We are delighted to welcome author Leslie Dana Kirby to Omnimystery News today.
Leslie's debut novel is The Perfect Game (Poisoned Pen Press; March 2015 hardcover, trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with her talking about it.
— ♦ —
Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the lead characters in The Perfect Game. And is this the first of a series?
Photo provided courtesy of
Leslie Dana Kirby
Leslie Dana Kirby: The Perfect Game is my first novel. I am currently working on my second novel, which is not a sequel per se. Like The Perfect Game, my second book is a mystery set in Phoenix, Arizona. While both feature strong female protagonists, the main characters have changed altogether. The Perfect Game follows a young, sweet, and naive emergency room doctor as she encounters a family tragedy while the protagonist in my second book is a more seasoned, self-confident detective. However, I do plan to bring back my prosecutor, This tickles me because my opinionated, sharp-tongued prosecutor is one of my favorite characters. It's just a shame that she only has a supporting role in both of these books. Maybe she'll get a chance to take more of a main role in the future! Generally, I expect my books to feature an ordinary woman dealing with extraordinary circumstances, which is why they aren't likely to reappear: once they survive a crazy situation, they get to return to their normal lives and "live happily ever after."
OMN: Into which fiction genre would you place your book?
LDK: As a first-time author, I found it difficult to categorize The Perfect Game. Generally it is a mystery, but it has elements of police procedural, courtroom drama, thriller, romance, and women's contemporary. My second book, which is in progress, is more clearly a police procedural. Overall, I'd like all of my books to feature a female protagonist who behaves admirably under challenging circumstances.
OMN: Tell us something about The Perfect Game that isn't mentioned in the publisher's synopsis.
LDK: I'm loathe to say too much about the plot because there are a few twists and turns that I don't want to give away. It was even quite a challenge for me to write the book flap summary, but I will say this: I am willing to bet that you can't predict the ending!
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in the book?
LDK: I'm a psychologist and I have always been intrigued by deviant human behavior. For that reason, there are many concepts in The Perfect Game that have been ripped from the headlines. I can't stand an unsolved mystery or unsatisfactory outcome; writing fiction allows me to pull it all together in a more rewarding manner than real life usually allows!
OMN: Tell us a little more about your writing process.
LDK: This is such a great question because I always love to hear how other authors answer it. There are authors who outline everything in meticulous detail and others who swear the book just unfolds gradually as they write. My style is somewhere in the middle; I have a pretty good general outline of the beginning, middle, and end, but the details evolve as I write. I did find it interesting that some of my characters became more central and interesting than I originally imagined.
OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories?
LDK: Thank goodness for the internet! I can't imagine how authors did their fact-checking before the internet. I often found myself researching details right in the middle of my writing process. However, the internet may be a somewhat mixed blessing. I would hop on the web to double-check one small item and the next thing I knew, hours had passed. While most of my research was done on the internet, I also consulted with doctors, police officers, lawyers and baseball afficionados. I also personally visited some of the locations featured in my book.
OMN: You mentioned that your books are set in Phoenix. How true are you to the setting?
LDK: Phoenix is where I live. I have always enjoyed books where the setting was accurately depicted so I have worked hard to achieve that with my novel. While the location isn't incredibly important to the plot or characters, I did enjoy setting the book in Phoenix, a city that I know and love!
OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, to research the setting for a book, where would it be?
LDK: Hmm … my next book is set right here in Phoenix so I don't really need to travel anywhere to research it. However, it would be lovely to take those "expenses" as my salary so I could just devote myself to my writing and spend some time exploring and researching Phoenix. That would be amazing!
OMN: What are some of your outside interests?
LDK: I adore reading. If you gave me a day to do anything I wanted, I would probably choose reading every time. I would be hard-pressed to decide whether I enjoy reading or writing more. Fortunately, I don't have to choose between them, but I would love to make a full-time job out of either or both!
