Loretta Singletary first appeared in A Killing at Cotton Hill and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Loretta.

What is your name?
Loretta Singletary. My middle name is Rose, but I never liked it, even though I like flowers. It just doesn’t suit me.

How old are you?
Until recently I would have said, “old enough to know better,” but I guess I found out I’m not. So I’ll just say that after a certain age a lady does not need to divulge her age.

What is your profession?
Oh, that sounds so fancy. I never worked outside the home. My husband wanted me to be home with the boys when they were growing up. But that doesn’t mean I don’t work. I keep my garden, I take care of a lot of things at the First Baptist Church, and I like to bake, so I bake for my friends. All that keeps me busy.

Do you have a significant other?
That’s a sore subject. At one time I thought maybe Samuel and I might get together, but I guess that wasn’t meant to be. I don’t think I want to get married again, but I wouldn’t mind finding a man to spend some time with.

Any children?
Two grown sons. They’re married and have given me four wonderful grandchildren.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
I have a sister who lives out in west Texas. She and I were never close, but we get along okay. She’s several years younger than me. We had a brother, but he was always sickly and died when he was nine.

Do your parents live near you?
They did, but they have both been gone for several years. They’re buried out near my sister’s home.

Who is your best friend?
That’s a good question. I get along with almost everybody, but I’d have to say Ida Ruth is my best friend. And then there’s Samuel. And I really get along well with his deputy, Maria Trevino. She’s young enough to be my granddaughter, but I enjoy her company. We hit if off from the beginning, and we like to get together sometimes and have a good laugh.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I don’t like animals in the house. I like to keep a neat, clean house and I don’t want all that hair all over everything. I like cats better than dogs. Samuel has a nice cat, but that little dog of his. . .well, he’s okay, but he jumps up on people. Samuel needs to get him trained.

What town do you live in?
I’ve lived in Jarrett Creek, Texas since I got married, and I own my own home. My husband was frugal (sometimes I thought a little too stingy), but when he passed, I was glad he had been careful with money, because our house was paid for and he left me enough money to be comfortable.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
No question, it’s my kitchen. If I could only have one room, it would be the kitchen.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
It’s funny, I love to bake, love to cook, but I don’t much like to eat. Everyone is always trying to get me to eat more, but I never have cared that much about eating. I guess my favorite meal would be fried chicken, as long as I didn’t have to cook it. It makes such a mess. I like it with mashed potatoes and gravy. As for dessert, I like a little dish of vanilla ice cream. I don’t understand why people want to put chocolate sauce on it. I like it plain.

Favorite hobby?
I like baking or working in my garden. They both give me a lot of pleasure. But I think painting has become my favorite. I didn’t know I would like it, and if Ellen Forester hadn’t opened an art gallery and workshop here, I probably never would have tried it.

Favorite author?
(she’s quiet for a while). I don’t whether I ought to confess this, but I like romance novels. I don’t have them out where people can see them, because I don’t want people to think I’m foolish. But I love to read historical romance novels. I don’t want too much hanky-panky in the book. Just something sweet. The last one I read was by Sherry Thomas, and I thought it was well written, not that I know much about that.

Favorite vacation spot?
I don’t travel much. I like to visit my kids. Once my son’s family took me to Washington, D.C., and I enjoyed it. I especially liked going to the art gallery. In fact, when I got back that’s when I decided to take up painting.

Favorite sports team?
I like the Jarrett Creek Panthers, and sometimes I watch the Houston Astros play baseball, but I don’t go crazy for sports the way some people do.

Are you a morning or a night person?
No question, I’m an early morning person. I have to be to get my baking done. I’m in bed by 9:00 most nights.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
You mean to read? Oh, I don’t like mystery novels. They scare me. Every now and then I’ll read a romance that has some mystery to it, but I don’t like it if some young woman starts snooping around in a murder mystery. I prefer for it to solved by a police officer. That’s the way it ought to work.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Like I said, I get up early. I start my dough rising for whatever baking I’m doing. Then I sit down and have a cup of decaf coffee and watch the news on TV. After I finish up the baking, I go off to start my day. I take baked goods to friends, then I try to get my gardening done before the heat of the day. Usually there’s something to do down at the church—the ladies’ circle, or decorating for a wedding or a church event. In the evening, I watch TV while I have my supper, and then just before bed I have a little prayer time, where I pray for people who need a little help in their lives. And of course I say a prayer for my family and friends. It’s a good life. Busy.

You can read more about Loretta in A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary, the eighth book in the “Samuel Craddock” mystery series, released April 23, 2019.

After using an online dating site for senior citizens, town favorite Loretta Singletary–maker of cinnamon rolls and arbiter of town gossip–goes missing.

Chief Samuel Craddock’s old friend Loretta Singletary–a mainstay of the Jarrett Creek community–has undergone a transformation, with a new hairstyle and modern clothes. He thinks nothing of it until she disappears. Only then does he find out she has been meeting men through an online dating site for small-town participants.

When a woman in the neighboring town of Bobtail turns up dead after meeting someone through the same dating site, Craddock becomes alarmed. Will Craddock be able to find Loretta before she suffers the same fate? Finding out what happened to Loretta forces him to investigate an online world he is unfamiliar with, and one which brings more than a few surprises.

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About the author
Terry Shames writes the Samuel Craddock series, set in small town Texas. The books have been finalists for numerous awards and won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and the RT Reviews award for Best Contemporary Mystery of 2016. The eighth in the series, A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary comes out April 23, 2019, and was named a Top Pick for Cozies in BookPage. Terry lives in Northern California. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and MWA.

To learn more about Terry, visit her website at terryshames.com.

All comments are welcomed.