Welcome Mary Kennedy

Meow! Today my guest is author Mary Kennedy!

Mary Kennedy is a practicing psychologist and is the author of the Talk Radio Mysteries and the Dream Club Mysteries. She's written nearly 50 novels and has sold over four million books worldwide.   Mary lives with her husband and six neurotic cats in the northeast.  She has tried unsuccessfully to psychoanalyze both husband and cats, but she remains optimistic.You can visit her at www.marykennedy.net. She blogs every Monday with the Cozy Chicks.  www.cozychicksblog.com 

R: Welcome Mary!  Tell us a bit about your latest release!

MK:  A Premonition of Murder is book 3 in the Dream Club Mysteries. An elderly Southern heiress’s nightmare becomes a real case of murder in the latest Dream Club Mystery from the national bestselling author of Dream a Little Scream.

When Abigail Marchand, Savannah’s famously reclusive heiress, invites the Dream Club ladies to lunch at her Beaux Reves mansion, Taylor and Ali hope for an invitation to join the distinguished Magnolia Society. But Abigail has a more pressing concern: a recent dream that seems to foretell her death. 

Taylor reassures Abigail that there are many ways to interpret a dream, but at the next meeting of the Dream Club, their discussion is cut short by a call from Detective Sam Stiles. She's at Abigail's mansion, where the elderly woman appears to have been pushed to her death down a flight of stairs. Now Taylor, Ali, and the Dream Club need to catch a killer before someone else is laid to rest. 

R:  You mention the “Dream club” What is that, exactly?

MK: When Taylor Blake moves to Savannah to help her sister, Ali, run her vintage candy store (Oldies But Goodies), she's introduced into the Dream Club. Al, who has always been fascinated by dreams, started the dream club so that her friends could meet weekly to discuss and analyze their dreams. (and eat some fabulous Southern desserts. The candy store now includes a cafe and Ali loves to try out new recipes on the group.).  It started out as a fun way for some Southern ladies to meet and chat, but when murders occur in Savannah, it suddenly takes on a new meaning. The Dream Club members start finding clues in their dreams that might help solve the case. Is it just coincidence, or are there really signs ad symbols in dreams that could help the police solve a real life crime?  I leave it to the reader to decide...

All three books in the series include a Dream Symbol guide at the end. 

R: What do you think sets this series apart from other cozies?

MK: I'm a psychologist in private practice in the northeast and my clients love to talk about their dreams. Freud believed that all dreams are significant, and offer a "window into the unconscious." Many dreams are symbolic and reveal what we desire and what we fear. Dream clubs started here in the northeast and are spreading to other parts of the country. Whether you're a "believer" or not, it's a fun way to socialize with friends and share some insights. 

R:  You’ve written other series. Can you tell us about those?

MK: I have another cozy mystery series, The Talk Radio Mysteries, set in a fictional town in Florida. My agent sold it on the basis of five words: Frasier Meets Murder She Wrote.  It's about a psychologist, Dr. Maggie Walsh, who closes up her Manhattan practice ("sick of the cold, sick of the traffic,sick of listening to people's problems") and moves to sunny Florida to be a radio psychologist at WYME-RADIO.  And she solves a murder in every book! It's a fun series, full of eccentric characters at WYME, her star-struck mother, Lola and a hunky detective named Rafe. DEAD AIR is the first in the series. 

I also have a teen series, the Hollywood Diaries, that are based in the world of film. All three are stand-alone books. Golden Girl is set in south Florida (known as Hollywood East, because of all the films that are set there). Movie Star takes place on a film set in the northeast and the sequel Confessions takes place in Hollywood. 

R:  Are there any cats in these books, heh heh

MK:  Of course.  The Dream Club series features two cats! I love cats. Actually I love all animals, but because of allergies, we just have cats. Six of them! Writing can be a solitary profession, but you're never alone when you have a cat. 

R: How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

MK: Oh, definitely an outline. At PRH, we're required to turn in a detailed outline of our mysteries with all the suspects, the main characters, the twists and turns. I don't mind doing it, it's nice to have a road map to follow.

R: Which do you consider more important, plot or character?

MK:Definitely plot for the mysteries, and character for the Hollywood Nights series and the Crazy Love series.

R:What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

MK:Probably time management is my biggest hurdle. I'm a practicing psychologist and sometimes it's a juggling act seeing clients and making writing deadlines.

R: Do you have an “How I got my agent” story you want to share?

MK: Well, I have a great "how my agent sold my series" story. I wrote a proposal for a mystery series about a New York psychologist who moves to Florida to become a radio talk show host. And she solves a murder in every book. My agent got me a three book deal with Penguin with the phrase, "Frasier Meets Murder She Wrote."

R: What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

MK: The Crazy Love Diaries, a trilogy of stand-alone novels for young teens, is going up even as we speak! They're fun, exciting and squeaky clean. 

 Thank you, Mary!

Folks you can find Mary at: www.marykennedy.net. She blogs every Monday with the Cozy Chicks.  www.cozychicksblog.com

Mary will give away a copy of DREAM A LITTLE SCREAM and LOVE SIGNS to one lucky commenter!

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