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Friday Talks: Arabella Baylor

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Dear readers, welcome to Gertrude Hunt for our Friday edition of Talks with Dina.  Today, by popular demand, we have a special guest, Arabella Baylor of House Baylor.

Arabella: Thank you for having me.  The tea is delicious.

Dina: It’s our pleasure.

Arabella: Also, the little pastries with the strawberry filling are to die for.

Dina: I’m so glad you like it.  I’ll let our chef know.  He’ll be delighted.  So, I have a checklist of things to ask you.

Arabella: Oh no.  It’s getting serious.

Dina: We pride ourselves on being thorough. So first, you look very well put together. What are you wearing?

Arabella: Nothing too special today.  The skirt is the cherry miniskirt from AKNVAS, multi-colored plaid, high-waisted, front-slant pockets. The pockets are functional which is my favorite thing. Also, since I’m short, the mini hits a little lower on my legs, which is great for business settings.  The matching Valdi blazer is from the same brand. The white turtleneck I picked up at JC Penney’s for about $20.”

Dina:  Are clothes important?

Arabella: Very.

Dina: Why?

Arabella: Well, the obvious reason is that I want to look cute. I mean, we all want to look cute.  As you know, I come from a very large but tight-knit family.  We own an investigative agency.  Prior to becoming a House, we mostly handled insurance fraud, some bail jumpers, cheating spouses, and so on.  Small time non-violent offenses.  Now our business revolves around the magical heavyweights of Houston. Our clients come from dynasties several generations deep. The kind of people who custom order baby apparel from a couture shop in France and have it flown in by a special courier. One must fit in to be taken seriously, especially since they typically see me when the bill comes due.

Dina: What kind of cases are you typically handling now?

Arabella: A lot of theft, both physical and IP. Fraud is very common, usually within the bounds of the family. A large sum of money disappears, and the Head of the House wants to know which one of his siblings or offspring is responsible. Background checks are huge, the kind that go beyond the basic databases.  Still catch a lot of cheating spouses, though. Hehe.

Dina: Some things never change no matter how much money you make?

Arabella: Exactly. But to go back to your earlier question about clothes. It’s not just clothes.  My hair is done, my makeup is on point. My nails are manicured. When my older sister, Catalina, throws on some sweatpants and trudges out in the morning to walk Shadow with her hair messed up and black circles under her eyes because she stayed up too late working on some thorny Warden case, nobody is alarmed. Everyone in the family knows that Catalina’s specialty is maintaining steel control over her magic. I don’t have the same luxury. 

When everyone around you is paranoid that you might Godzilla-out at any second, you try to compensate. When I was younger, I’d adopt over-the-top cute mannerisms and get into funny fights where I would flail harmlessly to reassure everyone that I was in control. Now I accomplish it with this.  ::indicates the outfit:: I’m the antithesis of frazzled. I’m composed and elegant, and in control. Do you know how much bearing sloppy clothes and unbrushed hair has on my potential to explode?

Dina: How much?

Arabella: None at all. What I look like is not an indicator of how I feel in any way.  However, people can’t help but make visual judgements.  Even when they are your family, and they love you.

Dina: Speaking of family, is it true that you once said that you’re nobody’s favorite?

Arabella: I knew as soon as I said it that it would come back to haunt me. But I stand by it. I don’t want to give anyone a wrong impression. I’m loved. My family is supportive and caring. And I wasn’t treated any differently than my sisters when it came to gifts, chores, or attending school functions. But some things are subconscious.

Nevada is Grandma Frida’s favorite.  She is the first grandchild.  Grandma Frida still calls her “the baby.” I used to have a lot of butthurt over that. I’m the youngest.  I should be the baby.

Both Grandpa Linus and Grandmother Victoria prefer Catalina.  Grandpa does dote on me.  I can come to him for advice any time, and he spoils me. But he doesn’t respect me.  He doesn’t take me seriously.  I’m humored. Grandmother Victoria mostly doesn’t notice I exist, unless I specifically get her attention.  To be fair, she ignores Nevada and my cousins as well.  She put all of her eggs into Catalina’s basket.  And Catalina is welcome to those eggs. Dealing with Grandma Victoria requires a computer brain.  I would lose my patience and smush her.

Dina: Is that why you kept your grandfather’s identity secret after that incident in the hospital?

Arabella: Partly.  Mostly I just liked having a bit of power over the two of them. Let me tell you, you have never met two more manipulative people. When they met, it had to be fate, because they richly deserve each other.  Keeping their hospital visit private gave me ammunition in case I needed to use it. When one of them started planning something nasty, I could wave it around and threaten to expose the whole thing.  It worked better on Linus than Victoria.

I did have to excuse myself and laugh hysterically for a few minutes when it all came out.  You should’ve seen Catalina’s face. Ha!  I shouldn’t laugh, because she really went through hell with the two of them, but her expression! I wish I had snapped a pic.

Dina: So back to being nobody’s favorite.

Arabella: Sure.  We’ve covered grandparents. Mom is a person of great integrity. She tries so hard to keep everything equal, but if you watch her, you’ll notice that she pays slightly more attention to Bern and Leon. They had an awful childhood until they came to live with us, and she’s compensating a little. It’s not that she loves me less.  That’s not it at all. It’s that she focuses on Leon and Bern, and when they are okay, she usually ends up putting out fires with Nevada or Catalina. It’s understandable.  Nevada has baby Arthur, who might be a supervillain.  I low-key keep waiting for him to accidentally destroy Houston because he can’t find his sippy cup. Catalina deals with sick Warden crap and tries to run the House. I…

Dina: Fall through the cracks?

Arabella: Sometimes. For example, when it was Bern’s turn to go to college, we all had a lot of discussions about it.  What major, how he was doing, how his grades were, and so on.  Same with Nevada. When Catalina refused to go, it was a massive deal. Leon needed a lot of encouragement, and we all rooted for him.  It was a group event to keep him on the path to his degree. I think we all should’ve gotten honorary degrees by the end of it or like one of those coins military people get. Let me ask you, what’s was my major?

Dina: Accounting?

Arabella: That’s exactly what most of my family would say, except for Nevada, who saw my Diploma. I double majored in Business Administration and Applied Magic Theory and got my degree in 3 years. I also have a Masters in Global Business and House Societies from Yale. I was admitted into the special semi-remote program for Primes there.  To get in, you need a 3.8 GPA and two Prime sponsors who are not related to you. Really helps if one of them is an alumnus.

Dina: Who did you get?

Arabella: Augustine Montgomery and Stephen Jiang. I flew back and forth every other week for a year to attend debates and in-person lectures.  I’d spent four days there and come back for ten. I paid for it out of my own pocket and told everyone I was going shopping up north. I would even bring back an outfit or two and parade around in them.”

Dina: Did it work?

Arabella: Some. I knew when Leon figured it out because he started to make cute comments about my shopping trips. Leon is the best PI out of the lot of us.  Alessandro tries very hard, but Leon is on another level. Maybe a tie with Nevada, except Nevada relies on truthseeking, and Leon is just that good. It’s really hard to keep things from him.  He’s like a cat. Mom eventually told him to knock off hassling me, and that I lived in my own house and was allowed to have my own independence.  I do love my little house on the edge of our lake. It’s my sanctuary.”

Dina: Does anyone else know?

Arabella: Bern.  He needed me for something, and when I didn’t answer my cell, he tracked my cell down to New Haven and put two and two together.  But I don’t think Nevada knows.  The grandparents and mom don’t either, and Catalina for sure doesn’t, because if she knew, she would’ve added my Masters degree to my agency bio.  She’s obsessive about it.

