Interview with Cozy Author, Rose Kerr

By Lynn McPherson

I met Rose Kerr earlier this year at Malice Domestic. We had a few good chats over some delicious cake and I'm delighted to have her here today to talk about her great new book, Death on the Set. It's the first book in the Brenna Flynn Mystery Series, recently published by Touchpoint Press.

Rose, can you tell us about your debut novel, Death on the Set?

Brenna Flynn is my protagonist in Death on the Set. Brenna's had some bad luck. Her husband was killed in a highway accident, and then she loses her job as a high school guidance counselor due to budget cuts.

She returns home to Bayview City and works with a temp agency to find work until she can get work as a high school guidance counselor. 

Brenna interviews for the job of a production assistant for a cooking reality show and aces the interview. On the second day at work, she finds a body. The police think she may have something to do with the murder and she's their prime suspect.

Determined to prove her innocence, Brenna uses the skills she's honed as a high school guidance counselor to learn about the victim and members of the cast and crew. The stakes are raised with threatening notes, poisonings, and blackmail.

Can Brenna uncover who the killer is before someone else dies?

The story is so much fun. Where do you get your book ideas?

I had a lot of fun writing this book! For Death on the Set, my son and I were watching a cooking reality show and the head chef (who shall remain nameless) was especially nasty to the contestants. I looked at my son and said, one day someone is going to kill him. My son said, Mom, there's your story. It took a while to get that story out, but it was fun writing it. The other two books in the series came from ideas that had been in my mind for some time.

Why did you choose a former guidance counselor as your protagonist?

I've worked with guidance counselors in the past. Some skills they have seemed natural for my amateur sleuth to have. The skills Brenna uses include research, understanding how people think, observant, active listening, drawing people out, critical thinking, problem solving, gathering information, making informed decisions, Brenna genuinely likes people and wants to help them where possible.

How important is setting in your books?

Bayview City is a fictional town on the shores of Lake Superior. My husband and I raised our family in a small town in Northern Ontario on the shores of Lake Superior. We had beautiful parks close to our town and took advantage of Lake Superior's coastline. The lake was a factor in our lives because of how often the weather changed. We had some storms that came up quickly. The lake is vast, majestic, and constantly changing. I've used some parts of the town we lived in and parts of larger towns and cities in my books. It's a setting I'm familiar and very comfortable with.

What's your writing process? Do you have an extensive outline? Are you a pantser?

I do a lot of preparation for my books; I outline thoroughly. In my series, my main character, Brenna Flynn, takes on temp jobs. It's important for me to understand the responsibilities  she has for each position. The recurring characters each support Brenna differently. New to the series characters need to be developed. I like to know who is the victim, who the killer is, and why they're the victim and the killer. I've tried pantsing and it just didn't work for me. I admire anyone who is a pantser! One thing I've started doing with book three is ending my writing session with a brief note reminding me of the next scene. It's been helpful to keep me on track.

Did you always want to be a writer? Why crime?

I wanted to write, but wasn't sure what to write. I tried my hand at writing romance, but it didn't stick. I found writing murder mysteries much more fun!

Who are your favorite cozy authors?

I have several authors that I reach for frequently: Connie Berry, Lynn Cahoon, Kate Carlisle, and Vicki Delany. I'm always looking for new cozy authors to read.

What's next for Brenna Flynn?

Book two, tentatively title Death in Academia, is with my editor. I'm writing book three, working title, Death at the Festival. I don't think Brenna is going to find work as a guidance counselor for some time!

Rose Kerr lived most of her adult life in small towns. She and her husband raised their family in a small town in Northern Ontario, on the shores of Lake Superior. Rose is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Guppy Online Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and Crime Writers of Canada. For more info visit www.rosekerr.com

Facebook: https://https://www.facebook.com/RoseKerrAuthor

Instagram: @r.m.kerr

Twitter: @rkerrwriter

Pinterest: @rosekerrauthor

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/rosekerr

Malice Magic!

