Today Maizie Albright is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about 18 Caliber, the latest novel in the Maizie Albright Star Detective mystery series by Larissa Reinhart.

Welcome, Maizie. How are you?

I’m great, thank you! Thanks so much for having me here. I used to do a lot of interviews, back in my celebrity days, but I don’t give them much anymore. This is so exciting!  (Do you need my headshot? It hasn’t been updated, although I did recently get my Georgia driver’s license.)

Could you please introduce yourself. Where are you from? Where do you live now? What do you do for a living?

I’m Maizie Albright. Originally Maizie Spayberry. Albright was my stage name, but my ex-manager, Vicki, had it changed permanently when I turned eighteen. Albright had more of a “ring,” as she put it. And also that was her name after she divorced my father.

My ex-manager is also my mother. Or should I say, still my mother?

I’m originally from Black Pine, Georgia, a lake resort town in the North Georgia Mountains. I lived in southern California most of my life, though, and now I’ve returned to start a new career. And also because a judge made me.

I wouldn’t call it a living, but my new career is apprenticing a private investigator until I can get my license.

What are your strengths?

Not cardio. Or weights. Also, I’m not good at dieting. I do love creating characters for new roles. It’s helpful as an actress and investigator to get in character quickly. I also have a lot of movie trivia knowledge. I’m not sure if that’s a strength, unless we’re playing Trivia Pursuit. During cases, it usually causes me to jump to conclusions. And I’ve been told, that’s not a good trait in an investigator.

Wait. Strengths…I’m a great friend in need!

Do you have any weaknesses or bad habits?

Not doing cardio or weights, my love of carbs and saturated fats, and jumping to conclusions.

Tell us about a defining moment in your life.

That would probably be my birth, but I don’t remember much about it.

My other defining moment was walking into Nash Security Solutions for the first time and seeing Nash half-dressed…well, meeting him for the first time. I fell in love with the job (and the man) at first sight.

It took him longer. To fall in love with the idea of hiring me as an investigator. And as for falling in love with me as a woman, we’re working on that, too.

What’s your most prized possession?

To be honest, after all my legal trouble in Hollywood, I don’t have a lot of possessions left. A totally rad wardrobe, but I had to sell or return everything else. I’m completely broke.

So I would say my most prized possession is the heart I wear on my sleeve (proudly).

Is there a love interest in your life, if so, could you please tell me about him?

If Dwayne Johnson and Timothy Olyphant as Raylen Givens from Justified had a baby, he’d be Wyatt Nash. Not literally, of course, because I think it’s biologically impossible. The man has a hard body with Paul Newman-blue eyes and a wicked scar running from chin to jaw. He looks scary until he smiles, then a dimple winks just above the scar. Totally dreamy. Unfortunately, you don’t see the smile or dimple too often. Nash is a Southern gentleman through and through. Sometimes too much so. Like when it comes to developing at-work relationships.

And yes, I am interested in love with Wyatt Nash. You can tell him. But he’s probably figured it out.

Can you tell me a little bit about what readers can expect from 18 Caliber?

Expect a showdown with my ex-manager and still-mother, Vicki. She’s gone too far. Not only has she bought Nash Security Solutions, but she’s making us work for her celebrity management clients. However, when the Chinese action star, Lili Liang, hires us to find her missing kung fu master, I suspect foul play. Particularly where my mother is concerned. Her ambition for power and prestige (plus the money doesn’t hurt) may have her wading too deep in criminal waters. And murder.

Did I mention murder?

How do you feel your creator, Larissa Reinhart, has handled writing your story and the situations she’s put you into?

I could use more spa time. And lunches. I don’t know why I never have time for sleeping, eating, and relaxing. The cases are always the “solve this mystery in a week or you might get killed” sort. Honestly, it’s exhausting and unnerving.

Maizie, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

Thanks so much for having me! It’s been a blast! (Not literally. I’ve had enough bullets for a while.)

Readers can learn more about Maizie and her author, Larissa Reinhart, by visiting her author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub and Pinterestpages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/kindle18  – Barnes & Noble: http://smarturl.it/Nook18 – Kobo: http://smarturl.it/Kobo18 – Apple Books: http://smarturl.it/iBooks18

About Larissa Reinhart: A Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Larissa writes the Cherry Tucker Mystery, Maizie Albright Star Detective, and Finley Goodhart Crime Caper series as well as romantic comedies and women’s fiction. She loves to tell funny stories about Southern women looking for love (and sometimes dead bodies) in all the wrong places. You might have seen Larissa and family with their little dog, Biscuit, on HGTV’s House Hunters International “Living for the Weekend in Nagoya” episode, but they’re back in Georgia now.