 We’re a family of PIs.  Keeping a secret is pretty hard and I didn’t exactly hide it that well. They don’t know because they are not paying attention.  That’s what I mean by falling through the cracks.

Dina: How did they not figure out that you weren’t keeping up with your regular workload?

Arabella: That’s because I did keep up with it. Another thing I learned from Stephen is to maintain two separate workstations, each with their own workflow. I have two offices, one at my house and the other at our office pavilion. I color-coded everything. The two shall never meet.

Dina: Does this mean you’ve conquered math?

Arabella: Nope, still hate it.  I hate it so, so much. I almost dropped out because I couldn’t pass basic algebra. I dropped it 3 times and had to beg Bern for help. My poor cousin, heh. I think my math-stupidness broke his brain. Thank God for accounting software.

Dina: You’ve mentioned Stephen twice now.  Are you two romantically involved?

Arabella: :laughs : No. Stephen is gēge, older brother. I help him with some…problems he encounters in the course of doing business and we collaborate frequently.  I did try to hit on him when we first met because I was young and naïve.  I went through this phase where I crushed on various celebrities, and he was the first one I’ve met in person. Steven was very kind to me and made it clear that it would never happen. He also talked to me about risks.  Some of the things I did back then would make it easy for me to be taken advantage of. I’ve grown up a lot since then.

Dina: Will you tell us a bit about your magic?

Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living.  If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?

Dina: Could you at least tell us what your plans are?  Will you work for Baylor Investigative Agency forever?

Arabella: I’m not sure. It wasn’t the original plan.  At least I never saw myself doing it as a career.  It was a great way to earn some money when I was a teenager, but when we became a House, it was all hands on deck. Most emerging House collapse within the first 3 years. The family needed me, so I did what I had to do.  We are much more stable now.  I’m not unhappy. Who knows, perhaps I will do something else in the future.

Dina: Thank you so much for spending time with us.

Arabella: Thank you for having me.  I had a lovely time.  And just so we are clear, I’m keeping these pastries.  They are coming home with me.

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Comments

  6. I can’t add heart emojis so I hope House Andrews can just visualize me sending them all the heart emojis with smiles and thanks for a nice surprise.

  7. Love this! Thank you for the treat and looking forward to Arabella’s book/ trilogy even more. However I am still shipping her with Stephen Jiang????????

    • 😀 I’m afraid Stephen really is a no go, but I am authorised to negotiate for Henry Jiang, his younger brother. Would that suit? Hehe.

        • But this begs another question I’ve been wondering about. How much beast is the Beast of Cologne? Cornelius is an animagus. As such, could he influence or control Arabella or the Bear of Kamchatka while they’re in their more animalistic forms? Would they be more vulnerable to his power then? Given time, influence, and training, could he learn to condition them so they followed his orders even when they were in human form? Can an animagus affect the independent will of metamorphosis mages, possibly depending on how animalistic are their animal forms?

          • Metamorphosis mages are not shifters, they do not turn into animals ????, they turn into arcane creatures.
            Cornelius cannot control them (and animaguses are in a different castle ????).

  8. Arabella has a double major… from Yale… in Business Administration and Magic Theory…

    My head just broke.

    • Her Yale degree is a Masters and it’s in Global Business and House Societies – it is a special Prime programme 🙂

      Her Bachelors (do you call them Bachelors in the US? I mean the regular Uni degree, not post-graduate studies), is probably from a Texas university and that’s the one in Business Admin and Magic Theory. She throws Catalina an A&M sweatshirt in Sapphire Flames, maybe that’s a clue 🙂

      • @Mod R – Yes, in the US an undergraduate degree from a 4-year College/University is generally a bachelor’s.

        We also have associate’s degrees from 2-year colleges, called junior colleges or community colleges, depending on the state. Some folks start at a community college and then transfer to a 4-year college/University.

        Generally, class sizes are smaller at a CC and have more attention from the instructor, so an option for Arabella could have been to take Algebra at a community college that could transfer to her 4-year University. Algebra at a University is probably a large stadium class of 200+ people, especially at a large University.

      • Yes, the US has Bachelors degrees. I have one in History (focus on early American History). 🙂

      • So… double major + a masters from Yale… That’s at least 5 years.

        Catalina is 22 (?) when Ruby Fever happened. Making Arabella no older than 21.

        How much time has passed since Ruby Fever for this to be a thing?

        • “ I double majored in Business Administration and Applied Magic Theory and got my degree in 3 years.”

          “I flew back and forth every other week for a year”

          4 years ????. Arabella’s books, if they happen, will feature her in her mid-twenties, 5-6 along from the RF timeline, when Arabella is 20.

  9. Oh wow. Now I feel kind of sad for Arabella. And really impressed. I wish her family knew her better. They all hide so much of themselves from each other.

    • Right? I mean, I feel like she was hiding it because she wanted someone to notice, and then no one did. My heart broke for her. “My family loves me but doesn’t really care” is how I read that

        • I dunno. My interpretation of the family dynamics is that Arabella (once she grew up a bit) never seemed to “need” the family attention. She knows she is loved – she just never had a drama that required any significant “special” attention from anyone. Kind of a variant on the squeaky wheel.

          Nevada is the oldest – that’s got a special place in a parents/grandparents heart. Catalina had a very difficult magic that could cause serious harm (and did) if not carefully managed. Bern and Leon came from a horrifically dysfunctional family background, so clearly they needed to be made to feel all the love. Arabella sometimes became a monster, and they allowed her to do that in a safe setting. But other than that, she was fairly happy, obviously healthy, and had no extraordinary needs.

          Re-reading the interview, I can see a slight trace of irritation on her part at how her projected self-image seems to be accepted at face value, but to be fair, she’s the one projecting it. If she wants them to know the real her, then she’s the one who needs to drop the mask.

          • Yes and no. First, she has to decide what she wants, and she might not decide until House Baylor is firmly established. Bern is adding Runa, and we have to see what happens with Leon. They need depth and breadth.

            • +1

              I think Leon needs to meet an Edger Woman. I know, no more Edge books. But hey, if and Jack can wander into InnKeeper books, why not the next gen from William and Cerise (or even better Calder and Audrey) somehow finding themselves in HL Houston?

              Meanwhile, given this interview, I am leaning towards darkness and death Michael for a serious relationship possiblity. They both have learned control of their deadlier natures and have accepted who they are. While the idea of bear wrassling and upending the Russian Royalty is very entertaining, I can’t see her wasting too much time there. Henry is a dark horse. I’d like to hear more about Henry. And I really like the Stephen was kind enough to mentor Arabella.

              Thank you so much for this – I was so excited to see an Innterview with Arabella!

          • I love this interview…so much real life. I have a 6 years younger brother, that in his 20s, tried to taunt me (and our other 3 older sibs) with “I’m the favorite”. Which is true. He is the favorite. I cautioned him then, that there is a price to be paid for being the favorite: even higher expectations, greater obligations, and more fraught emotional attachment. Faster forward 30 years, and indeed he and Mom are paying very very high tabs for that favorite status. They’ve had a…situation…involving 10s of thousands of $, and she is devastated, and he is angry, hurt and trying to distance himself….which is not possible with the emotional entanglements of 50+years.

            I totally empathize with Arabella, (I carry the invisible middle child totebag) but the flip side of that is freedom from a certain kind of baggage that comes with being “favorite”. Sometimes ‘favorite’ is a covert way of controlling.

  12. Arabella hides so much of herself to appear in control, something, that after reading this, she absolutely is. it’s a shame that as youngest she feels she needs to project a perfect image and her family doesn’t get to know the real her, because the real her seems very cool.

