Kathy McIntosh is a
reformed hi-tech marketer and former columnist on words and writing for The
Idaho Statesman’s Business Insider. Her novels combine odd-ball characters, fun escapades, light
romance, and suspense to
make readers laugh as they’re nudged to consider what we’re doing to our
environment. Learn more about Kathy and her novels at her website and blog.
I’m thrilled to be here and share a few
words about Idaho, the setting for my Havoc in Hancock novels. I’m a former
Valley Girl from Southern California who lived, on and off, more than 35 years
in Idaho.
For eight years we lived outside the state
capitol, Boise, five miles up a steep, narrow dirt road, until I grew weary of
plowing the driveway at 4 a.m. (Above is our home after a typical snow.)
Idaho is a great state. It is nicknamed the
Gem state (not the Great Potato
state) for its abundance of natural resources and its amazing scenery,
including the deepest river gorge in North America—Hells Canyon of the Snake
River.
Stretching from the Canadian border south
to Nevada and Utah, Idaho borders Oregon and Washington on the west and Montana
and Wyoming on the east. No, it’s not Iowa, a common misconception.
With all that land—14th largest in the U.S.—Idaho
has a population of only about 1.6 million. Read my Havoc in Hancock novels and
you’d think most of them are kooks. That’s probably not true. Although I lived
in the southern part of the state, I set my books in North Idaho, because of
its beauty and its unfortunate history of oddball residents. The Aryan nation
established a stronghold there, and it was in northernmost Boundary County
where the Ruby Ridge confrontation took place in 1992. Nowadays, extremists are
less visible than tourists but still show up.
My first novel is about the fight to stop
the development of an African safari camp in North Idaho. Zebras and African
lions are not native to Idaho, but
I’ve been asked. You will find moose,
elk, deer, cougars, bears, eagles, hawks, wild turkeys, and lots of other
wildlife.
My parents loved the outdoors, and I grew
up exploring the West. I passed that love on to our daughter, who became an
environmental activist and who introduced me to my books’ favorite character,
Roadkill, who really exists and really wears clothes he’s tanned from the hides
of animals found roadside.
We moved to Arizona in 2014, gladly
swapping snow shovels for sunglasses. I’ll be sending Roadkill south to the
Sonoran desert for his next adventure.
Foul Wind
A bad wind's blowing from the new energy project known as Windfall
Works, carrying the stench of pig poop along with rumors of financial
shenanigans, blackmail and murder. Feather Sullivan can't believe her prissy
sister Roxanne is involved. But when Roxanne disappears, leaving behind her
dead lover and several furious investors in the energy project, Feather and her
mother, often at odds, endure hungry hogs, sinister strangers, and a PI with
killer instincts and drop-dead looks, to sniff out the murderer.
5 comments:
Thanks very much for having me as your guest today. If only one of my characters could have shoveled that snow for me!
What fun. I've only been through Idaho a couple times, but it is a beautiful place. Your book looks like fun, too.
Anne Louise,
Idaho is indeed a beautiful state. Driving distances always amaze people. Thanks for commenting.
Kathy,
It sounds like setting has become a unique character in your novels. Idaho and its people sound fascinating. I've never been to your state but I would certainly love to visit. I'm certain your books are a wonderful read!
Jacqueline,
I agree setting is important, and it is important to my characters. I am setting my next novel in the desert and it will definitely play a critical role.
Thanks for stopping by.
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