Kaitlyn Dunnett in our hotseat!

Meow, my guest today is author Kaitlyn Dunnett!

Kaitlyn Dunnett is the pseudonym used on her contemporary mysteries because she is better known under her own name (Kathy Lynn Emerson) for historical mysteries, nonfiction, and historical romances. She’s  started using yet another pseudonym, Kate Emerson, to write non-mystery historical novels set in the Tudor era.

            Kaitlyn/Kathy lives on a Christmas tree farm in Maine with her husband and assorted cats!  

And now…Kaitlyn Dunnett!

R:  Meow, Kaitlyn, welcome.  Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

K:  I started out by writing newspapers for my dolls when I was about eight and just kept going from there.

R: Tell us about your latest release

K: Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones, as you can probably tell from the title, has a Halloween setting. Liss MacCrimmon, my amateur sleuth, is in charge of the festivities in her small home town of Moosetookalook, Maine, but she gets more than she bargains for when she tries to turn an abandoned mansion into a “haunted house.”

R: What made you decide on a “Scottish” theme for your mysteries?

K: Oddly enough, the title of the first book in the series came to me before anything else: Kilt Dead. Since that was obviously a Scottish reference, I needed a detective with Scottish roots to go with it and came up with a professional Scottish dancer and the job she goes home to—running the family business, Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium—after an injury ends her career with a touring dance company (think Riverdance, only Scottish).

R: What writers in your genre would you say have made the greatest influence on your writing?

K: I’ve always admired writers who can create eccentric but believable characters, so among my idols are Dorothy Cannell and Joan Hess, along with the late, great Charlotte MacLeod.

R: Which book was the most fun for you to write?

K: This is a touch choice. It’s a toss-up between The Corpse Wore Tartan, in which I strand my characters in a hotel in Moosetookalook during a blizzard, and Scotched, which is set at a gathering of fans of the cozy mystery that, incidentally, is taking place at the same hotel.

R: You are a cat owner (or owned by cats, I should say) how big of an inspiration are your cats to you when you write (I have been trying to get the HUMAN to acknowledge my contributions, but she refuses! Meow!)

K: I couldn’t write the character of Lumpkin in the series without Nefret, who regularly exhibits new and unusual behavior I can attribute to his fictional counterpart. The character of Glenora looks like Bala, but the story of how she comes into Liss’s life is based on a wonderful feline companion, Jeremiah, who lived with us for twenty-one years.

R:  Do you have an “how I got my agent” story you’d like to share?  How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?

K:  I’ve had two agents over the last fifteen years, but there was nothing remarkable about the way I found either one of them. As for the sale of my first novel, that was so long ago (way back in the early 1980s, before I had an agent at all) that it’s hard for me to remember how I felt!

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

K: Coffee.

R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment would you travel to and why?

K: I wouldn’t go back in time. I like reading about the past, but I wouldn’t want to visit there and I definitely wouldn’t want to live there.

R:  If a movie were to be made of one of your books, which one would you want it to be and who would you pick for the lead roles?

K: I don’t have a clear enough visual of my characters to match any of them up with a real person. Of the seven books (so far) in the Liss MacCrimmon series, the most recent one, Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones probably has the best screenplay potential.

R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

K: The next book in the Liss MacCrimmon series (Ho Ho Homicide) will be my 50^th traditionally published book.

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

K: I once marched around a supermarket on its opening day playing the bass drum with a bagpipe band.

R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

K: The sense that they’ve just had an enjoyable experience.

R: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

K: Definitely a pantser.

R: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

K: www.KaitlynDunnett.com

R: What book is on your TBR shelf you can’t wait to get to?

K: Joan Hess’s Murder as a Second Language

Just for Fun:

Night or Day?  Day

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully) Cat  (J)

Beach or Pool?   Don’t like to swim or sunbathe, so neither

Steak or salad?  Steak

Favorite Drink?  Root Beer

Favorite Book?  Dorothy Dunnett’s Game of Kings

Favorite TV Series?  Castle

Favorite Movie?  Romancing the Stone

Favorite Actor: Hugh Jackman

Favorite Actress: Meg Ryan

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada? Don’t like either one.