    • My own personal interpretation to her character (and we always bring our 50% to reading, don’t we hehe) is that Arabella is very close to neurodivergent masking. When you’re caught in the Catch 22 of wanting to reassure and please the ones you love so you mask, but then yearn from the inside for someone to see through the mask that is working so well.

        • I think it has been mentioned that Arabella may have more than 1 love interest over time (sequentially). I think it will be interesting to see how her various love interests get some of her aspects, and what they don’t get about her complex personality that leads to her moving on.

      • I 100% agree with this. Arabella puts on the I’m fine, it’s fine mask but wants people to care enough to see behind the mask.

      • I just love that your wrote neurodivergent and I knew what you meant. As a middle child’ I read her responses as typical middle child dysfunctions.

      • I’m with you if one were to look at it from the outside. as someone with an inside perspective i can tell you that masking is a great deal more tiring than you might think. i’m of a similar age as Arabella and i can tell you that it is almost impossible to pull off a masking that well for more than a few hours. Her character still resonates with me in some ways, but if one were to look for a character that can be read that way you would be better off by looking at Bern. He reflects my experience at being neurodivergent a great deal more. Arabellas magic is more like the meltdowns i experienced when i was young. a burst of rage and power but you wake up minutes or hours later without any clear recollection how it came to be that you are lying in the school infirmary and why you have bloody knuckles and bruises.

        P.S. i think she might end up with Mikael, but far be it from me to interfere with your work. the reveal with Linus blew my mind and changed how i perceived everything that happened before. i got totally blindsided.

        • It’s worth keeping in mind that experiences of being neurodivergent can differ, and in particular that the male ND spectrum is a lot more researched, recognised and represented, whilst a lot of women go undiagnosed because their symptoms present differently 🙂 .

          I also have the insider perspective and I definitely do not identify with the sweeping generalisation remark “masking is impossible for more than a few hours”.

          I am glad Bern’s character is representative for you 🙂

        • Oh hey, also someone with an inside perspective. Neurodivergent, woman in her 30s. She absolutely can mask for that long. I do it every day at work, even carrying it on to social situations. Sometimes I end up masking for days when I’m at a conference. The female neurodivergent experience differs massively from the male experience. For example, we don’t tend to go in to the “rage and then forget” as we don’t have that privilege. If we do, we are accused of being hysterical or mentally ill. Speaking from experience of course ???? as a neurodivergent WOMAN in a neurotypical world. And yes, it’s is absolutely exhausting masking all that time. That’s usually when we binge watch Netflix and hide under a blanket. A bit like Arabella. Hope that helps give you some perspective in to neurodivergence as a woman

          • I’m literally under a blanket as I read this. Something I never did as a kid btw. Wasn’t sure why I started in my 30s. Life has been a lot lately Your comment is quite eye opening & appreciated. Thank you!!

        • As someone who has masked all her life around family your comment was extremely triggering and invalidating. It took a lot of time to receive my diagnostic, because I wasn’t like Bern or other people who had the “expected” symptoms.

          I’m thankful to the two young ladies who replied before me. We are different and we do receive less representation, thank you Mod R.

          Your lived experience is not the only way to be neurodivergent, Horus. Please do not exclude people or characters because they don’t match you.

  15. All respect to Arabella, but even if she spilled all her magical secrets I would still buy the book HA might be writing about her at some point in the future. : )

    • Me too! I will totally buy an Arabella book/trilogy! (Trilogy preferred.)

      Love all the hidden degrees and that Leon and Bern figured it out but her mom, grandparents, and sisters are oblivious. (Though I wouldn’t bet against Connor knowing… or some of the others, for that matter.)

        • If Bug knows, then the Major knows. If Connor knows, then Nevada knows. I think both Connor and Nevada would not say anything because they respect Arabella’s privacy. Little did they know she wanted someone to notice…Besides Augustine knows and he does talk to Connor and Nevada. Augustine would be worried about security because all Primes travel with security guards (except Alessandro). Arabella probably didn’t think of her need for security even though she was almost killed by a plant.

  16. Wow, Arabella has grown up.

    “Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?”

    So funny and the correct response to the ever hungry BDH. Tease, tease, tease.

    Thank you, the Great British Bake Off and Friday Talks make my day.

    • Yes but did any but read the first bit “two lovely people who created me”, think she meant her parents, then read on and kinda face palm? Oh, that’s right, fictional character, not real person. HA just write such realistic characters that it’s almost jarring when you are reminded the characters aren’t real.

      • Yes, I thought she meant parents as well until I read MariaZ’s comment. Now it makes sense to me… and gives me hope that an Arabella book is coming some time in the future, woohoo!

  17. You could give away all of your secrets and I would still buy the book. You could publish a phone directory and I would buy it, no questions asked.

    • I think the Innkeeper series is proof that even when you give us something free in the blog, we’ll still turn around and pay money for it. In multiple mediums, too!

    • I am happy that hopefully this means we are not done with the Hidden Legacy world/characters. I know there was some communication on the direction or uncertainty of if/when this would happen.

      So, since we are very committed to going a mile, when we are given an inch.

      Let’s see:
      Nevada – House Rogan, Baylor Agency Pro Bono liaisons.

      Catalina – Warden of Texas

      Arabella – Head of House Baylor .

      Leon – Head of Baylor Investigations. Though, being the lead agent doesn’t exactly equate.

      I loved the 2 potential candidates for Arabella’s significant other that was introduced in RF.

      can’t wait!

      • Catalina is Head of House Baylor and will stay in this role. Evil grandma will make sure of it.

        • I disagree, I think Arabella will be an assistant to the records keeper with Michael as records keeper and love interest. (I think that is the spelling of his name. With audio books it is hard to get it right).

  20. Thanks. It was great getting to know Arabella. Now I feel really bad for her. She’s no one’s favorite & she doesn’t get a book.

    • “Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?”

      I’m pretty sure this means that a book for Arabella will appear at some point, though not necessarily soon.

      And I agree with everyone above who pointed out that the BDH will buy the book because HA wrote it, spoilers or no.

  21. Nevada knows that, she’s still watching them and Augustin told her. Penelope probably knows that too. They’re just waiting for Arabella to tell them.
    Catalina doesn’t know because she always has her hands full.
    Vicky baby knows it too. Indifference in her does not exist. Linus doesn’t care…

    • Linus probably has at least three secret bodyguards on Arabella 24/7. He knows and cares.

      Also, every child on every world always thinks their siblings are the favourite.
      You never hear someone say “I was the favourite child”. That’s just not how that works.

      My younger sister and I are still both convinced the other was the best loved. Our parents are long gone, my little sister is 3 times a grandmother 🙂

        • I really hope this turns out to be true and that they did ALL know but wanted Arabella to have her privacy.

          And, of course, it only comes out one the HEA appears on scene 🙂

      • Yes! That’s exactly my thoughts too. If you remember, Catalina has an outburst of Arabella constantly getting special treatment and being babied because of her magic (in Wildfire when Penelope yells at them for letting Arabella into the helicopter). I think at least a little bit of this is all very normal feelings for siblings to have. Although it still makes me a little sad that she thinks nobody cares.

        This is also why I LOVE House Andrew’s writing so much! It’s such a real family dynamic thing to put in a story that makes their characters come alive.

      • Not true. I was firstborn and most definitely my father’s favorite. Not sure why – the preference was clearly expressed while we were still toddlers (as confirmed by family stories, not personal memories), so it’s not like it’s something my sister or I did. But I guarantee you I was indisputably my father’s favorite.

        • Yep, yep, that’s what I ship too. After being on Team Record Keeper Michael for years, so I still have some investment there, because Grumpy Silent Guy and Sunshine Girl is such a delectable trope to read.

