Romance Readers Book Of The Week
November 28, 2005
ARCHIVED FEATURE
WEEKENDS
by Lindy Hudis
Genre:
Suspense
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 0-9773082-1-9
Publisher:
LBF Books
Buy This Book:
Available at
LBF Books
FROM THE BACK COVER:
An innocent-sounding family reunion at
an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of
murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate
encounters. John Peterson has it all: He is a respected,
successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer with a loving wife
and grown son, the strikingly handsome young film director Joe
Peterson. John also has a secret, he is dying of cancer.
Given eight months to live, he decides
to gather his disparate family members at the elegant Hotel Del
Moor in picturesque Linda Bella, California for some luxurious
fun, togetherness and re-connecting before revealing his secret.
Unbeknownst to the family, a brutal
serial killer is lurking in the midst of all the wondrous
festivities.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS
BOOK:
Weekends by Lindy S.
Hudis is a novel of what happens when a sprawling,
dysfunctional family gathers together for a reunion in an
opulent hotel resort in Linda Bella, a sleepy California
coastal town. Instead a traditional family reunion, what
follows are three days of unbridled sex, suspense and murder
with family secrets exposed, young couples finding love, a
brutal serial killer intent on destroying as many as he can.
With Weekends, Lindy Hudis emerges as a gifted storyteller
of vivid imagination whose skills with character development
and plot twists will leave her readers looking eagerly
toward her next effort.
Highly recommended reading for fans of the mystery/suspense
genre!
~ Midwest Book Review
Weekends is jam packed full of action, intrigue, and
mystery. Not to mention a good deal of love and romance.
Author Lindy S. Hudis has a wonderful storytelling talent.
If you are ready for a roller coaster ride of a tale, this
book is for you.
~ Fallen Angel Reviews
"In my opinion, with
time and practice, Hudis will reach the level of James
Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark. She promises to be an
international bestseller. Weekends marks the beginning
career of an important romantic-suspense writer. I couldn’t
put it down, and when I discovered the antagonist, I
screamed! You will too. A must read."
- Marti Tucker, reviewer
"Weekends by Lindy S. Hudis has an amazing cast of
characters, which this author adroitly pulls together with a
fascinating plot. I loved this story and highly recommend it
to all readers who enjoy a good mystery and an even better
love story!"
- Nadine St. Denis, Romance Junkies
***** 5 STARS
"Lindy Hudis puts her "Hollywood know how" to good use
in her
debut novel, Weekends, that reads like an award winning
movie thriller! I found myself reading late into the night,
not wanting to miss a single exciting page."
- Donna Zapf, eCataRomance Reviews
"Weekends is jam packed full of action, intrigue, and
mystery. Not to mention a good deal of love and romance.
Author Lindy S. Hudis has a wonderful storytelling talent.
If you are ready for a roller coaster ride of a tale, this
book is for you."
- Fallen Angel Reviews
4 Coffee Cups
"The author pushes the reader back and forth between the
love story and the horrors of rape and murder. This is a
well-written story. The characters are richly drawn and the
action keeps the reader interested from the first page to
the last."
- Candy, Coffee Time Romance
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lindy
Sternberger Hudis is an author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. Her
next novel , City of Toys, will be released in August of 2007
from LBF Books. Her independent film, The Lesson, was screened
at the 2000 Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-nights
LA. She is a graduate of New York University, and is also a
former actress, appearing on the Aaron Spelling daytime drama,
"Sunset Beach". She lives in Santa Monica, California with her
husband Steve, a Hollywood stuntman, and her baby girl, Veronica
Noelle.
READ AN EXCERPT:
PROLOGUE
The man woke next to victim number twenty. He had
tied her firmly to the bedpost by her wrists and
ankles, and then she passed out. She was nude, her
eyes red from crying, her face revealed a petrified
look,. while her nose was swollen and bloody from
the repeated blows to the face.
He met her at a local watering hole. She said her
name was ‘Lisa’, and she was beautiful - just his
type. The man smiled, nodded, and feigned interest
in her pathetic little life. As she was babbling on
and on about how she was an aspiring actress, he
reached in his front, right pocket and pulled out
his trusty pills. He plopped them into her drink
when she wasn’t looking, and sat back eagerly
counting the minutes until the drug took effect.
