Today we sit down for a chat with mystery and
romantic suspense author A.R. Kennedy. Learn more about AR and her books at her
website.
When did you realize you wanted
to write novels?
I’ve always
had stories in my head. About ten years ago, I started thinking about writing
them down. In 2011, I attended a week-long course (Late Victorian and Edwardian
Ghost Stories) at Christchurch College in Oxford, England. I met an author,
from Germany, there—Beate Sauer. I asked her for advice and she delivered! She
told me 2 things.
1- Take a
writing class.
2- Write.
When I
returned to the US, I signed up for a class and the Nathan Miccoli mystery
series was started.
Are you traditionally published,
indie published, or a hybrid author?
Indie published
Where do you write?
In my living
room, on the couch, with one little dog on my lap and the other one running
around (and sometimes biting my toes).
Is silence golden, or do you need
music to write by? What kind?
It depends on
my mood. Sometimes I write in silence. Sometimes I write while baseball games
are playing on the TV. If I’m trying the channel certain characters of the
Nathan Miccoli mystery series, it’s adult alternative or classical.
How much of your plots and
characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?
For Saving Ferris, there is nothing from my
life but my love of dogs. Cecilia is fashionable, tech savvy, and lives in the
country in a large home.
For the
Nathan Miccoli series, the starting point (a single woman who is a physical
therapist living in Long Beach who enjoys the occasional Samuel Adams beer) is
drawn from my life. Everything from there is imagination.
Describe your process for naming
your character?
It depend.
Some names are just ones I like (or don’t like). For the Nathan Miccoli series,
favorite characters, villains and characters we’re not too sure about are named
from past Mets and Yankee rosters. Characters who are to be questioned (think
Dr. Leiter) are named from players who played for both the Mets and Yankees.
Real settings or fictional towns?
The setting
of Saving Ferris is a fictional town, Foley. The settings of the Nathan
Miccoli series are real settings, Long Beach, New York and Queen, New York.
What’s the quirkiest quirk one of
your characters has?
Ferris
chasing his tail.
What’s your quirkiest quirk?
Some would
say there are too many to mention.
Everyone at some point wishes for
a do-over. What’s yours?
In regards to
my writing, I wish my current editor, Lourdes Venard, had edited all of the
Nathan Miccoli series.
You’re stranded on a deserted
island. What are your three must-haves?
My pups, a
Kindle, stocked with a never ending supply of books, and radio (or TV) to
listen to (or watch) my Mets
What was the worst job you’ve
ever held?
I’ll take the
5th on that.
What’s the best book you’ve ever
read?
The Gunslinger,
Stephen King
Ocean or mountains?
I live in
Long Beach, NY so I think I’m obligated to say ocean.
City girl/guy or country
girl/guy?
I can live
anywhere (and have). I’ve lived all over the country and find ways to enjoy a
bustling city or a serene countryside.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I’m attending
the Writers’ Police Academy August 1-4 for research for my next novels.
The Nathan
Miccoli mystery series finale is expected in 2019. (I’m contemplating a
spin-off. If interested, readers better let me know!)
I’m working
on a cozy mystery series, The Traveling Detective. Naomi travels the world—each
book is a different international locale with a different family member. Family
drama and solving murder are always involved.
I’m seeking
representation for the first in the series, Sleuth
on Safari. Naomi, and her sister, Charlotte, are off on a trip of a
lifetime—an African safari, a bucket list trip for Naomi on which she got a
last-minute deal. But she gets more adventure than she bargained for when one
of their fellow travelers, the unlikable Dr. Higgins, is killed.
The locales
for each of the novels are inspired by my travels. Future books are planned for
Iceland, Australia, Israel, and more.
Saving Ferris
After
Cecilia’s husband dies, she’s forced to become Ferris’s caregiver, something
she does not immediately warm to. But when his life is threatened by an
intruder, she shoots the intruder to save the golden retriever. Police Chief
Holden Owens thinks Cecilia acted lawfully, but few agree. The prosecutor feels
that Cecilia has committed murder, not self defense. In the eyes of the law,
one can use lethal force to protect themselves and others, but not property. Pets
are considered property. Holden loses his fight with the prosecutor, and is now
in a new fight—his undeniable attraction to Cecilia. Celebrity defense attorney
Wyatt Sewell identifies a sympathetic defendant, a case he can win, and a way
to garner more acclaim. When he learns of Cecilia’s motive, to save Ferris, he
sees a blockbuster case that can set legal precedent. He forces the jurors to
ask themselves— Is your pet property or family?Will saving Ferris's life cost
Cecilia her freedom? And a second chance at love?
Buy Links
2 comments:
Thank you for having me on the blog!
Update— The finale of The Nathan Miccoli series was released last week. One reader said the ending was ‘spectacular’.
Happy to have you join us again, AR! And congrats on the new release!
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