          But I simply would swoon at Arabella at the Russian Imperial court, as only House Andrews could write. And doesn’t she deserve a prince? 😀

          • Hmm, good point about Grumy with Sunshine… but the only reason I’d like to see Arabella in Russia is to get the best of Konstantin’s and Misha’s mother, the murderer.

          • I cannot ship the Russian Prince and Arabella. They may have a thing, but she will never leave the family to go to Russia on a permanent basis. Or anywhere that is far away. And the Russian Prince is too Family to join House Baylor. He would also be unable to commit 100% to Arabella, as he is 100% committed to the Russian Empire.
            Arabella’s HEA needs 100% commitment, just like the rest of the family

          • I’m hoping for a dark horse no one sees coming now. A totally new character, maybe one she meets while wrapping the Russian Empire around her finger (a Captain of the Guard? Imperial Spymaster? Royal bodyguard?) Someone lowkey, who pays attention, sees her even when she thinks she’s getting away with something. Not an enemy, LOVE the idea of her in a grumpy/sunshine story.

            I think if she’s with the Bear, she’ll have to compete with him for attention, and considering that she already feels unseen, I don’t think that’ll work for her with a romantic partner. It makes sense for her to reach out to the Russian Empire, since s she and they have similar magic and she really doesn’t know all that much about hers, and while there she could meet someone whose magic fits with that of her family, and who could leave the empire for Texas.

      • Nope. Arabella has just confirmed she is too brainy and focused for him. Michael all the way. She has a degree in Magic Theory and what he does in his position (more so in the future) requires knowledge of that. I think they could be powerful together and he will adore her.

        • Much like Arabella, Mikhail the Russian Prince is also masking- except for him it’s more being thrust into a role, the same way his brothers are. I think there is more to him than Konstantin’s simplistic stereotyping, and we haven’t really seen anything abut his intelligence to say either way…

        • That’s very good reasoning. And while I’d love Arabella managing the Russian Imperials, I bow to your logics and sail on ship Michael/Arabella.

          …and let’s be honest: Arabella refusing the spoiled prince would be just as much fun to read ????

  26. I think that’s the problem with ‘middle’ children (which if you count Bern and Leon, Arabella would technically be) They do tend to fall through the cracks. some rise to it as Arabella has obviously done, others. can go the other way and fall through to the bottom. Can’t wait to see how she develops as a character ????

  28. this is so cool, thank you for bringing back FrInndays. for once I actually see this on the day of posting ???? as I used to remember only on a Saturday morning

  30. Look no matter what Arabella reveals, I will throw money at any book House Andrews puts out. ???? I love her & am excited for whenever you get around to get story! No pressure!

  32. Thank you! I know this is fiction but you make your characters so real, my heart kinda broke for her; feeling like no one pays attention to her. Sigh……. Love this family. hope to hear from Arabella soon. Thanksthanksthanks

  33. Thank you so much for this Friday treat! It has been really fun to watch Catalina and now Arabella grow up from Nevada’s bratty little sisters into so much more!
    I am looking forward to Arabella’s story, whenever HA is inspired to write it.
    (No pressure at all) (Actually looking forward to whatever they are going to write)

  34. Love the format (and Arabella). I hope they come back to give Arabella her own book(s) and HEA!

    Even if I want Iron Magic 2 first LOL.

  37. Thank you so much! I loved the insight into Arabella and it was a really fun format. Looking forward to the future ones with the other characters too! ????

    Mod R, I would vote for Friday 1st’s to come back, but if they are upsetting to others, then I’m fine without them.

  39. I absolutely loved getting to hear more from Arabella!!! Also the master’s degree!!! Look at her go. That’s hard work even with out the way she did it. Loved that Jaing and Augustine sponsored her! And glad Leon got it, and Bern figured it out too. I wonder if the sisters know but haven’t said anything about it and are waiting for her to say something… So excited for her books!

  41. Amazing! I do feel a little sad for her when she says that she is nobody’s favorite. I think a lot of the BDH feels otherwise. This makes me want to read a grown up Arabellla story even more now.

    I can’t wait for more of these. What a way to end the week!

  44. Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?

    *sigh* *big heart eyes*

  45. Dina: Will you tell us a bit about your magic?
    Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?

    This was priceless! All of it, but especially the segment above.
    Thank you, HA, for a fun interview.

  46. Fun!
    Many thanks for the interview.
    Arabella is becoming a more rounded personality – which is more interesting to read about – and I am really hoping this will make HA more likely to write about her.
    However, the last thing I want is boredom to set in for HA.
    Thus – if the book shows up and I’m still here, I will buy it.
    In the meantime, I will buy whatever book wanders out into the world from the Andrews’ residence.
    Thank you in advance…

  47. I love it! And yes, the two lovely people who created you do need to make a living, which is why they should start working on your book (Trilogy? Please? For propriety’s sake!) as soon as they have a half decent idea and the mental energy!

  49. Arabella

    Genius ( except math )squish monster ???? !

    Yes !!!

    Love the interview … wish some of the Inn’s other permanent residents could add a question or comments.

    Still so wonderful to end the week with the world of House Andrew!!!

  56. She is taking the cookies! Does Orro ever cook with mango jam or jelly? There are other delightful fruit flavors than strawberry. I just bought cloudberry jam at IKEA. I hadn’t been able to find it for a few years, I run it through a sieve and use it on thumbprint cookies made from almond shortbread dough. I also use seedless raspberry jam on some of them. Soon I must start the Christmas baking. Fruitcake, almond crescents, jam thumbprints, pizzelle made with almond and vanilla extract, lace cookies, double chocolate drop cookies, gingerbread, sugar cookies, and honeyed pecans spiced with allspice and cinnamon. Almost all the cookies will go to my husband’s workplace the day after Thanks-giving. The fruitcake is for my husband and in-laws. I do not like fruitcake but have been making it for over 40 years. If it isn’t made then I hear about it.

    • Orro has made strawberry flavoured desserts exactly one other time 🙂 . Yes, he does cook with other flavours, he has made mango cupcakes before, lime donuts etc etc.

      • I had forgotten the mango cupcakes and possibly ice cream. I don’t recall the lime donuts at all but they sound really good. Thank-you

    • When my mother was alive I was required to make fruit cakes, that she gave out to friends, 12 cakes, 1 hr prep time, 3hrs cooking time, we kept 1, I did this on my days off, time consuming.

  58. I am loving this interview format. And yes, I would absolutely buy the book if someone *AHEM looks at Gordon* dropped some spoilers about Arabella’s magic.

    Happy FrInnDay!

  59. Thank you! When I read the part about Arabella still hating math, I laughed. Bern and I would have gotten her through even basic algebra. She sounds like the majority of people I know who hate any form of math. 🙂

    I could say I almost had a double concentration in my doctoral degree. I took all the biostatistics courses available to me and filled in every other course I could with health policy ones. Two classes I had to take were not biostats or health policy because I had to fulfill the School of Public Health requirements.

    Oh well, as I use to say when I was a teaching assistant during my biostatistics school days “if it weren’t for people like you (meaning people who hate math), then there wouldn’t be people like me.”

  60. Thank you! Fleshing out her story has been lovely, and seeing how smart she always has been put in print in nice!

  61. “There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?”

    Hehehe nice one ????
    I’d still buy the book ???? but yes, I appreciate not knowing yet!

  64. Loved this interview!! Can’t wait to read Arabella’s book/series. (No pressure, I know they’ll come if/when HA’s ready). Love her and the entire family so it’s nice to read more about them.

    Pretty sure more people in her family know what her trips to the north were about than she thinks… 🙂

    Thanks for these Friday Talks!! Looking forward to next week’s interview.