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
LDK: Ah, I love this question, but I don't feel like I have a good answer to it. Becoming an author was so much more challenging than I ever imagined, but I would love to encourage others to pursue writing if that is their passion. My best advice would be to 1) just do it and sit down and write, 2) develop a thick skin because you have to be able to accept criticism, and 3) be persistent.
OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …".
LDK: I am a mystery author and thus I also have a somewhat strange and deviant mind. Or maybe that is actually the other way around!
OMN: Tell us how you came up with the title.
LDK: The Perfect Game features a professional baseball player who pitches a perfect game in the book. But as you might image, the "perfect game" is a double-entendre for the matching of wits between two formidable opponents.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
LDK: I love it when readers tell me that they could not put my book down. As a writer, it is my goal to take the reader on such an interesting journey that they don't want to stop reading until the final resolution. To me, that is the ultimate compliment.
OMN: Suppose The Perfect Game were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the key roles?
LDK: I have a vivid mental image of how my characters look. Unfortunately, there are not actors that are a perfect match, but I would love to see Emma Stone as my protagonist (Lauren), Zac Efron as the baseball player (Jake), and Sandra Bullock as the prosecutor (Candace). I can't quite decide who would play my detective (Ryan), but I think it could be Ben Affleck, Josh Duhamel, Theo James, or Liam Hemsworth.
OMN: Have any specific authors influenced how and what you write today?
LDK: One of my favorite books of all time was Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow. That book has a spectacular moment where the reader wonders if they have been misinterpreting everything all along. I wanted to write a book that created a similar moment … and many readers have commented on that sinking moment in The Perfect Game where you realize that perhaps everything is not as you imagined.
OMN: You mentioned that you're an avid reader. What kinds of books do you enjoy reading?
LDK: I love to read and deeply regret that I don't have more time to do so. I sometimes feel actually sad about all the books I won't be able to read. I enjoy a wide variety of genres though I have a strong affinity for books that I would characterize as psychological thrillers such as Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, Presumed Innocent, and Before I Go to Sleep. However, I have also recently developed a new appreciation for non-fiction and I really loved Unbroken and 12 Years a Slave.
OMN: What's next for you?
LDK: I'm working on my second novel, which has a working title of Karma. It's about a female detective, named Brit, who investigates a missing child case, which quickly captivates a national audience. I'm enjoying this protagonist, who is more mature and self-confident that the main character in my first book. Though I loved Lauren in The Perfect Game, Karma's Brit is much sassier.
— ♦ —
Leslie Dana Kirby is a practicing clinical psychologist with a keen interest in human behavior. Dr. Kirby's writing is inspired by headline-grabbing stories involving ordinary people caught up by extraordinary circumstances. Luckily for her, there appears to be no end to the shocking ways in which human behavior can surprise and intrigue us. Kirby lives in Arizona with her husband and two children.
For more information about the author, please visit her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook.
— ♦ —
The Perfect Game by Leslie Dana Kirby
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Lauren Rose has recently moved to Phoenix to begin a new life as she starts a prestigious emergency medicine residency, but she could end up doing life in the Arizona State penitentiary instead.
Lauren has always lived in the shadow of her more glamorous sister Liz, the wife of baseball superstar Jake Wakefield. But when Liz is found viciously murdered in her Scottsdale home, the spotlight turns to Lauren as prime suspect in the high-profile investigation. Having lost both parents at an early age, Liz's death leaves Lauren all alone in a new city. Jake's support proves invaluable as she navigates the nightmare her life has become.
As Lauren spends time with Jake, they develop a closeness that she finds both comforting and confusing. It's an intimacy forged by their shared grief, their mutual love of baseball, and by the thrill of him pitching a perfect game for the Diamondbacks.
Meanwhile, the Scottsdale police repeatedly question Lauren. She objects to a lie detector test as bad science. An arrest warrant is issued. The ensuing trial leads the evening news every night as a rabid public just can't get enough of the sordid proceedings, quickly dubbed The Trial of the Millennium. Will the outcome be influenced by this media circus?
— The Perfect Game by Leslie Dana Kirby
