Good Morning, Booklovers!
I hope you’re staying safe and well as we hit the midpoint of another week of sheltering. Guest author Mary Keliikoa is with me today (virtually, of course) with her soon-to-be-released mystery book, Derailed, to join us in talking about books instead of the latest news.
Welcome, Mary! How do you take your coffee?
MK: Coffee you say? Why, yes please! Just fill the bottom with some non-fat milk and pour coffee to the rim! French Roast if you have it, but anything from the islands is a treat!
Ally: My magic pot can meet any request. While I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.
I hope you’re staying safe and well as we hit the midpoint of another week of sheltering. Guest author Mary Keliikoa is with me today (virtually, of course) with her soon-to-be-released mystery book, Derailed, to join us in talking about books instead of the latest news.
Welcome, Mary! How do you take your coffee?
MK: Coffee you say? Why, yes please! Just fill the bottom with some non-fat milk and pour coffee to the rim! French Roast if you have it, but anything from the islands is a treat!
Ally: My magic pot can meet any request. While I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.
Bio:
A Pacific Northwest native, Mary Keliikoa enjoys the area in all its beauty. She spent 18 years in law and uses that experience to create a twisting story where justice prevails. She’s published a short story with Woman’s World, and is the author of the PI Kelly Pruett Series that debuts with DERAILED on May 12. When she's not in Washington state, you can find Mary on a beach on the Big Island where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun she is plotting her next murder-- novel that is.
Something unique/unusual about you: “I am a musician at heart. I play 10 instruments, half of them well enough that won’t make you want to run away.” 😊
Author Contacts:
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
A Pacific Northwest native, Mary Keliikoa enjoys the area in all its beauty. She spent 18 years in law and uses that experience to create a twisting story where justice prevails. She’s published a short story with Woman’s World, and is the author of the PI Kelly Pruett Series that debuts with DERAILED on May 12. When she's not in Washington state, you can find Mary on a beach on the Big Island where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun she is plotting her next murder-- novel that is.
Something unique/unusual about you: “I am a musician at heart. I play 10 instruments, half of them well enough that won’t make you want to run away.” 😊
Author Contacts:
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: How did you get that first book or story published?
MK: I drafted this book in 1999. Set it aside to open a company with my husband and didn’t return to it until 2016, right after my 50th birthday. I entered the book into Pitchwars, was mentored and still didn’t get an agent right away. It took several more edits before I landed the agent and then the book deal. In looking back on how I got it published the answer is I simply didn’t give up even after what felt like a non-ending stream of rejections.
Ally: Do you write with a theme or message in mind?
MK: I write about characters that are trying to overcome some tragedy in their life, and usually have dad issues. The message that I seem to come back to is having my characters find ways to live their own truth, and step out of the shadows of those who they put on pedestals. I think that is a recurring theme.
Ally: Do people in your real life ever show up in your writing?
MK: Not specifically, but combinations of personality quirks, habits and attitudes have definitely shown up in my novels. Although each character truly has their own traits as well so it’s a mulligan stew if you will.
Ally: Do you know the book’s ending before you start writing? How specific is it? Does it ever change?
MK: For the most part, I do know the ending. Before I begin a novel, I write the first chapter, a synopsis, and the end. At least I know where I’m headed when I do it that way, but I am a pantser, so it’s loose. Generally the end scenes are solid because I know how I want them to play out. But sometimes the people in the roles are different than I first imagined. There’s been a few times when I’m certain I know who did it, and then as I’m writing the scene, someone else shows up as the killer. Which is fun because I like to be surprised just like the reader!
Ally: What would you consider the perfect get-away weekend (when we’re out and about once again)?
MK: I grew up at the Oregon Coast because my dad was a deep-sea charter fisherman. So when I need a get away for a few days, you will always find me at the beach. Cannon Beach is one of my favorite places to be. They have a wonderful bookstore there. Great coffee. Wonderful bakeries. And of course lots of sand and sea. And any beach in Hawaii will do at any time.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
MK: Denied is Kelly Pruett’s Book 2, and it will be out sometime in May 2021. In the meantime, I’m drafting Book 3.
