Interview with Mystery Author Kathy McIntosh

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing author Kathy McIntosh. Kathy loves the way words sound and the way they look on a page. In addition to creating offbeat adventures for the zany characters in her novels, she is an editor who helps others make their words the best possible. Kathy’s first novel was chosen as one of Idaho’s Top Ten Fiction books and she was named one of the top three emerging writers for that year.

Kathy shares space with a part Lab, part Catahoula Leopard hound known as the neighborhood Welcome Waggin’. She and her husband travel the world as often as they can, in search of adventure and great meals. (Although they find plenty of great food in Tucson, named the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the U.S.) More about Kathy, her writing, and a chance to sign up for her very occasional newsletter and a free short story, are at www.kathymcintosh.com.

Question: What is the title and genre of your new novel?  Why did you select them?

Answer: My novel is titled Murder, Sonoran Style, An Adventure Calls Mystery. It is an amateur sleuth mystery. I chose the title because the titles of my first two novels didn’t reveal that they were mysteries. I chose the genre because I like putting regular people in difficult situations and forcing them to solve the mystery. I also think it’s easier to add humor to amateur sleuth mysteries.

Question:  What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Answer: When I moved to Arizona, I knew I wanted to set my next novel here. I happened to stay in the town of Benson, AZ, and read about a proposed development that would potentially affect the San Pedro River National Conservation Area, because of its size and its proximity to that area’s water table. Even after the several years it took for my novel to be published, the controversy remains.

Question:  Could you tell us a little bit about the heroine and/or hero of your novel?

Answer:  My hero is Gabe Ramsay, a former science professor who left his tenure track post in disgrace, falsely accused by a very wealthy donor of attacking the donor’s wife. He buys into Adventure Calls, an eco-tour company, as another way to teach people about nature and ecology and to prove he can succeed in business. Of course his hopes are challenged when he finds the dead body of someone he’d recently fought with, stabbed with Gabe’s skinning knife. He gets help solving the murder from the tour company’s spirited chef, Madrone Hunter.

Question:   Can you tell us about some of your other published novels or work?

Answer:  My first two novels are part of the Havoc in Hancock humorous suspense series. Mustard’s Last Stand and Foul Wind are set in north Idaho, where the wackiest characters live. (I lived in the south part of the state.) I’ve also had a few short stories published.

Question:   What are you working on now?

Answer:  I’m working on the second Adventure Calls mystery, in which Madrone, the chef, will take the lead.

Question:   What made you start writing?

Answer:  I’ve always loved reading and words and love to make people laugh. In my business career, I wrote scads of marketing documents, so I already knew how to spin fiction.

Question:   What advice would you offer to those who are currently writing novels?

Answer: Trust in yourself, and keep going, with a goal of getting better with every novel, every story you write. Listen to critique partners but don’t lose your own unique voice.

Question:  Where and when will readers be able to obtain your novel?

Answer: Murder, Sonoran Style, is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon.com. It’s also sold through IngramSpark and in two local Tucson bookstores.

Kathy welcomes comments and questions.