Getting her out to a taxicab
was easy;, the cab driver just figured she was some
drunk bar slut, and he was right. The man ordered
the cab to take them to a sleazy, roach- infested
motel in Alphabet City, a seedy neighborhood on the
Lower East Side of Manhattan. Once there, he took
the young woman, tied her, and raped her until the
sun arose. As she came to, and began to realize what
was happening, she attempted to cry out for help. In
New York, a woman can scream and scream until her
face turns blue - nobody ever came. That was the
beauty of all this, the man thought. Just in case
she did manage a holler, he duct-taped her mouth.
Now it was morning, and the
man was bored. He got up, showered, and dressed. The
woman looked at him, frightened and confused, as he
pulled on his jeans. He checked his watch and
realized he needed to move quickly. “See ya’,.” he
sneered at her, and promptly walked out the door,
leaving her tied and helpless. He had a plane to
catch.
PART ONE
FRIDAY
CHAPTER 1
The plane touched down at the Santa Barbara airport around
ten a.m. During the short flight from LAX, John Peterson
contemplated the weekend ahead. He had not seen his younger
siblings in ten years, and was looking forward to seeing
them and their families. He was also very concerned, because
he had bad news to break to all of them. Very bad news which
would affect, everybody’s lives. He was nervous about how
the family would react. John was a fifty-year-old, extremely
successful entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills. His
clients included rich and powerful movie stars, producers,
and studio heads - they were the reason for his phenomenal
success. He was the kind of man who silenced rooms when he
entered them, and would tell another man’s children to be
quiet.
Sitting next to John
was Joyce Peterson, his wife, age forty-seven. She was born
and raised in Los Angeles, and because she was the daughter
of a prominent L..A.. heart surgeon, she was used to the
good life. Her one and only dream was to marry a rich doctor
or lawyer, have children, and be a good wife.
Then there was Joe.
Joe was their twenty-three year old son. To say that Joe was
good-looking would be the understatement of the year. Joe
was beautiful. He looked like a work of art-, a Greek god.
He had long, blond hair that hung just below his shoulders,
and fantastic azure eyes, the color of the California sky
itself. His body, although on the thin side, was cut and
lean, with pronounced chest, biceps, and a washboard
stomach. The facial structure, with its defined jaw and
cheekbones, was captivating in its exquisite, masculine
beauty. He could easily have been a beautiful woman on
testosterone.
He, like his mother,
was born and raised into wealth in L.A., but his goal was
not to become a doctor or a lawyer. He had just graduated
from New York University Film School. Although his looks
were better suited for being in front of the camera, he
dreamed of becoming a movie director. Having inherited his
father’s magisterial personality, he simply answered,
“Because I don’t like being told what to do..” whenever he
was asked why he was not an actor. Through his father’s many
industry connections, Joe was not at a loss for employment.
He chose, however, to start at the bottom, doing Production
Assistant work to get his foot in the door. His father told
him that “it builds character to, work for your own success”
rather than have it handed to him-John Peterson started out
with nothing, and was completely self-made. Because Joe was
also very charming, he was meeting and networking with all
the right people. Joe’s success was imminent.
As the plane landed,
the family unbuckled their seatbelts, even though the flight
attendant had advised the passengers to “please remain
seated and keep your safety belts fastened.”. When the plane
came to a complete stop, the family was the first group off.
Joe passed three flight attendants who gazed at him, with a
look that Joe saw all the time. He smiled and bid them
good-bye.
The three hiked
through the jet-way into the busy airport, carrying their
weekend luggage. They took the escalator to the lower level
where the car rental stations were located. While John was
making arrangements for the family to rent a nice, slow
sedan, Joe stepped outside; where a light, cool breeze
offered relief from the sweltering heat of the spring
morning.
The famous California
sunshine shone brightly, reflecting off of Joe’s equally
golden hair. He squinted his sapphire eyes to look at it,
and decided that he was determined to enjoy the insipid
family reunion that his father was forcing him to attend. He
did not have much in common with his simpleton cousins. Some
of them he had not seen in ten years, although his father’s
brother, Uncle Stephen, kept in touch with them by phone. It
was, after all, only a weekend.
It was Friday morning.
They would be back home by Monday, and not much ever
happened over the weekends, anyway. He decided that he would
just smile and say hello to the many relatives that would be
in attendance. At least, he had his own room, hopefully with
cable television and an ocean view. Maybe getting away for
the weekend on a mini-vacation would do him good, and he
could relax a little. An older lady and a pretty, teenage
girl walked by, both turned and smiled at him. He smiled
back.
