with Kathryn Long
We are delighted to welcome mystery author Kathryn Long to Omnimystery News today.
Kathryn's new paranormal murder mystery is Dying To Dream (Mainly Murder Press; May 2013 trade paperback and ebook format), and we recently had the opportunity to talk to her about it.
— ♦ —
Omnimystery News: Your books cross several genres, but could they all be considered mysteries?
Photo provided courtesy of
Kathryn Long
Kathryn Long: Mostly mysteries. My Lilly M. series are cozies and my latest release, Dying to Dream, is paranormal. The advantage is I think you have in categorizing books into sub-genres is to find a specific target audience to initially gain a base of readers. The only disadvantage might be missing out on snagging a reader who typically doesn't go for my sub-genres. I don't see that as really impacting, though.
OMN: Have you included any of your own personal or professional experience into your books?
KL: My Lilly M. mystery series stems from some personal history. The town setting is loosely based on my hometown of Barberton. The ethnic background of the characters is Serbian with character names like Millenovanovich and there's Aunt Sadie's bakery selling Kifle, which was a typical dessert baked and served in our family. Even the Popovich sisters are similar to my mom and her sisters, although I can't say that Aunt Fran with her risqué behavior is anything remotely close to my family members!
Dying to Dream reflects my interest in the paranormal, and my knowledge of French and Spanish is incorporated into the dialog of some of the characters, which I hope gives them more authenticity. The balk of what went into the story is based on hours and days of research. I think I'm the research queen of all authors! It's one of my favorite parts of writing a novel.
OMN: Tell us how the book came to be titled, and about the cover design.
KL: I love play on words, and the title, Dying to Dream, reflects that. I actually started thinking about creating a series where the words die and dream may be a part of each title. In any case, I based this title on the main character's psychic gift, which is that she dreams the dreams of spirits, experiencing what they feel and think. This helps her to solve a murder mystery, but at the same time puts her life in danger. The book cover — I have to give a big thank you to my publisher's cover design artist, Karen Phillips, who did a super job — reflects on three elements of the story: a woman dressed in black, the tombstone with its backward dates and a rose. These are part of a dream continuously haunting Marin and they become important clues to the mystery.
OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?
KL: My first influence during early childhood was Carolyn Keene who wrote the Nancy Drew Mysteries. I have kept them all, nearly fifty at last count. I loved the idea of a strong, young woman who solved mysteries. Then, in my teens and early twenties I started reading every Mary Stewart novel. Her romantic suspense kept me up late at night on numerous occasions.
OMN: What authors do you look to now for inspiration?
KL: There are so many who influenced me that I'd like to think my writing style is a compilation of many of them and thus making mine unique. Kathryn Long style! I don't have room to mention them all, but at the top of the list are Stephen King — I love the richness of his prose; Janet Evanovich — her comic relief moments intermixed with suspense always make me laugh; James Patterson — fast-paced, concise language divided into short chapters sustains my reading interest; and James Lee Burke — again, the richness of his language, the way he phrases his words, his descriptive narratives, all of that make me so envious!
OMN: What are some of your outside interests?
KL: The obvious first is my love of reading. Give me a choice of going out for a night on the town or staying at home curled up with a juicy mystery, without hesitation I'd take the second option. I don't really have any hobbies. I do love the outdoors in the summertime, visiting the ocean, and being anywhere peaceful and quiet. I guess maybe that's why most of my work takes place in the summertime and often the setting is some town close to the ocean! And I love to watch any mystery television series, Bones being one of my favorites, and any movies in that category, the two Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, for instance.
OMN: Give us a Top 5 list on any topic.
KL: Top 5 Books to Read — my recommendations (these are in no particular order):
1) Goodbye Emily by Michael Murphy;
2) In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke;
3) The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe;
4) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver; and
5) anything by Janet Evanovich or James Patterson for fun or a quick read. I just noticed how three of these are not mysteries!
OMN: What's next for you?
KL: Book related: Working on the third novel in the Lilly M series and planning to continue my work on another ghost mystery based on a well-known site that's part of my hometown history. Also, getting ready to do edits on a romantic suspense novel I have contracted with The Wild Rose Press due out next year.
Personally related: Adjusting to being retired from teaching and planning a trip or two. So far, it's an easy and welcomed transition!
— ♦ —
Kathryn Long is a native Ohioan, born and raised in Barberton, the "Magic City". As an imaginative child, Kathy found reading and writing favorable forms of entertainment. In high school as a member of the Writers' Club, she continued to nurture her writing talent.
Kathryn attended and graduated from the University of Akron with a BA degree in French. Before marriage and children she managed a Waldenbooks store and continue writing short stories and song lyrics as a hobby. In 1987 she returned to school for a Bachelor's in Education. She had been an employee of the Green Local School system since 1990 and is currently retired.
For more information about the author and her work, visit her website or find her on Facebook.
— ♦ —
Dying To Dream
Kathryn Long
A Paranormal Murder Mystery
When Jack Robesaux is found lying dead on a Louisiana beach, psychic Marin Seurat must use her gift to prove it is murder and not suicide. Though Marin knows her dreams with their messages from the dead could help, she struggles with the idea of returning home and facing a troubled past — but a phone call informing her of Jack's murder and the return of the family curse gives Marin that final push.
In a surprising turn of events, Marin discovers a mystery from long ago that somehow connects to recent deaths. With the help of cryptic messages delivered by spirits, Marin races to solve the mystery of Saint Toulere.
0 comments:
Post a Comment