  65. Arnold is scary.

    I would not want to be an insurance company operating in Houston, for a lot of reasons.

  66. Omg!!! ???????????? Arabella is so grown up! She needs someone who is there just for her! Who sees her! And doesn’t fear that she’s going to break down. Someone who she can be sloppy with and will always be there for her! Also he needs to be incredibly smart and hot. So excited for her books!!!

  71. Before this interview, I was honestly neutral about Arabella getting a book. I feel a little bad with her not being a favorite as I think I did make some assumptions about her.

    But hey, that’s limited POV for you. Now I can say I’m very excited, especially because I have another gentleman in my shipping radar for her.

  73. This was incredible! This is what I love most about the magic of Ilona & Gordon’s universe and character growth building. I would never have said Arabella was a fav character. She’d “fallen through the cracks” and I def did Not take her seriously. Now, I’m dying to know everything about her!

  75. Yayy! And no more shipping Stephen Jiang with Arabella. *sigh* Maybe I’m misremembering, but I thought they were close to the same age.

    • I believe he was 24 when she was 18, but it’s more about the type of relationship they have than age difference. His brother Henry was confirmed by House Andrews as a potential for Arabella 🙂

      • Does this snippet/character exploration take place a few years after Ruby Fever? Is this version of Arabella in her mid-twenties now? Or younger?

        • Yes, this takes place after Ruby Fever. Her books, if they happen, will take place 5-6 years beyond the RF timeline.

          • Cool! That means that Arthur would be starting elementary school then…hopefully, he won’t destroy the classroom if he misses his nap.

  77. Wonderful update on what Arabella is doing these days! I love that she still has trouble with math, even if she is hella smart!

    All the feels!

    As my grandma would have said, “Such a lovely young lady.”

  78. Very sad, painful to read since the characters feel so real.

    How can they write a bit of prose and cause readers to feel? Ok, talent is answer.very impressive!

    When authors write these scenes with longtime characters do the characters feel real to the writers?
    I have read other authors who claim characters “wrote themselves”.

  79. Wonderful! Dina/Orro! Smushing! Higher Education FTW! Family! The future is wide open for the Cool Aunt!

  80. Having read Ruby Fever I have a specific pairing for Arabella but I hope she actually would be ready for it. Looking forward to more from her.

  82. Wow. A double major in three years and an accelerated remote Masters. That is quite an achievement. However, I do not think it’s a secret as much as Arabella thinks. They are a house of PI. I think they are all know just waiting for her to tell them. Like how Nevada and Arabella knew about Linus but did not tell the family either.

    Now I want to know what Leon got his degree in and how Runa’s siblings are doing within the House Andrews compound. Now that Bern and Runa are married is there a formal alliance or MOU or Mutual Assistance.

  88. Arabella: “The kind of people who custom order baby apparel from a couture shop in France and have it flown in by a special courier.”

    Loved it! It´s a good thing I have learned to read these kinds of things away from people and not to drink anything while reading. Two very important rules, one for avoiding weird looks when you start laughing, the other for the sake of my keyboard. She so nailed the absurdity of the average Prime lifestyle there.

    And I think she isn´t quite right about never being anyone´s favourite. In Nevada´s trilogy it was felt like Arabella and Catalina were really close, basically each other´s favourite. It´s just less strong now because Catalina has so much else on her hands.

    As to ships, I don´t feel like we´ve met her perfect match yet. The Bear of Kamchatka is just a bit too similar in magical ability, quite apart from his others duties and connections that would have to take precedence over Arabella if there´s ever a conflict. And Michael the record keeper´s assistant would probably also put his duty above everything else. Plus, I don´t see Arabella with someone who barely ever says a word.
    Also, I think that like Catalina, Arabella had better remain a part of House Baylor. Otherwise it´ll be a very small House in a generation, depending largely on Catalina´s future children if they want to maintain the gifts that came from Vicky baby (and which Bern and Leon don´t have in their genetics).

    Anyway, I´m rambling. Thank you, HA, this was fun!

    • Neither does Catalina, her Siren power doesn’t come from Victoria’s magic 🙂 and her secondary talent is in the Magus Saggitarius branch, which comes from her maternal grandfather, Leon.

  89. Thank you! That was so much fun. Enjoyed learning more about Arabella and hoping this means we’ll eventually get another HL book.

  90. Wow! Wow! wow! Wow! wow Wow! Wow! Thank you so much! After a not so good Thursday this is a Friday treat that I needed! So good. Now my mind is hopping around like a spider monkey wondering when Arabella’s story will be told and what it will contain. Have a great weekend. Thank you!

  93. Thank you for this interview!
    Arabella used to get on my nerves because she was a bit of a bratty baby sister, but she’s grown on me.
    And I will absolutely buy her book!!!!!!

  94. After reading Nevada’s book, I struggled to identify with Catalina in the trilogy (but enjoyed reading about it nevertheless) and this interview just made me feel for Arabella so much ! Thanks for the treat, it’s delicious.

  95. Thank you so much House Andrews. It’s been a crappy crappy week, and this just made my heart a little happier. I loved learning about Arabella, and the tidbit about Stephen explained things. You probably crushed a few dreams there, but it was well done. I had no idea that Arabella had that kind of education, and the fact that she doesn’t tell anyone is a testament to her character and how seriously she wants to be taken for her qualities, not diplomas. I was hoping for a romantic comment, but alas, maybe next time.

  96. Also; consider the magic boost Gertrude Hunt receives if House Baylor held a full event there…????

  99. This made me so happy and at the same time so bittersweet. I loved seeing Arabella older and get to know her better as she is now. But it made me miss the Baylors all the more and also a little sad she feels (not unloved, she’s not) but left out. Very much a Maribel Madrigal vibe.
    I honestly can’t wait for her book(s)

    • Aaaaand now that song is stuck in my head ???? one of the very few soundtracks I have ever bought and I still play it weekly ????

  102. Thank you for this visit with Dina and Arabella. I was shaking off a bad moment (in an otherwise wonderful day) when I saw that you had provided me with an awesome place to chill. The interview did give a deeper understanding of Arabella and I respect her journey.

    Favorite moment: “…these pastries. They are coming home with me.”

  103. ‘You never saw two manipulative people’. If you don’t tell anyone (family) what you are doing 4 days every two weeks. That is also a bit manipulative.

    • Secretive, maybe, or private- she’s not controlling or influencing anyone into doing something they wouldn’t otherwise do, so I don’t think “manipulative” applies ????. At least to this situation hehe.

  104. Learned so much about Arabella. My heart breaks for her because she doesn’t get the attention she deserves. I’m sure whoever she ends up will give her what she needs. Even though I like all the family I hope they eat crow after finding out about her education and realize they done her a disservice.

    • Don’t forget this is Arabella’s POV. Things may seem a bit more dire from her perspective, she is someone who feels things very strongly, as the books confirmed- see her reaction when Nevada was sick.
      We don’t know how much the rest of the family actually knows or how they feel about it ????.

  105. hmm I wonder why she felt the need to hide her Masters from everyone? To keep up the façade even with ones family must be hard. Love that some of the complexity in her character is coming out!

    And I see what you’re doing here, Mod R… the ship for Henry Jiang is very small but mighty.

  106. I hope that Arabella has a moment with Catalina where Catalina shows that she is aware of more than Arabella thinks, like when she tells Alessandro that Arabella is really sensitive and had to kill 9 people in RF—I think Arabella would be surprised that Catalina knows that much.
    Also, will we ever find out what almost went wrong in RF that made the writers hate it for awhile until they fixed it? To me, it all read so seamlessly I couldn’t see where an arc might have gone wrong (except maybe with the harpy wings, if Catalina was too evil or something).
    Thanks and happy Friday!