Hawaii or Alaska? Alaska

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be Joss Whedon

I had just one wish, it would be for good health for myself and those dearest to me

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be no one—I like being me

Thanks for a wonderful interview, Kaitlyn/Kathy! Below are all the places you can find out about her and her books:

www.KaitlynDunnett.com

www.KathyLynnEmerson.com

www.KateEmersonHistoricals.com

www.MaineCrimeWriters.com

Kaitlyn will  give away an autographed hardcover copy of Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones to one lucky commenter!  To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Contest closes midnight, Dec. 23. Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Good luck!

NYT author Lorraine Bartlett in our Hotseat! (aka Lorna Barrett)

My Guest today is NYT Bestselling author Lorraine Bartlett!

The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series, and now the Tales of Telenia fantasy saga, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s).

R:  Hello, Lorraine! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

I always had what I called “my stories” floating around in my head, but it wasn’t until my late teens when I learned about Star Trek fanzines and stories written by ordinary people that I gave writing a real try.  My first stories were dreadful, but I enjoyed working on them so much I kept writing.  Eventually I moved on to writing my own characters, which is much more fulfilling.

R: Tell us about your Victoria Square mystery series. What inspired that?

I had a booth in an antiques arcade for twelve years, and that’s where I originally set the series, but since my publisher hadn’t had much luck with a series that revolved around antiques, they asked me to change the setting to an arts and crafts arcade.  The series is currently on hiatus, but I hope to have a short story available after the new year.

R:  Under Lorna Barett and LL Bartlett you write two other series. Can you tell us about those, and which out of all you write is your favorite?

I write the Jeff Resnick Mysteries (the first of which, Murder on the Mind, is free on all e book formats).  Jeff is a former insurance investigator who was viciously mugged and became just a teensy bit psychic, and although he gets insight into the crimes he solves, it’s his experience that drives his investigations.

I also write the Tales of Telenia adventure-fantasy series.  It’s not pure fantasy, the same way Star Trek isn’t pure science fiction.  It features Astronaut Amanda Shelton, and her struggle to survive on a strange planet with equally strange (to her) people.  I had a lot of fun writing the first two books, but so far haven’t had much luck enticing my readers to give it a try.

Of all my characters, Jeff Resnick and his brother Richard Alpert are my favorites—probably because they were the first of my original characters.  I’ve got two other Jeff projects in the works, and hope to have another novel out next fall.

R: Tell us about your latest release!

Dark Waters is the 6^th book in the Jeff Resnick Mystery series. 

A near-death experience colors Jeff Resnick's life, but his investigation into the death of a racketeer puts him in jeopardy as he searches for missing assets.

For more information, check out my website: 

http://www.llbartlett.com/index.php/dark-waters/

R: Would you ever consider collaborating with another author on a series?

No.  I’ve collaborated in the past and it wasn’t a happy experience for me (and probably not my writing partner, either).

R:  Do you have an “how I got my agent” story you’d like to share? 

I’m currently on my 5^th agent.  It was a lot of hard work to get an agent, but the first two were useless (no real contacts—anyone can hang out a shingle and say they’re an agent).  My third agent was good, but retired soon after she sold the first Jeff Resnick mystery to a small press.  It hit pay dirt with agents four and five from the Bookends Literary Agency.  My first agent there left to pursue another career, and her partner inherited me.  She’s terrific and I’m very happy with her.

How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?

I never got a call.  All my communications about sales have been vai emails or letters (the latter in the old days when I sold short stories).  But the first time I hit the New York Times bestsellers list, my editor called (and every time since) and I still find that to be a thrill.

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

Music.  I find it difficult to work without background music (usually new age, but sometimes movie soundtracks).  

R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment would you travel to and why?

The dedication of the first space shuttle; Enterprise. It showed the power that a TV show and its fan wielded. Sadly, Enterprise never flew a mission, but it offered hope for the future.

R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

I worked production in a machine shop for 18 months back in the days before Sexual Harassment laws.  It wasn’t much fun.