 By Lynn McPherson

Malice Domestic 2022.

What a fabulous event! It was the first time I've been away since 2019. I was nervous and excited all at once. It blew away all my expectations. Walking through the hallway and all around the hotel, I saw author after author I admired. Maureen Jennings, Louise Penny, Sherry Harris, Rhys Bowen, and Lori Rader-Day, just to name a few. The panels were well-organized and entertaining, nevermind informative and fun. Dru Ann Love moderated one of my favorite panels on how to keep a series fresh, with great advice from panelists Edith Maxwell, Amanda Flower, Cheryl Hollon, SC Perkins, and Barbara Ross. It was fabulous. Attending an interview with Rhys Bowen by Louise Penny felt like a dream come true. I also got to meet the head of the Blue Ridge Literary Agency, Dawn Dowdle. Dawn was warm and welcoming. Each night I had the privilege of dining with fellow authors at the BRLA table.

Will I be back next year? Definitely? Would I recommend it to anyone interested in mystery? You bet!

Here are a few photos of my time away...

Getting ready to leave Toronto!

Dawn Dowdle and authors from Blue Ridge Literary Agency

Lynn McPherson has worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, ran a small business, and taught English across the globe. She has travelled the world solo where her daring spirit has led her to jump out of airplanes, dive with sharks, and learn she would never master a surfboard. She now channels her lifelong love of adventure and history into her writing,
where she is free to go anywhere, anytime. Her cozy series has three books out: The Girls' Weekend Murder and The Girls Whispered Murder, and The Girls Dressed For Murder.  

[Lynn's Author Site] - [Buy Lynn's Book]

Four Cuts Too Many - I Need Your Help, Please by Debra H. Goldstein

Four Cuts Too Many - I Need Your Help, Please by Debra H. Goldstein

Eleven days to go! If you had told me in 2011, when my first book, Maze in Blue, was published, that a decade later, I’d have six published original titles, one turned into my agent ready to go, two mass market runs, audio and e-books of three of my novels, and more than forty short stories published, I would have laughed.

I’m not laughing now. Instead, I’m anxiously awaiting the release of Four Cuts Too Many, the fourth book in Kensington’s Sarah Blair series (already available on pre-order). Although I’ve enjoyed doing zoom events, I’m hoping there will soon be opportunities to meet in person with readers. There’s something special about that in general. Even more, when a Facebook or friend from the past appears at a signing.

 

It’s been over a year since I’ve been on the road doing promotion. The pandemic created a difficult time to have a new title come out. I was six weeks into my book tour for Three Treats Too Many when the world shut down. At that point, the sales were leading the same point of sale numbers that my first two books had achieved at that point. I was excited. One reason is because I donate a significant portion of the royalties from pre-orders and the first month of sales to charity (and I’m doing so again).

 

Like many others, I became an author with a new book having to find a way to let people know the book was out there. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets became the promotional norm. I adapted.

 

I’m ready to adapt again. I don’t have a choice. The world is reopening, but Four Cuts Too Many won’t be the new book on the block when the restrictions on congregating are lifted. That’s why I need to get the word out now about the book. Anything you can do from sharing this blog to pre-ordering a copy will be deeply appreciated. Numbers count. When this book comes out and I turn the next one in, the decision will be made whether I’m offered a new Sarah Blair contract. I hope so because there is more of Sarah and her friends that I’d like to share with readers.

 

An author friend of my calls this shameless promotion. I think of it as being honest with friends. What do you think?

 

Four Cuts Too Many:

 

Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama . . .
 
Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister’s restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life’s finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she’s considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah’s more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.
 
Although she wouldn’t mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef’s position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah’s business rival—and her late ex-husband’s lover. But Grace’s future lands in hot water when the school’s director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend’s name, there’s no time to mince words. Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer . . .
 
 Includes quick and easy recipes!

