can sign up for my newsletter to get the most up to date information about new releases, cover reveals, and pictures of my sweet dog, Sophie.
Jen: Sneak peek! What’s your current work in progress?
Karen: I’ve just started another Southern women’s fiction single title (too soon to talk about!) and I just finished the next collaboration (with Lauren Willig and Beatriz Williams) that will be out in September 2024. We are so excited about this next book but stay tuned for the big title reveal! In the meantime, the third book in the Royal Street series is scheduled to be published in 2025.
Jen: Thanks for stopping by to chat about The House on Prytania. I can’t wait for the next one.
Karen: Thanks, Jen - it’s always a pleasure chatting with you!
Royal Street #2
A woman is haunted—both literally and figuratively—by ghosts of the past in this second novel of the Royal Street series by New York Times bestselling author Karen White.
Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she’s spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign.
But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan’s long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting—yet firmly unavailable—Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny’s kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola’s bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael’s powerful family was behind Sunny’s disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won’t be able to ignore—if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she’s worked so hard.
Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn’t realize until it’s almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house—a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake...
Mystery Paranormal | Women's Fiction Southern [Berkley, On Sale: May 9, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593334621 / eISBN: 9780593334652]
Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.
Jennifer Vido writes sweet romances set in the Lowcountry filled with southern charm and hospitality. In between chapters, she interviews authors for her bi-weekly Jen’s Jewels column on FreshFiction.com. Most mornings, she teaches an arthritis-friendly water exercise class for seniors before heading to the office to serve as the executive director of a legal non-profit. A New Jersey native, she currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two rescue dogs and is the proud parent of two sons who miss her home-cooked meals. To learn more, please visit her website.
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