  107. This is just wonderful. I love that Arabella/Stephen dynamic. (Crossed fingers for seeing in action. I’m also hoping for Augustine/Arabella shenanigans . . . And Leon in Full PI Mode.)

    I love romance, but I ADORE found family.

  108. “Arabella: Of course not. There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?”

    Should we call it confirmed???

  109. Ok that was fun! I love these little teas with Dina! Nice to know that Leon and Arabella have gone to college at this point.

    Apparently the family does trust her to not hulk out, given they are no longer watching her every move like they did when she was pre college. I’d say she was obsessively watched and catered to before she achieved prime status, myself. And Bern and Leon have both respected her desire for privacy by not blabbing all the news.

    Did none of the other Baylors truly not figure something was going on if she was flying north to “shop” every two weeks for a year or so? Please, that’s a bit hard to believe. Maybe they all are waiting for her to just speak up and let them back into her life.

    That said, I’m really looking forward to an Arabella book whenever HA decides to go for it! Thanks for a lovely start to the weekend!

    • Agree, why wouldn’t they notice? And also, why wouldn’t she tell? I see no display of clear reason, and it makes my heart ache for the other characters, how she kind of downgrades them (my view).

  111. Thank you. I love the bit where baby Arthur is a supervillain. I love Hidden Legacy. I hope for more soon.

  112. This was great. So many questions answered. I love seeing that Arabella has matured. Now like a cat watching the proverbial mouse hole, we wait. And wait some more. ????

    Thank you.

  114. Interesting insights into Arabella. But I wonder if she is under estimating her family. Bern and Runa proved that, if you are trying to keep something secret, no matter how badly, the Baylors will respect your efforts and pretend they don’t know. Also, when Linus asked Catalina if she trusted Arabella, her instinctive thought was yes. “Arabella is a better judge of character than me.”

    I think they know her better than she thinks and maybe they trust her the MOST to manage her own life without assistance.

  118. So much fun!
    And excitement — maybe we will see a Arabella book/series. She has plenty of love interests to pursue that is for sure.

    One question, what is Leon’s degree in? Forensic Science? Magical Physics? Is there a degree in Ballistics?

    Thanks for the fun! Have a great weekend!

  120. I love this idea. A little bit of character development and exposition in between novels… 😀

    I’m not going to fall down on one side of the Michael/Michail fence just yet. I suspect it will be Michail, but I would want to wait and see what situation unfolds.

  122. I imagine Dina just waves her hand and opens a door to their dimension and Arabella just walks off with the tray on hand ????????????

  123. Thank you!
    Although I am so sad for Arabella now. I never noticed that before, she is so efficient and confident and fun, it’s easy to overlook that she is not a #1 for anyone in the family.

  124. Wow! You guys are amazing. So few words so much insight into Arabella. Can’t wait for her books.

  127. Thank You. It was great. Just loved the “Hee Hee”. Who is the guest for the
    next interview?

  128. I don’t care for strawberry myself – I picked them for two years when I was a kid and the smell got to me.

    However, I don’t blame Arabella for insisting on taking everything left of Orro’s baking.

  129. Mod R, how do we search for previous Dina’s interviews? I like to reread them all esp. Ronan’s and Hugh’s one. TYSM. ????

  131. As an older sister myself, I feel like Arabella is more loved than she believes. I truly believe Nevada knows and probably favors her the way Arabella thinks everyone else is favored, it’s just that Nevada now lives away from them & has her other priorities, so it isn’t a full-time in-your-face sort of favoritism. but of course, I am applying my read to the situation. This sounds like my early 20s too, where I had all this education and no clear direction to which to apply it to, while having the comfort & lull of a secure job/family situation. In order to achieve greatness, she will have to be shaken from what she knows she is capable of and truly tested in a new way. I love Arabella as a character the most, and Innkeeper as the best series (personal subjective choice only here), so this snippet was just icing on icing.

  133. Oh, Arabella! Looking forward to finding out what magic she inherited from her parents. I also liked that she has a lot of friends/mentors. I would prefer a fantasy novel with a romantic interest for her rather than a straight up romance.

  134. Still team Arabella and Michael for HEA. But it sounds like Arabella went out and created a “found family.” Stephen and Augustine are like surrogate older brothers and they’re the people she relies on for support and advice. She didn’t do it due to abuse or neglect, it’s just that there is always so much going on with the Baylors. I really don’t believe that both Linus and Victoria are unaware of Arabella’s academic achievements. And I still feel like Arabella is lonely. We need her book so much, if only to see the people around her realize what she really does for them.

  136. These new Friday treats are a delightful way to keep the characters alive in my thoughts.

    Hmm. What do we know about Henry Jiang so far? Was he the brother who convinced Stephen to do the acting gig?

    • He was indeed. He is the “black sheep” of the family and has an acting career in Chinese dramas????

      • I have a memory of Gordon talking about Henry returning to the US & meeting Arabella. Stephen, although he was not in love, was preparing to wed his friend as they both wanted the same things in life. Stephen has asked Arabella to investigate (discreetly) something about his prospective bride. Henry wants his brother to marry for love and is under the illusion that Stephen’s love is Arabella.

        I read this somewhere in one of the QAs done by HA for RF.

  147. Arabella has always been my favourite Baylor and now even more so. I see you Arabella!!

    Thank you House Andrews

  148. thank you!!❤️❤️❤️ love learning more about Arabella and her secrets. her story, whenever you feel like writing it, is going to be fascinating

  150. Excellent feature. Would love to see more.
    (Was the Yale thing hinted at earlier? That just blew me away. )

  151. lovely. secrets. family’s. wow yes to the book I will pay.
    it was great to wake up Saturday morning and find this waiting
    thanks

  152. So happy that Dina gets a project that doesn’t mean GH is at stake or the universe is going to go to war or Orro is going to have an existential crisis. Nice simple interviews with wonderful people!!

    I think that Arabella would be Her Grace’s favorite. Smushing indeed!

    Thank you, HA, for giving us a reason for Fridays again. 😉

    • I would love to “see” an interview with Her Grace and Victoria Tremaine.

      Or possibly Victoria’s new hobby? I think it would be so much fun if she started doing a series of televised or radio interviews with prospective political candidates.

  155. LOVE this! This “conversation” was fascinating and gave us so much more insight into Arabella and how she sees her family and the world.

  160. Amazing, thank you so much. I love Arabellas secret extra qualifications and being sponsored by 2 hard hitters! Happy Friday

  163. Dear Authorlords, I hope you have even more fun writing these little treats as we do reading them. I am chuckling my way into Saturday morning jobs and I am imagining you two sitting there snickering and G says “what if A says this?” Then I says “wait! NO! She has to say this, then the BDH will collectively explode their brains!!” And G goes “if only we had spyware to watch their faces when they read it!” And you both laugh so hard that there is snorting and the cat gets all offended and walks across the keyboard…

  164. This has a very ‘Between Two Ferns’ feel to it and I love it!

    I understand completely where Arabella is coming from. I have a large family and I absolutely fell through the cracks. My mother told me, when I was angry and brought this up in my twenties, my siblings just needed more than I needed and there was only so much of her to go around. I’m okay with that now. I am the most independent and stable of the lot.

    • My parents I’d a lot of stuff with my siblings when we were growing up:s counts, guides, pony club, etc. my Mum has mentioned feeling guilty that they didn’t do more with me. I laughed: I knew I was loved but what I wanted most was to be left alone with a book – it was a perfect childhood for me 🙂

  165. Weeeeeeeeeee!!!! I love Arabella! More please! To paraphrase your German commenter, I would be delighted to pay more $ for more words! ????