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

Writers live vicariously through their characters. Therefore, we seldom do anything wild and crazy.  (I know I sure don’t.  I think “safety first.”)

R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

I may not be a great writer, but I like to think of myself as a good storyteller, and I hope I entertain my readers with every book or short story I write.

R: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Panster.  If I knew where the story was going, I’d probably get bored and never finish it.

R: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks? :)

I love to go junking.  I used to have a booth in an antiques arcade, but gave it up when I started writing full time.  I never lost the thrill of the hunt, though.

R: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

My websites:  I have three:

www.LorraineBartlett.com

www.LornaBarrett.com

www.LLBartlett.com

R: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Join a writers group.  For mystery, join the Sisters In Crime Guppies Chapter.  ( www.sinc-guppies.org )

Just for Fun:  Junking.

Night or Day?  Day.

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully):  I love both, but only have cats.  I’ve been trying to talk Mr. L into a terrier (either a Scotty or Westie.  So far, I haven’t convinced him.)

Beach or Pool?   Pool

Steak or salad?  Salad

Favorite Drink?  Gin Martini

Favorite Book?  Too many to choose.

Favorite TV Series?  Star Trek (TOS, TNG & Voyager)

Favorite Movie?  Too many to choose.

Favorite Actor:  No preference

Favorite Actress:  No preference

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada?  Neither; classic martini

Hawaii or Alaska?  Neither.  (Too far to travel to, since I don’t fly.)

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be Linda McCartney.

If I had just one wish, it would be to cure cancer.

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be someone who can eat a lot and never get fat.

List all the places readers canfind you:

FACEBOOK Author Pages

http://www.facebook.com/LorraineBartlett.author

http://www.facebook.com/L.L.Bartlett.author

http://www.facebook.com/LornaBarrett.author

http://www.facebook.com/TheJeffResnickMysteries

PINTEREST

http://pinterest.com/LorraineBartlet/

http://pinterest.com/lornabarrett1/

http://pinterest.com/jeffresnick/  (L.L. Bartlett page)

TWITTER:

Lorraine:  http://twitter.com/lorrainebartlet

Lorna:  http://twitter.com/LornaBarrett

LLB:  http://twitter.com/llbartlettbooks

GOODREADS

Lorraine:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4017727.Lorraine_Bartlett

Lorna:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1142669.Lorna_Barrett

LLB:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/977939.L_L_Bartlett

Lorraine will give away an ARCof “Not the Killing Type” Booktown mystery #7 to one lucky commenter!  Leave your comment and email addy below. For extra entries you can:

Friend Lorraine or the Human on Facebook or Twitter

Follow moi on Twitter at #RoccoBlogger

Tweet, FB or post about this contest (3 extra entries!)  Winner will be chosen by random.org. Contest closes midnight, Dec. 15!

Good luck, meow!

IN THE HOTSEAT - MAGICAL CATS AUTHOR SOFIE KELLY!

MEOW!  My guest today is Sofie Kelly, NYT author of the “Magical Cats” mysteries!

Sofie Kelly is the author of the New York Times best-selling Magical Cats mysteries. As Sofie Ryan she writes the upcoming Second Chance Cat mysteries. In her spare time she cooks, hikes, practices tai chi and makes mixed media journals. She also has a tiny crush on the Today Show's Matt Lauer.

R:  Meow, Sofie, welcome. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

S: Thanks ROCCO! I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I won third place in a poetry contest in third grade. As a child I loved to make up stories—I still do.

R: Tell us about your latest release, FINAL CATCALL.  What was the inspiration for this series?

S: FINAL CATCALL is the 5^th book in the Magical Cats mysteries. A theatre festival has been moved—at the last minute—to Mayville Heights. Kathleen knows one of the directors involved, through her parents, and when another director is killed, she ends up involved in the investigation. That’s complicated by the fact that her relationship with Detective Marcus Gordon seems to be over. And her ex-boyfriend has come to town to try to win her back. Luckily she has her cats, Owen and Hercules to help.

I think the series is inspired a lot by my love of libraries--and of cats, of course.