At only twenty-three,
he was very aware of the amazing power he had over women,
and as he got older, it would only get more intense. Females
started throwing themselves at him when he was fifteen, and
the feeling was more than mutual.
ROMANCE READERS CHATS WITH THE
AUTHOR:
Tell us a little
bit about WEEKENDS.
"Weekends" is a romance-suspense novel set at an exclusive
California beach resort where a family reunion is taking
place. Our hero, Joe Peterson, is the gorgeous filmmaker
from Beverly Hills there for a little R & R with his family.
What happens is that extended family and friends meet, fall
in love and lust, and learn deep family secrets. Also, one
of the family members is a fugitive on the run from the
police, who wrecks havoc on the weekend. Fortunately, a long
lost cousin is a handsome FBI agent. As for what happens,
well, you just got to buy the book, LOL!
What sets this work apart from other works in the same
genre?
I have a lot of action and suspense in my work. I come from
a film/screenplay background, so I have quite a few
sub-plots involved. I would like to think of my story as a
"Jackie Collins meets Quentin Tarantino" kind of thing.
There is quite a lot of action and suspense. My work is not
for the faint of heart. I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan. I
guess you could say my work is a little edgy and
progressive. I don't try to sugar coat things.
Would you recommend Weekends for the average romance
reader, for anyone, or for the reader with a more
adventurous romantic appetite?
Both! The average romance reader will appreciate the
vicarious thrill of the characters, their whims, and the
passion. The readers with a more gritty taste will like the
suspense and the excitement. I like the blend [of] the two,
so both types of readers will be happy.
Please tell us about a favorite piece that you have
written.
Well, every piece that I write takes my blood, sweat, and
tears, but my next novel, "City of Toys" is based on my
actual experiences when I was an aspiring actress in
Hollywood. It is slated to be released in August from
Whiskey Creek Press. I didn't get very much acting work, but
I have some wild stories! It was a very lonely and rough
time for me, so I guess that is my "blood" so to speak. I
just put all of my experiences into one story, and had the
characters take on a life of their own in the process.
Could you describe the things that milk your creative
flow?
Music is something that stimulates me, also people. I just
write when I feel it is time to do so. It is like having a
baby, not to sound cliche or anything. When it is time to
write, you go into "labor" and the "baby" comes out of you.
I get this indescribable feeling in my solar plexus, and
then I sit down at the keyboard and just do it.
What kind of music?
Classic Rock! I am a rock and roll chick! Something about
rock music is so free and expressive. It is a little
dangerous and edgy, too. I am very passionate about music.
If I wasn't an author, I would want to be a rock star!
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Well, I am originally from Tennessee, but I moved to New
York when I was 18 to attend New York University, where I
studied drama and screenwriting. I guess you could say that
I love drama, lol. I came out to Los Angeles, in the early
90's to seek my fortune in Hollywood. I did some acting
work, and directed a film short. I quit pursuing the movie
biz when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2002. Then I
just sort of fell into writing. My husband has been in the
movie business since he was 12, and my father-in-law was a
writer for television for years. I guess you could say I
have a creative family.
What helped you to make the decision to become a writer?
I have always love writing. It was something that I had
always wanted to do, plus I had written 3 screenplays. After
I had my baby, I had plenty of time on my hands. So, one day
I was cleaning out some old drawers, and I saw the first 22
pages of WEEKENDS that I had written about 8 years before.
So I thought, what the heck, let's see what happens with
this. So, that is how I fell into it. I believe in fate, and
when something is meant to be, it will just sort of
magically happen.
How long did it take to get your first book published?
I submitted to agents and publishers for about 6 months, and
then I got a bite. I got rejection letters, but I just kept
on plugging away. You just have to be like the little engine
that could...I think I can... I think I can.
Your next book, City Of Toys comes out in 2007. Can you
give us a little insight as to what the plot will be about?
City Of Toys is not a romance novel by any stretch of the
imagination, lol. I was an actress in Hollywood for almost
10 years, from my early twenties, to my early thirties. This
book is inspired by what happened to me, what happened to
people I knew, and various experiences I found myself in. I
got s little bit of work as an actress, but I mostly got
stories, really strange stories. So, I out them all down on
paper and that is how City Of Toys came to be. It is a look
at the glamorous "Hollywood" from a darker point-of-view; it
explores the ugly side of this supposedly glittering world.