  166. It’s like you knew everyone would ship Arabella and Stephen so preemptively dashed all our hopes.

  168. Yay for the FrInnday tea party!!

    Was really hoping to find out if Arabella gets her book(s)… and this HINT is a major boost for me….

    Can’t wait to see how this develops!!

  170. Awww, she’s right! Now I want to watch her run a large corporation and hang out with her toddler nephew!!

    • I can see her creating and running a successful challenger to Herald and smushing the competition by being more “real” (interesting, original, and inclusive) 😀

  172. Ok ok ok… I wasn’t a giant Arabella fan but I love seeing the Baylors from different angles and more-grown-up Arabella is intriguing! Totally excited to see more from her!!!

  173. I don’t think I’ve ever posted in the blog before. But I just had too. This is fricken amazing and I am so excited not just to see Arabella in action when her time arrives but also for Dina taking her hostess position to such a new and unexpected direction!
    My appetite is whetted for the next installment like it were a puff pastry from Orro himself.
    Thank you!

  176. Ooooo, I love the possibility that Arabella’s story would involve her going out more on her own, maybe in a field that supported the family PI business but not exactly in it. This interview really shows that she has sneaky depths.

  180. It is interesting that everyone worries about her going godzilla but Arabella is the person they send to collect payments, a potentially dangerous or infuriating situation. Yes the family is worried about her particularly when she was younger but perhaps also she is trusted to be able to handle whatever is thrown her way in terms of potential to stay calm in a violent or angry situation in the face of other primes or families who refuse to pay. That shows a high level of trust in her ability to keep herself safe whether is be by not losing her calm or escalating a situation or completely annihilating someone but in a business sense rather than a physical sense. She commands respect when she could already physically pound them into a pulp, and yes her inherent threat level may come through she doesn’t need to get physical in most cases. Class and cute style may be her armor but it is her tool, her mask and perhaps her persona that she dons to keep everyone thinking she is harmless or not look too closely. She may be her hardest critic because she knows the true potential of losing it. Her education is impressive and who is to say she is done learning, she may be the one who didn’t need anyone to support her like her cousins or her sisters and help make the best decisions for herself because she had a plan and knew what she wanted or needed to do & executed it without fanfare or recognition. The person or persons who see her true self (apart from family who already love her unconditionally) might be the key to her allowing herself to be vulnerable enough to have a healthy relationship and learn more about herself, to continue to improve, learn her limitations and be all the more powerful for it.

  182. Didn’t she blow the Warden secret? (Was it still a secret?)

    Ooh can’t wait to see who’s favorite and Priority 1 she will be ::rubs hands together::

  183. I did not expect this to make me tear up, but as a youngest daughter this completely sucker punched me.

    Doing something big and waiting for people to notice, then being disappointed when they don’t ~big exhale. ~

    House Andrews grabs me immediately, as always.

  184. Thank you! Arabella is awesome and it was great to read her perspective! Dina is such a lovely hostess!

    Would love more Friday talks so hope they continue… maybe Roman will be next? Hint, hint ????

  186. I’m all for the Arabella books, and I can understand the fans wanting for her to have a love story but the authors wanting her to actually date and find love normally rather than first person=only love. which us tricky for a trilogy.

    But (incoming unpopular opinion) I think at this point I’m WAY more interested in seeing Arabella navigate these feelings she has of growing up in a loving family, but feeling overlooked somehow too.
    I feel that on a SUPER personal level.
    I want to see how she adapts now that she’s a little older and wiser, and the potential romance has become secondary.

    I do hope we get an Arabella series eventually, but I’m also happy for these little tidbits that show her still living a fulfilling (fictional) life.

  189. ???? cute! Also, in comparison, I am a listless slacker who barely earns the breath I breathe!!! ????
    How does she do it?!?!!

    • She’s young, full of magic and rich ????- I’m starting to believe magic is the only way to get some energy for doing things hehe.

  190. Wow! I loved getting to know more about Arabella. I always thought she was smart, but I obviously didn’t know how educated she was. I feel a little bad for her, although I know she is loved by her family. Maybe she is Leon’s favorite? Or… Arthur’s favorite! Since she is the ‘Cool Aunt.’

  196. Awesome! Arabella the super over achiever! Sooner or later that’s going to spill over and out – if not from her, then Bern or Leon. Who’d have thought she was that smart?

  199. Wow! Love this insight into grown-up Arabella!

    I think she could be a really fun character if/when you tell us more of her story!

  200. Reading that was lovely. only thing that might be better would being able to eat anything Orro created. I still drool over the chicken at the piece summit. And Mango ice cream.

    We’re officially spoiled. Thank you

  201. Yay for extra Dina & Arabella…double yay because there is going to be an Arabella book……squeeeee

  203. ooh, I really like this format. I think that not only is it a good way to give us info, but for HA to pop lore for minor characters that won’t get books/ novellas. (Like the older brother from last kinsman book, or Ragnar, Halle, Benjiro…)
    nota: doesn’t augustine have younger siblings? maybe a younger brother…

    And would there ever be a two couple story like how Bern’s unfolded with Catalina’s? I can see Leon’s being in the same timeline as Arabella’s, but it’d be nice to have more depth since he’s such an interesting character also.

    as always, wonderful job!

  204. LOL “There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?” YAY! So an Arabella book is coming? YAY!

  206. Am I the only one who noticed “Catalina deals with sick Warden crap and tried to run the House.” Ummm, what does TRIED TO RUN the House mean?

    • Either you misread it or they edited it after your comment–it now says “tries” to run the house.

  207. „Dealing with Grandma Victoria requires a computer brain. I would lose my patience and smush her.“ ????????????

    I just love Arabella, she is the coolest! Thanks for that interview, made my day!

  209. Ooh. Arabella certainly seems to think she’ll get her own book. And I do think the authors would be careful about letting her say that unless they intended to follow through…

  210. “Arthur, who might be a supervillain. I low-key keep waiting for him to accidentally destroy Houston because he can’t find his sippy cup.”
    Whahahahahahahah!

    Also, really really hoping Arabella and Leon both get their own series some day. Hoooooooopiiiiiing! *beg*

  213. ok… wow !!!!
    when the Arabella books show up they may have to be longer and more than three to cover all that we are imagining for this pesonality.
    She’s already got more going on than we thought.
    And since none of our projections can match the writtings of HA.. i can’t wait.

    I’m going to go plant a tree and watch it grow while i wait.

  214. Another splendid gift. Thank you. Arabella was the one I wanted to hug when she was hating the test she was given to see if she could control her inner “Godzilla”. I continue to look forward to her meeting her soulmate.

  215. So much fun! And such a wonderfully deep character analysis – perfect for gently updating the character so as to have her all ready for her next appearance! It seems so much easier than spending tons of time getting your head back to where you were the last time you worked with the character. Will it work that way for House Andrews? We will love these, and it would be fantastic if it helped out HA, too. In any case, thank you so much for letting the BDH enjoy the fruits of the process!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

  216. Super fun to learn more about what Arabella is like
    Clearly a brain to be sure not what she tends to project at all

  218. I loved it! Thanks for giving us a glimpse of what Arabella’s life is like. She sounds brilliant and very complicated. Thank you!❤️

  222. And my brain just said, “she went and met Chef, batted her eyelashes at him and walked out with the recipe. Gods know Oreo’s appearance wouldn’t have bothered Arabella at all!”

  226. You know, I almost didn’t vote, because I really didn’t have a strong preference. I love y’all’s writing and try to buy ahead, so I know there’ll be great stuff coming by such and such day.

    This was pure pleasure. I love how she is developing and am really glad for the time lapse y’all are taking. It’s all good, HA, all good.