 

Pre-order from your favorite INDIE (a great way to support them, too), https://www.amazon.com/Four-Cuts-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496732219 or Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)  

                                     

The Benefits of Podcasts by Kathleen Kaska

Two years ago, I was asked to host a podcast for a local business. Excited to take on something new, I prepared by joining Toastmasters to improve my speaking skills, signing up for a one-day class to learn the mechanics of podcasting, and taking a Creative Life class on conducting podcast interviews. Always a big fan of NPR’s This American Life, I was happily surprised when that class was being taught by Alex Blumberg, NPR’s producer and the show’s interviewer. Just like his broadcasts, he had me hanging on every word. Saying his lessons were invaluable is an understatement.

 

Using what I learned, we recorded and aired our first two episodes. One listener commented that they sounded like NPR interviews. When I heard that, I knew that class had been worth it. Then we got COVID-ed (metaphorically) while I was in the process of interviewing my third guest, so the company pulled the plug on the podcasts. Needless to say, I was disappointed because I loved being a podcast host. Even though that project fell through, the lessons I learned about podcasting benefited me also as an interviewee. Since many writers use this medium to promote their books, learning the nuances of podcast interviews is just as valuable to podcast guests.

Here are some tips:

1. Be authentic. Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot. Laugh at yourself.

2. Pause before punch lines, emotional moments, and important revelations.

3. As interviewer, don’t ask yes-and-no type questions. Instead, ask questions that delve into the subject. For example:

“Tell me about the day you realized . . .”

“What were the steps that got you there?”

“How did that, or they, make you feel?”

And my favorite question-preface (used when the interviewee is not sure how to proceed, is hesitant, or unsure of what to reveal): “I noticed in your voice . . .”

4. Interview people with direct experience, rather than “experts.” It’s more interesting to interview the passenger of a plane that’s been hijacked than the airline’s official.

5. Once you’ve chosen your topic and who you want to interview, create a two-statement hook to grab your listeners’ attention. Example: “This is a story about a family who sold everything to buy a boat and sail around the world. Then the father, “abandoned ship,” returned home, and left the mother and three children to fend for themselves.

6. Conduct a short pre-interview to get to know your interviewee and decide on a course of action.

Keeping this in mind, as interviewee, rather than giving synopses of all your books, talk about an interesting story behind the reason you write, how you developed your characters, or why you chose your setting. Your listeners are more likely to stay engaged until the end. And by discussing the interview ahead of time and giving thought to what you want to cover, you will help the podcast host move the interview in the direction you want to go.

 

Here are two podcasters I highly recommend: Laurel McHargue’s Alligator Preserve Podcast ( https://leadvillelaurel.com/). Laurel has hosted me twice, on February 18, 2021, and on February 10, 2019. The links to each follow. Take a look and see how I improved in the second interview, which occurred after taking Blumberg’s class. You don’t even have to watch the entire interview to notice the change.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wkqtbNjBDcM

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1MpsDeh60

Also, there’s Linda McHenry’s The Writer’s Voice: (https://lindamchenry.com/the-writers-voice-podcast/).

You can find my interview (Episode 36, on January 27, 2021) by clicking on “Listen to All Episodes.”  

 

Awarding-winner author Kathleen Kaska writes mysteries, mysteries trivia, nonfiction, blogs, stage plays, travel articles, essays, and poems. Her latest release, The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, was reissued by Rowman and Littlefield (Lyons Press). Kathleen writes the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series and the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series. Her first two Lockhart mysteries, Murder at the Arlington and Murder at the Luther, were selected as bonus-books for the Pulpwood Queen Book Group, the country's largest book group.

When she is not writing, she spends much of her time with her husband traveling the back roads and byways around the country, looking for new venues for her mysteries and bird watching along the Texas coast and beyond. Her passion for birds led to the publication The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida). Her collection of blog posts for Cave Art Press was published under the title, Do You Have a Catharsis Handy? Five-Minute Writing Tips. Catharsis was the winner of the Chanticleer International Book Award in the nonfiction Instruction and Insights category.

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