R: So what’s in Kathleen and Marcus’ future? Any news you can share?

S: All I’m going to say is “it ain’t over til it’s over!”

R: Which of (your character) adventures was the most fun for you to write? Were any of them the least amount of fun?

S: It’s hard to pick just one. I enjoy any adventure that involves the cats. They’re all inspired in some way by something a real cat I know has done. The least amount of fun was the scene in SLEIGHT OF PAW where Kathleen is trapped in a basement. I’m not crazy about small spaces.

R:  Do you have an “how I got my agent” story you’d like to share?  How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?

S: My agent is Kim Lionetti of Bookends. I had been represented by an agent who had retired, and when Kim said she felt we could work together I was thrilled. She’s a very positive person.

My very first book was a young adult novel and when I learned it was going to be published I was speechless—and that rarely happens!

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

S: A title. It’s a weird little quirk that I have. I have to have a title. It doesn’t have to be that creative a title and it’s rarely the published title, but the book has to have a name before I start.

If I’m not feeling especially creative I remember that the orthodontist expects to be paid and that usually give me the nudge I need to start writing!

R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment would you travel to and why?

S: I’m laughing because my husband looked over my shoulder, read this question and said, “You’re going to tell the raisin bread story, aren’t you?”

(Yes, I am.)

The raisin bread story comes from our history. When we were first dating I made raisin bread to impress him with my cooking skills. (His mom was a great cook.) He said, “Thank you, but I don’t like raisin bread.” And I apologized! I tease him that if I had a time machine I would go back in time and tell him exactly what I thought of that comment and maybe kick him in the shins. He likes to remind me that I married him despite his gauche behavior. And he still doesn’t like raisin bread, but I do and I don’t have to share.

R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

S: Probably that I run. My gait is awkward and I sweat profusely. I don’t look like a runner. I look like I’m about to pass out.

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

S: Three 5K races.

R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

S: I hope they’re entertained. I hope they finish one of my books and don’t feel that they’ve wasted their time.

R: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

S: Plotter all the way. I think it’s a personality trait. I like to make lists and when I travel I like to have a map.

R: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks? :)

S:I like to cook. As a family we do a lot of hiking. And I sing with a great deal of enthusiasm but almost no musical ability.

R: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

www.sofiekelly.com

and for my new alter ego coming in early 2014: www.sofieryan.com

R: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

S: Read everything. Read good books and terrible ones. Read in your favorite genre and outside of it. And of course, write. It doesn’t matter how bad your first draft is. Once you have the story down on paper you can fix it, but you can’t fix what you haven’t written.

Just for Fun:

Night or Day?  Day

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully)  Cat—no disrespect to any dogs who may be reading. (ROCCO: Love that answer!)

Beach or Pool?   On a hot day, either.

Steak or salad?  Salad. (I’m assuming there’s no chocolate.)

Favorite Drink?  Coffee

Favorite Book?  It’s impossible to pick one. I’m a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut. I’ve probably read every book by Agatha Christie at least twice.

Favorite TV Series?  Big Bang Theory

Favorite Movie?  The Princess Bride

Favorite Actor: Nathan Fillion from Castle is pretty cute. I wonder if he likes raisin bread. (ROCCO: Dunno. We’ll  have to ask him. I’m the official spokescat for his charity, Kids Need to Read)

Favorite Actress: I’m a big fan of Mariska Hargitay from Law & Order SVU.

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada? Neither.

Hawaii or Alaska? I’ve never been to either, so both.

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be probably my father. He died when I was very small.

If I had just one wish, it would be that we could all learn to see past our differences.

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be Julianne Moore, solely so I could have her hair for the day.

Thank you, Sofie, for a wonderful interview!

Folks, to find out more about Sofie and her mystery series, check out these sites:

www.sofiekelly.com

www.sofieryan.com

Sofie will give away a copy of FINAL CATCALL and a copy of CAT TRICK to one reader anywhere in the US or Canada! 

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Contest ends midnight, December 8! Good luck!

ROCCO
INCREDIBLE BLOGGING CAT