Good Morning, Booklovers!
On this fine May morning we’re under the deck umbrellas because showers are predicted. Please join me in welcoming mystery author Mary Keliikoa and her featured novel, Denied, to this week’s Coffee Chat.
Nice to have you here, Mary. How do you take your coffee?
MK: Definitely love my coffee! Kona coffee is my favorite, but nearly anything will do. And with a splash of milk please!
Ally: My magic pot is up to any request, so Kona it is. While I pour, please tell readers about yourself.
BIO:
Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Lefty award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series. Her short stories have appeared in Woman's World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. A Pacific NW native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.
When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.
Website: www.marykeliikoa.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Keliikoa/e/B084Y77521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mary_keliikoa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-keliikoa
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20038534.Mary_Keliikoa
Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Lefty award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series. Her short stories have appeared in Woman's World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. A Pacific NW native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.
When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.
Website: www.marykeliikoa.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Keliikoa/e/B084Y77521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mary_keliikoa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mary.Keliikoa.Author/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-keliikoa
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20038534.Mary_Keliikoa
INTERVIEW:
Ally: What book/author was the biggest influence on your writing?
MK: That would be a four-way tie because my first love in the mystery genre was Mary Higgins Clark. Reading her for the first time I knew that I would write in this particular genre. However, over time, I found myself gravitating to the procedural work found in Faye Kellerman, Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich’s mystery series. So I would have to say all 4 truly influenced my writing in different ways.
Ally: What three books in your genre would you recommend to fans?
MK: There are so many great PI novels, but I’m a huge fan of Tracy Clark, Kristen Lepionka and Matt Coyle’s mystery series. Start at number one and go! In thriller/suspense, I love No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez, The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton and Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert. And in historical, by far my favorite series are written by Dianne Freeman (The Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder is her first book) and Heather Heistand for the Charles Dickens series.
Ally: You’re thrown into a different time—either past or future—what book hero would you want with you? Why?
MK: I’m taking Kinsey Milhone with me. I always loved the way she thought things through in the Sue Grafton series, and I know whatever predicament we’d get into, between the two of us, we’d figure a way out!
Ally: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher?
MK: Well, I tend to write a fairly comprehensive first draft. I know there’s a lot of suggestions about just getting it written, but I need to have the next logical step going in the story for me to continue it. So every day I go over that previous section before I move forward. That said, I will go through it at least 6 to 8 more times, before I’ll even let my critique partner see it. Because I’m looking for high level edits, I like to have it cleaned up at that point. And then after incorporating any of their changes and another read through, it will hit my editor or agent’s desk.
Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’d like to pass on to other writers?
MK: Best writing advice is to keep writing, regardless. You only get better if you practice and each book represents a master course in writing. Marketing I think overall is just hard for us introverts, but what I’m finding is I choose things that I enjoy doing. Like being here – Coffee Chat! Such a fun concept and great questions. If you keep it fun and be real with your readers, then it doesn’t really feel like marketing and selling and I think people respond to that.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
MK: Deceived, the third book in the Kelly Pruett series, will be out May 2022. Kelly is going to be going undercover in a woman’s shelter and she’ll definitely be stepping into her own as a fully realized PI. I’m quite excited for her next adventure!
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you select to answer?
Ally: What book/author was the biggest influence on your writing?
MK: That would be a four-way tie because my first love in the mystery genre was Mary Higgins Clark. Reading her for the first time I knew that I would write in this particular genre. However, over time, I found myself gravitating to the procedural work found in Faye Kellerman, Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich’s mystery series. So I would have to say all 4 truly influenced my writing in different ways.
Ally: What three books in your genre would you recommend to fans?
MK: There are so many great PI novels, but I’m a huge fan of Tracy Clark, Kristen Lepionka and Matt Coyle’s mystery series. Start at number one and go! In thriller/suspense, I love No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez, The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton and Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert. And in historical, by far my favorite series are written by Dianne Freeman (The Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder is her first book) and Heather Heistand for the Charles Dickens series.
Ally: You’re thrown into a different time—either past or future—what book hero would you want with you? Why?
MK: I’m taking Kinsey Milhone with me. I always loved the way she thought things through in the Sue Grafton series, and I know whatever predicament we’d get into, between the two of us, we’d figure a way out!
Ally: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher?
MK: Well, I tend to write a fairly comprehensive first draft. I know there’s a lot of suggestions about just getting it written, but I need to have the next logical step going in the story for me to continue it. So every day I go over that previous section before I move forward. That said, I will go through it at least 6 to 8 more times, before I’ll even let my critique partner see it. Because I’m looking for high level edits, I like to have it cleaned up at that point. And then after incorporating any of their changes and another read through, it will hit my editor or agent’s desk.
Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’d like to pass on to other writers?
MK: Best writing advice is to keep writing, regardless. You only get better if you practice and each book represents a master course in writing. Marketing I think overall is just hard for us introverts, but what I’m finding is I choose things that I enjoy doing. Like being here – Coffee Chat! Such a fun concept and great questions. If you keep it fun and be real with your readers, then it doesn’t really feel like marketing and selling and I think people respond to that.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
MK: Deceived, the third book in the Kelly Pruett series, will be out May 2022. Kelly is going to be going undercover in a woman’s shelter and she’ll definitely be stepping into her own as a fully realized PI. I’m quite excited for her next adventure!
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you select to answer?
- an item on your bucket list: I want to see the Northern Lights from Iceland in one of those glass igloos!
- favorite comfort food: Lasagna, or most anything Italian.
- Your pets: Bella is my golden retriever and August is my kitty.
- Your hobbies: I love to golf and play the ukulele and piano. And I’m starting to teach myself how to crochet. I have aspirations to have my grandchildren in all new scarves and hats by next winter!
- If you had to evacuate your house (your family and pets are already out safe), what one thing would you try to take with you? My laptop. It has my story ideas, and books I’ve written, and many of my photos over the years. So even though I back it up often, it would be a top priority!
Denied (Kelly Pruett Mystery #2)
Genre: mystery/suspense
A high-risk pregnancy. A dangerous secret. When her case turns deadly, can this investigator avoid racking up a fatal debt?
Despite her injuries, PI Kelly Pruett is eager to get back to work. So when a mommy-to-be hires her to locate her estranged dad, Kelly is thankful for the straightforward missing-persons case. But as she rummages through his trash in search of clues, she uncovers gambling debts to gangsters… and a blood-soaked severed finger.
With her investigation no longer cut-and-dried, Kelly’s hunt takes a deadly turn when her quarry is found driven off a cliff to his doom. And she’ll need more than her cop boyfriend’s help to expose the truth when the mob sends her a cease-and-desist notice with an explosive ending.
Can the determined detective take on the mafia and make it out alive?
Denied is the second book in the gripping Kelly Pruett Mystery series. If you like strong heroines, off-the-charts tension, and breathtaking twists, then you’ll love Mary Keliikoa’s action-packed story.
Buy Links:
https://bookshop.org/books/denied-9781603817837/9781603817837
https://www.amazon.com/Denied-Mary-Keliikoa-ebook/dp/B08V3G2Z73
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/denied-mary-keliikoa/1138693315
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/denied-9
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