Author’s Choice with Kathleen Kaska

Please welcome Kathleen to Author’s Choice.

Dear readers, here’s where you get to play along. The author will tell us two truths and one lie (ed comment –I randomized the order). At the end of the questions, we’ll reveal what really happened. Remember, we write crime fiction, so lying is in our nature . . .

Two Truths, One Lie

Truth or Lie? I was once stranded in Bombay after a travel agent cancelled my return flight to the U.S.

Truth or Lie? One evening, I opened John Irving’s book, A Son of the Circus, which begins with a dwarf circus. At that exact moment, loud music started blasting from the vacant lot behind my house. Curious, I went to investigate and found a family of dwarves rocking out beside their car.

Truth or Lie? I love running up the stairwells of tall buildings: the Empire State Building, the Columbia Center in Seattle, the Willis Tower in Chicago. My goal is to run the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Eight Quick Questions

Now for some fun insight into today’s author. Here are eight forced choice questions.

1.         Plotter, pantser, or plantser (that chaotic middle ground)? Pantser. I start with a first line and let my characters tell the story. I rarely know what happens next. About two-thirds in, I tighten the plot and tie up loose ends—that’s when the real work begins. But when I write nonfiction, I create a detailed outline

2.         Editing as you go, or vomit draft first and fix it later? Since I edit as I go, finishing a manuscript usually takes months.

3.         Writing snack: sweet, salty, or "I forget to eat"? I never forget to eat. But I don’t eat at my keyboard.

4.         Character names: meticulously researched, stolen from real life, or whatever sounds right? I let my characters introduce themselves. They simply walk into my life and tell me their story. Sometimes, I need to give a character a name, and that requires trying out several options. If, for some reason, I have to change a name, it’s almost as hard as changing my own.

5.          Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home? I mainly write at home, where it is quiet, but I don’t mind the chaos of a coffee shop.

6.         Writer's block: push through, step away, or "it's not real"? All three. I like to believe that writer’s block doesn’t exist, but I do hit the wall sometimes and try to push through. If it doesn’t work, I take a break and go for a walk.

7.         Happy ending, bittersweet, or gut-punch finale? Since I write mysteries, the killer has to be caught, which means it doesn’t end happily for them. My cozy mysteries conclude with a positive note for my protagonist and a hint at what’s on the horizon in the next book. My suspense series ends with my protagonist learning an important lesson.

8.         Deadline approaching: calm and prepared, thriving on adrenaline, or full panic mode? I’m excited but also in panic mode. It’s hard to read my book after it’s published because I always find something I want to change. It’s like I can’t turn off my editor brain. Even though the book is published, there’s still a lot of work to do to promote it: book signings, presentations, blog posts, and online interviews. I have three calendars; all necessary to keep me on track.

About the Book

Enough about you, let’s turn to three questions about your book.

Q: If your main character in this novel showed up at your door right now, what would be the first thing they'd say to you (and would it be a complaint)?

A. Sydney Lockhart would shove her way in and say, “We’ve got to talk.” That’s fine with me because I always enjoy a healthy debate. Kate Caraway, the protagonist of my suspense series, would chew me out for not sending her back to Kenya, where she wants to be. She’s always asking me, “How long do I have to wait? Stop stringing me along, already.”

Q: What's one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

A.  Murder at the Faust is the seventh book in my Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series. I hope they enjoyed it and are encouraged to read the other six.

Q: What question did you want me to ask, and what is your answer? 

A. Can you tell us about the biography you wrote? Inspired by my love of birds, I wrote the biography, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story, published by the University Press of Florida. In the spring of 1941, the whooping crane population had reached an all-time low of fifteen. If not for the efforts of Robert Porter Allen, the National Audubon Society’s ornithologist, the species would have soon become extinct.

     Allen’s tireless efforts changed the course of U.S. environmental history and helped lead to the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. His life reads like an Indiana Jones story, full of danger and adventure, failure and success. Writing this book was a labor of love.

The Big Reveal

Now let’s see how good a sleuth (or guesser) our readers are. Please reveal all.

The lie is that I love running up the stairwells of tall buildings: the Empire State Building, the Columbia Center in Seattle, the Willis Tower in Chicago. My goal is to run the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. I’m terrified of heights. 

The travel agent who arranged our group trip to India and Nepal screwed up the itinerary. I asked for a refund on some of the activities, and in retaliation, she cancelled my trip home. Luckily, I had a printed copy of my airline ticket.

I have no explanation for the dwarf story. My husband told me I had too much wine. But it was a school night—I used to teach—and I wasn’t drinking.

Here’s a blurb for and some links where you can find Kathleen's latest:

Book Blurb

Welcome to the historic Faust Hotel, where the year is 1953, the carpet is plush, and the crime scenes are unfortunately plentiful. When Milton Sweetwater checks in and promptly vanishes, Sydney Lockhart and her partner-beau Ralph Dixon are summoned to New Braunfels for what should be a straightforward missing-persons case. But nothing is ever straightforward when Sydney’s involved.

[Amazon]       [Barnes & Noble]       [Anamcara Press (Publisher)]

Want to know more?

For more information about Kathleen Kaksa https://kathleenkaska.com