Treat Yourself for Mother's Day!

By Kay Kendall

In celebration of my second mystery coming out in July, my publisher is offering through Mother's Day my first mystery at 99 cents on Amazon. Imagine--the Kindle version of Desolation Row, for less than a dollar. 

I have officially hit the fun stage for the new book, It is edited within an inch of its “life,” and proof read backwards and forwards. Eight authors read the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and wrote fantastic blurbs for Rainy Day Women. I'm excited and eager for its birth.

All of a sudden, I’m in a very different life. I had become accustomed to sitting holed up in my (messy) writer’s lair, composing in solitude. Those early drafts are sheer terror. That blank computer screen, waits impatiently to be filled with thousands of words. Sometimes when I've written a few paragraphs that are really tough to pull out of my teeming brain, I stagger to the door out of my cell—er, I mean, writer’s lair—and clutch the frame, stopping to catch my breath. This doesn't happen often, but it does occur. I am astonished at how difficult the early drafts are, and I don't enjoy them. This alone stage lasts a very long time, like forever!

Obviously, this is a stage I must burst through in order to get to the good stuff. I love editing and can do it for hours on end. I love playing with words, choosing just the right ones. I adore working with my editor, and we have conversations back and forth about points I might never have pondered without her questions. This is stage two—with a partner for company, my editor. It lasts only a few months.

Then there is the stage I've just entered now—the third and highly public part. I get to introduce my new baby to the world. Talking about what I put into my mystery is a treat. After all, I wouldn't have written what I did if I weren't eager to share my thoughts with the world. When someone wants to talk about my writing, my goodness, there is nothing better. Ever since I took three years of debate in high school, I have loved public speaking.

Since I already have one book published, I know better what lies ahead for this second one. I am surprised that I am as excited with the new book, however, as I was with the first. With luck, this excitement will never go away for any future books. I never want to grow jaded with the process.

Stage three lasts six to nine months, while the book is new. I go to mystery conferences and meet readers, hold events at bookstores, and generally have a whale of a great time. I came late in the day to my career as a writer, but thank heavens I got here. Better late than never!

Speaking of better late than never, if you've never read Desolation Row, and take advantage of the Amazon Kindle special pricing, then you will be ready when the sequel, Rainy Day Women, launches on July 7.

In the second book, intrepid amateur sleuth Austin Starr searches for a killer of female activists in 1969, a year after Desolation Row took place. A murderer stalks the members of women’s consciousness raising groups at the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia.

During the week of the Manson murders and Woodstock, new mother Austin bundles up her infant son Wyatt—just three months old—and flies with him across the continent to help her dear friend Larissa during her personal crisis. The Mounties have fingered her as their chief suspect in at least one of the murders. More trouble ensues. 

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 Kay Kendall is a long-time fan of historical mysteries and now writes atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit and turbulence of the sixties. She is also an award-winning international PR executive who lives in Texas with her husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to the bunnies, she loves them anyway! Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan buff too.