Ally: Please tell us which of the short answer questions you chose.
MK:
Ally: How did you get that first book or story published?
MK: I drafted this book in 1999. Set it aside to open a company with my husband and didn’t return to it until 2016, right after my 50th birthday. I entered the book into Pitchwars, was mentored and still didn’t get an agent right away. It took several more edits before I landed the agent and then the book deal. In looking back on how I got it published the answer is I simply didn’t give up even after what felt like a non-ending stream of rejections.
Ally: Do you write with a theme or message in mind?
MK: I write about characters that are trying to overcome some tragedy in their life, and usually have dad issues. The message that I seem to come back to is having my characters find ways to live their own truth, and step out of the shadows of those who they put on pedestals. I think that is a recurring theme.
Ally: Do people in your real life ever show up in your writing?
MK: Not specifically, but combinations of personality quirks, habits and attitudes have definitely shown up in my novels. Although each character truly has their own traits as well so it’s a mulligan stew if you will.
Ally: Do you know the book’s ending before you start writing? How specific is it? Does it ever change?
MK: For the most part, I do know the ending. Before I begin a novel, I write the first chapter, a synopsis, and the end. At least I know where I’m headed when I do it that way, but I am a pantser, so it’s loose. Generally the end scenes are solid because I know how I want them to play out. But sometimes the people in the roles are different than I first imagined. There’s been a few times when I’m certain I know who did it, and then as I’m writing the scene, someone else shows up as the killer. Which is fun because I like to be surprised just like the reader!
Ally: What would you consider the perfect get-away weekend (when we’re out and about once again)?
MK: I grew up at the Oregon Coast because my dad was a deep-sea charter fisherman. So when I need a get away for a few days, you will always find me at the beach. Cannon Beach is one of my favorite places to be. They have a wonderful bookstore there. Great coffee. Wonderful bakeries. And of course lots of sand and sea. And any beach in Hawaii will do at any time.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
MK: Denied is Kelly Pruett’s Book 2, and it will be out sometime in May 2021. In the meantime, I’m drafting Book 3.
Ally: Please tell us which of the short answer questions you chose.
MK:
- a. book you're currently reading: A slew of PI novels because I’m on the Shamus Award committee for Best PI Novel. So I can’t be specific but they’re all awesome!
- b. an author (living or dead) you'd love to take to lunch: Mary Higgins Clark without a doubt.
- c. favorite book character: PI Kinsey Milhone
- d. What type of music do you prefer? Contemporary Country (Lady Antebellum please 😊)
- e. best place you’ve ever visited: Uluru in Australia. It is a surreal and magical place.
DERAILED (A Kelly Pruett Mystery)
Genre: contemporary mystery
Release Date: May 12, 2020
A dying wish. A secret world.
Can this grieving investigator stay on the right track?
PI Kelly Pruett is determined to make it on her own. And juggling clients at her late father’s detective agency, a controlling ex, and caring for a deaf daughter was never going to be easy. She takes it as a good sign when a letter left by her dad ties into an unsolved case of a young woman struck by a train.
Hunting down the one person who can prove the mysterious death was not just a drunken accident, Kelly discovers this witness is in no condition to talk. And the closer she gets to the truth the longer her list of sleazy suspects with murderous motives grows. Each clue exposes another layer of the victim's steamy double life.
On a crash course with a killer, she must piece together the puzzle of what really happened to the victim that rainy night, before her own fate is sealed and she loses everything near and dear, including her life.
If you like intricate family dynamics, secrets, including plot twists and turns, then this story is for you. DERAILED is the first book in the Kelly Pruett Mystery series.
Pre-Order and Buy Link: www.amazon.com/Derailed-Kelly-Pruett-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B084XX4C9D
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