Amateur sleuth mystery author Debra Purdy Kong has published more than
one hundred short stories, essays, and articles for publications including Chicken Soup for the
Bride’s Soul, B.C. Parent Magazine, and The Vancouver Sun. Her criminology studies and experience as
a patrol and communications officer in security, provided inspiration for her
Casey Holland mysteries and Evan Dunstan novella, Dead Man Floating. Learn more about Debra and her books at
her website.
When did
you realize you wanted to write novels?
I first realized that I wanted to spend my life writing
while I was traveling through Europe and working on my first short story many
years ago. At the time, I was sharing a flat with an aspiring
actress/songwriter who was really supportive. After working on short fiction
for four to five years, I decided to challenge myself with a full-length book.
How long
did it take you to realize your dream of publication?
The road to publication was a rocky one. I submitted
my first novel, Taxed to Death to several
publishers, then acquired an agent here in Canada who helped me cut the book by
100 pages. In the end, she couldn’t sell the book, either. While working on the
sequel, I also started the Casey Holland series, which landed me an American
agent and nice comments from publishers, but again no sale. I wound up selling
the book myself to a small Canadian publisher. The submission process took
about seven years in all.
Are you
traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?
I’m enjoy being a hybrid author. Both have up and
down sides, but I don’t believe there’s a wrong way, provided you make an
informed choice.
Where do
you write?
I write in my basement office in our house. It’s
spacious and quite, and cool in summer.
Is silence
golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?
For me, silence is golden, however, when traveling
with my husband and the kids to the tiny summer cottages we rented, I used
classical music like Mozart, Vivaldi, and Bach whenever I took a little time to
write.
How much of
your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in
particular?
The plots aren’t drawn from my real life, but from real
life around me. Crime plots also come from local news headlines. My protagonists’
occupations come from my own work experiences or that of relatives.
Describe
your process for naming your character?
Choosing a name is hit-and-miss at first. I imagine
the type of protagonist I want to create, then find a name to suit him or her. Once
I start creating a complete profile, the names may change as I learn more about
them.
Real
settings or fictional towns?
I use real settings. I live in the ‘burbs of
Vancouver, in the City of Port Moody. It’s all hills and mountains, lots of
green space and centered around the end of Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet.
What’s the
quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
In my new novella, Dead Man Floating, Evan’s sidekick, Sully, eats donuts when he’s
upset or stressed. Since his father’s a baker, he brings them to campus by the
bagful.
What’s your
quirkiest quirk?
Scarfing down chocolate, peanut butter, and banana,
sometimes all at once.
If you
could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which
one would it be? Why?
I would have written To Kill a Mockingbird. This book is really the whole package: a
crime story, a coming of age story, a hero’s journey set against a vivid
setting and immersed in heated socio-political issues.
Everyone at
some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?
My first book, definitely. It’s been twenty years
since I published Taxed to Death. The
other day, I was looking at the first few pages and realize that I would have
approached the opening chapters with more action and less back-story.
What’s your
biggest pet peeve?
Self-published authors who do not see the value in
properly edited work. I review a lot of indie published books. I see so many
great ideas fall apart due to numerous errors.
You’re
stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Water, food, and my iPad.
What was
the worst job you’ve ever held?
Security was both the best and the worst. I remember
patrolling outside in two feet of snow. We had to record the completion of
patrols in our notebooks, but the weather was so cold that my pen wouldn’t
work. I fell, I froze, and was nearly speared by a huge falling icicle. Spring
and summer, though, were wonderful.
What’s the
best book you’ve ever read?
That’s a tough question, and I think the answer
changes from year to year. But right now, the answer is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which I read last
year. I still marvel at the use of language and the structure of the book.
Ocean or
mountains?
Ocean
City girl/guy
or country girl/guy?
City girl
What’s on
the horizon for you?
Finishing two novellas this year and finally getting
the first draft of my first fantasy novel finished.
Anything
else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?
I’ve been writing for over thirty years and, despite
the ups and downs, it’s still one of my favorite things to do in life. Writing
has kept me grounded, given me goals and purpose, and allowed me to meet many
terrific writers over the years. What could be better?
Dead Man
Floating
One wrong decision…
Security guard Evan Dunstan didn’t
expect to find a body floating in a campus stream. An empty vodka bottle nearby
suggests that the highly despised George Krenn, head of the plumbing
department, had drunkenly fallen in. Refusing to let the death of a vile man
ruin his romantic plans, Evan decides to leave the body for the next shift to
find.
One friend in trouble…
When it’s discovered that Krenn was
murdered, Evan has a lot of explaining to do. So does his friend Sully, Krenn’s
least favourite student. Evan uses his hacking skills and campus knowledge to
keep them both out of jail, but the investigation forces him to question
Sully’s innocence.
One mystery to solve…
Uncovering the truth proves to be more
than challenging. It may cost Evan his job, his friendship, and his woman. Will
Evan find the killer, or will the killer find him first?
5 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me this week. It's been a pleasure!
Great post, Debra. I enjoyed Dead Man Floating and I admire writers who work day jobs and can still produce good writing.
Thank you Allan. It's certainly a challenge, but I do like challenges :)
Neat book title!
Thank you, Angela! Titles are always difficult for me to come up with. Often I'm working on draft #5 or 6 before a title pops to mind. Sometimes later than that!
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