Dear Mystery Lover:
Rumor has it that you like a good story. If you have a minute, I’d like to tell you a bit about mine, it’s a doozy. My name is Bridie O’Malley, a fictionalized 38 year old redhead with too many secrets and a common dilemma, my family. I thought I could out run them, but like death, sex, a bottle or your bookie, they will always find you.
You see, my father was born an Irish Traveller, an ethnic clan in Ireland with its own language, moral code and trouble finds us more often than most. At least that’s the case in the O’Malley clan. You may have seen a glimpse into their world with My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, but that wasn’t my experience. The Showtime show, Shameless was closer. Like any ethnic group, there are good people and bad. Mine took a dark road.
When your family tree is filled with con-men, gamblers and fortune tellers, it doesn’t take too long to realize that when your Irish father says “Don’t worry, ” it means get the bail money ready. At five my mother died in childbirth and I became caretaker for Mickey. I wasn’t very good at it.
At twelve my grandfather tried to marry me off in a land deal and I was sent to live in Lexington, Kentucky with the Burroughs, a wealthy family that raised thoroughbreds. I realized early on that you don’t air your dirty laundry in public and I had to hide my past. I’ve done a great job of it, and raised a horse that’s going to win the Kentucky Derby. Now here’s the–but, if my family doesn’t screw it up.
All these years, I’ve been able to lie to myself and everyone around me, until this week. Today,the O’Malley’s control the gambling in Ireland and they want to fix the Kentucky Derby. Someone put my father in a coma and my brother Mickey is missing. He doesn’t talk and lives in his own world. It’s my fault he can’t help.
I can’t tell my best friend, Max Burroughs, he’s too busy being big man around Louisville on the way to winning the Derby. My boarding school chums don’t exactly have crime fighting credentials; Meg’s a forensic accountant for the FBI and Jordyn is a fashion editor for Beauté magazine, but they’re the best I have.
So now it’s time to let you in on a secret, I’m afraid the bad guys are smarter than we are. If I don’t find Mickey before the Derby bets are paid, the gansters will take him out of the country and he’ll be lost forever and it will be my fault, again.
If you want to get in the know and solve the mystery of who has my baby brother, listen to the Run podcast. I post a new episode by midnight on Sundays, but you can listen on a walk, when cooking dinner, or doing the dishes. One of our listeners tunes in right before bed. The episodes are about 15 minutes.
It’s hard for me to make friends, so if you like the story, I’d love to know your comments. By the way, things get steamy and tough sometimes, so
Run is rated for mature audiences, but I know you’ll enjoy the ride with me.
I hope you want to know how it all works out, so I’ve asked my scribe, Maureen O’Crean, to fill you in on the details. Don’t worry, she’s got the goods. From her non-fiction book, I Am Diva, Every Woman’s Guide to Outrageous Living (Grand Central Publishing-2003), she created an online-community of 5,000+ women at DistinctivelyDiva.com. Join the fun.
Take Care and I’ll be talking to you soon!
Bridie O’Malley, VMD
Lexington, Kentucky, for now.
PS – Don’t forget to sign up for updates, we have some great free sweepstakes coming up! They only run for a short time, so don’t miss out.