  229. Fantastic!! Thank you so much! I really hope Arabella gets her own story after this interview and even before. My favorite… ‘I low key worry that Arthur will level Houston looking for his sippy cup’. Perfection! Thx again!

  231. Arabella is my favorite 🙂

    I’m rooting for princess Arabella, or at least a steamy weekend of fun for them..she deserves it. Also it seems like she could be fully herself around a similar mage.

  232. All my gosh, I love adult Arabella. She is so smart, and so self-aware (by necessity) and I love the glimpses into her mind that we get. The bit in one of Catalina’s books where she goes “I don’t know, I didn’t pay much attention” and then reels off a perfect description down to telling details of the person who tapped her bumper — that describes who she is almost perfectly, and I want to see more of her.

    I can’t wait for her book(s) and see what happens when she runs up against something that breaks through that armor of awareness and control.

  233. thank you! I love her, I’m even more interested in an book for her now. I hope all new endeavors do well and you can come back to her story feeling fresh 🙂

  238. Ok, can we add three Arabella books to the “to be written” list. Your list of books to be written must be at least 6 or 7 deep by now or is that 6 or 7 characters each having a 3 book story arc? Whichever, the BDH should keep you busy for the next 20 years or so with time off for another move or a wedding or two eventually.

    How’s the product shop coming along? 🙂

  240. Are there plans for a full BOOK about Arabella? If not would you please do one? And I mean soon! Like yesterday. Please, Please. Thank you for your consideration and agreement.
    Purple.Wizard

  241. Lovely, charming, thank you so much. Sigh, so happy Arabella made it safely to adulthood, and wowser on the educational achievements. This was so satisfying, I had not realized I was so worried about her! Smiles, and thanks.

  243. I’m so happy I am almost crying! Yayayay! Arabella’s story ♥️????♥️????♥️????♥️????♥️????♥️

  245. Thank you sooo much for this, and now very much looking forward to Arabella’s books (don’t feel you have to be restricted to a trilogy).

    And maybe – eventually – there will be enough of these interviews to collect them all up into a printed/ eBook version ????????????

  247. ahhh! love Arabella so much!!! please tell us we will ONE day get an Arabella trilogy when House Andrews is feeling the creative inspiration for Arabella!

  248. I actually laughed out loud at the ” There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living. If I give away all of my secrets, why would you buy my book?” Part XD XD XD

    Love it!

  249. Thanks for more Arabella:) Will love to find out where her story goes when the creators get around to it. One of the many intriguing possibilities is Arabella being courted by Michael of the Office of Records. Given what little I know about Michaels magic, what exactly it is about Arabella that makes the Keeper want to give Michael the chance to get together with her? One must presume the Keeper thinks it would be a good match from a magical perspective……

      • Yes, Arabella has all sorts of power or possible power in her genes. But there is all the fuss over compatibility when magic users get together. So I’m wondering what the Keeper believes will happen should Arabella & Michael have a child together. Given the Keeper strong armed Linus into withdrawing his objections regarding a possible relationship the Keeper must believe such a match would produce extremely positive results from a magic perspective. Don’t see the Keeper going to such trouble just to provide Michael with a date!

        • Well, yes. But, didn’t each of her sisters choose their mates without resorting to Scroll predictions?

    • Or it is simply that Arabella is the rare person not intimidated by all that deathlyness…. (yes, I seem to have coined a word)

  251. Lol awesome thank you! Of course i literally fist pumped and shouted yes when arabella mentions her book heehee

  255. Ohhh! This was so interesting, I feel like I get a lot of tiny spoilers or hints.
    ❤♡ love it!

  256. I KNEW she was going to be the most interesting sister! when is her book coming out? please tell us oh mighty mod. please please please. i will reserve the hours to read it non stop that day and then cry for the 6 months till the next one.

  260. awesome! loved this interview and getting to know Arabella a bit better.

    How old is she in this interview? She wasn’t in college yet in RF, was she? I know some places where college starts at 16 for kids but I thought she was a college at 18 person.

  261. I can see Arabella visiting the Inn for pastry night specials. Her energy would probably feed the house for a month????

  265. Been waiting for SO LONG! As the youngest sibling of 3…who had to be the strongest sibling so many times whether it was conflicts or issues that I had to deal with or our family had to face…I need to know. We always know that they never listen to us…doesn’t matter if we have the right advice, their friend can say the exact same sentence a minute later and THEN it’s the way to go. Also, I bet she was her father’s favorite. And I know that we’re all our parents favorite…just depends on the situation and moment. LOL.

  267. My heart goes out to Arabella. Those hints at all that goes on behind her ‘cute personality’. This interview makes me only want to know more about her than I already did anyway. Always liked her a lot and figured there was so much more to her she’d kept hidden.
    Thank you for this FrInnDay special.

  269. Thanks for this great interview! Loved learning more about Arabella. I love knowing there are all these potential books out there and not knowing what will come next!

    I would have totally taken the pastries too! to go with the Chocolate Mint Harney & Sons Tea that I am currently drinking!

    I’m psyched to learn more about Roman. Just read the interview with Dina with Roman and Hugh. What fun!

    Thanks for keeping us entertained! You both are appreciated! and Mod R too!

  270. Oh Arabella…

    The lovely people who created you put books up to read for free, and I read them, and then I bought the ebook, and then I bought the shiny special edition hardback. If you spill your secrets on a random Friday, it’ll just make us obsess more.

  271. I’m guessing that Ilona does the fashion descriptions. Or does Gordon gave a secret fashion passion?

  273. I re-read parts of RF and it’s interesting that Victoria (according to Catalina) has a “I do all the work and get no credit” complex.

  279. In a bit different note…
    Is there a plan or anticipated date for Graphic Audio to offer Sweep Of The Heart? Innkeeper books are awesome for road trips!

    • No official date yet for the Graphic Audio adaptation- though the traditional audiobook will be available on release day, December 13.

      We will announce as soon as GA have a plan ????

  281. I am wondering if the Keeper wants Arabella and Michael together because of some secret duties connected to the Office of Records – maybe the magic mix isn’t so important, but being able to run the place is.

    Anyhows, I am totally shipping those two and I am grateful we got this glimpse 🙂
    thank you!

  284. Just came here to say that I loved the interview, want to buy Arabella’s books asap and like the idea of her and the Bear 🙂 And also importantly, her going to Russia! It would be really cool to read about Russian culture, seeing as Ilona has first-hand experience (even though maybe not at a Russian court 🙂 ). I might be biased as an Eastern European (and would hope nobody is offended, it is fiction after all and Putin does not exist there), but still, would love to see it.

  285. “There are two lovely people who created me, and they need to earn a living.” Ahaha, perfect! I love the fun things you write for your blog, House Andrews, and thank you for your creativity and hard work!

  286. I didn’t like the ‘1st’ thing and don’t want to read people’s efforts to be first. The content was more important to me. Sorry

  291. Thank you! I would definitely have read Arabella’s stories anyway, but this interview makes me more excited about it. Also, this instigated a Hidden Legacy reread from beginning. And that instigated looking for the scene where we get more incite into Patricia and Regina. Specifically, Regina’s cousin. Such good stuff!

      • Other thoughts after my reread:

        1) does a scene exist when Bern & Leon came to Casa de Baylor and where Gisele is actually “onstage”? I was thinking there was, but…????????‍♀️

        2) I REALLY think Victoria needs to stay incarcerated and/or magically neutered. That woman!! So toxic. “Evil grandmother” doesn’t quite cover it.

          • Thank you! I bet it was a conversation speculating on the topic in a thread somewhere that made me think I’d read such a scene.

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