Book Title: RECLUSIVE
Character Name: Morticia Smith
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
I grew up as an only child with my father raising me since my mother died giving birth to me. I knew I was loved, but my father was never the affectionate sort. I did, however, have the very best friends.
What was your greatest talent?
I’m an introvert and not really the girly type, but I’m very artistic and can make a person’s face look flawless with makeup.
Significant other?
I’m not in a relationship, but I do have a crush on a travel writer I met online. His name is Collin Quinn.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
I relate better to the dearly departed than the living. That’s why I prefer online dating.
Where do you live?
I live in a small New England town called Liberty, Massachusetts. It’s very old-fashioned, and everyone knows each other. Nothing is ever kept secret for long.
Do you have any enemies?
A girl I went to high school with named Lolita was jealous when I made the cheer squad over her and made me pay for it ever since. But now that it’s been over twenty years and she’s in a happy relationship with Officer Pickles, we’ve called a truce of sorts.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I am still in Liberty. I don’t mind. I love my town and most of the people in it. Although, I know everyone, which leaves the dating pool non-existent.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Neither. I would love to have a baby, but I’m forty and single. I’ve given the idea of using a sperm bank consideration, but I have to admit, I’m picky. Not to mention, giving birth terrifies me. What if I end up like my mother?
What do you do for a living?
I work as a mortician in our family business, Smith’s Funeral Home. I know what you’re thinking. My father has a twisted sense of humor naming me Morticia, but it’s grown on me. My friends call me Morti.
Greatest disappointment?
Not feeling like I’m good enough. I feel like I let my father down in work and as a daughter. He’s dating a woman younger than me, and I’m having a hard time getting over that. I also feel like I’m not good enough for men. Once they get to know the real me with my quirks and dark sense of humor, they never stick around.
Greatest source of joy?
My best friends: Zoe, Tiffany, and Harmony. We were on the cheer squad in high school and have been cheering each other on ever since. I know they would do anything for me, just as I would do the same for them.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
My friends and I have a weekly girls’ night with food and drinks. Sometimes we go to McGinny’s Irish Pub. Other than that, I love to read Oliver King thrillers, and I belong to an online fandom called The King’s Quills.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
Being socially awkward and the world’s biggest introvert. I live in an apartment above our funeral home. So when I’m not working, I tend to stay home, read books, and spend all my time in my online fandom. My cyber world is much more fun than reality.
What keeps you awake at night?
The guy I have a crush on, Collin Quinn, is in my fandom. I used an alias, Sybil Starr, because I’m more relaxed in a fantasy world than the real one. The only problem is, I slipped up and let Collin know where I live. Now he plans to show up in Liberty to meet Sybil.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
When Collin actually does show up looking for Sybil, I suddenly remember where I got the name Sybil Starr from. A girl I went to high school with changed her name to Sybil Starr and left town to become an adult entertainer. Now, suddenly, her uncle dies, and she comes home.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I want Collin. Before the real Sybil showed up, I got to know Collin as myself, Morticia, because there was no pressure. I helped him with his research on small towns and fell for him hard.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
Sybil’s in the way. I planned to tell Collin that I was Cyber Sybil, but then Real Sybil showed up and Collin decided to give her a chance even though she seemed different from the woman he met online. Life gets tricky, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.
Thanks for having me. Have you ever been in an awkward situation or done something crazy for love? Comment for a chance to win a signed paperback of RECLUSIVE. To find out more about all of my books, both Harmon and Townsend, check out my website. You can also sign up for my newsletter and follow me on social media for more fun and games. Good luck, and happy reading!
XOXO,
Kari Lee
Portrait of a Woman #4
Morticia Smith—a dark, reclusive “I do dead people” mortician—is stuck in a rut. She’s dying for a change and desperately wants a family of her own, but is no good with the living. Using Sybil as an alias, she falls for a surly brooding writer she meets on the Internet with a penchant for Bourbon, whose name is Collin Quin. Little does she know he’s her favorite thriller author, the famous Oliver King.
When Collin suddenly wants to meet in person, Morticia agrees in a moment of brave desperation, then chickens out after he shows up. She claims to be Sybil’s cousin and states that Sybil ran off with the Fed Ex guy. Collin sticks around to write while waiting for Sybil to return and gets to know Morticia in the process.
She calls on her best friends, weekly girls’ night, and Diet Coke for help.
Collin hates liars, and she’s afraid he won’t want her when he learns the truth. In the meantime, Morticia’s father gets engaged, she finds out she might need a hysterectomy, and the hot tamale chef who’s always had it in for her has her sights set on having the hunky writer for dessert.
Morticia has to make a choice. Sit back and watch everything she wants slip away, or find the strength to fight for what’s hers. If she doesn’t, then she will never know if maybe a man will finally want her for who she is, until death do they part.
Romance Contemporary | Romance Comedy [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: February 25, 2025, e-Book , / ]
National Bestselling Author, Agatha, RT Reviewers Choice & Golden Duck Award Nominee. Kari Lee Harmon lives in central New York with her husband. She’s a mother of three grown sons, one darling daughter, and two adorable Samoyeds. A former English teacher, she is a long-time lover of reading and writing. She writes romantic comedies, romantic suspense, and women's fiction, but also writes cozy mysteries and upper middle grade under the name Kari Lee Townsend. These days, you'll find her at home walking her dogs and working on her next novel.
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