Friday, April 15, 2022

Friday Kris Bock is visiting and talking about Panster or Plotter #MFRWAuthor #mysteries #Panster #Plotter #cats

 

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

 

I started out as a panster. Then I got better at structure and became more of a plotter. Now it depends. For mysteries, I like to have more of a plot ahead of time, to make sure the pieces fit together and there’s enough action.

 

However, romance is more character driven, so I only need enough internal and external conflict to keep the characters apart. As long as I know what they want and need, and why they can’t easily get it, I can start writing and see what happens.

 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 

For the Accidental Detective mystery series, I started with a character who is trying to reinvent her life as she turns 50. She spent 30 years as a war correspondent, so she’s pretty fearless, but that doesn’t always help her with the challenges of aging. She’s dealing with elderly parents who have health problems, a resentful sister, her own lack of retirement planning, and a body that doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to. These challenges provide humor as she narrates her attempts to solve local mysteries and build a new life.

 

For my cat café sweet romance novels, the idea of a cat café – where people could hang out with adoptable cats in a café setting – inspired the series. The characters are the people who work at the café or visit it regularly (plus plenty of cats).

 

For some of my other novels, plot came first. My romantic mystery, What We Found, was inspired by finding the body of a murder victim while hiking in the woods. True story! (Learn more here.)

 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 

The Accidental Detective series launches this month with Something Shady at Sunshine: War correspondent Kate Tessler has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?

 

The first four books are complete. I hope to return to the series, but at the moment I’m writing about cowboy billionaires – specifically, a ranch family that finds out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. The first book in that series will be out in the fall.

 

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 

Many of my novels include real places in the Southwestern United States, although I might fictionalize the names. For example, The Accidental Detective series is set in a fictional town with the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

 

Whispers in the Dark follows a young archaeologist who stumbles into danger as mysteries unfold among ancient Southwest ruins. That was inspired by a trip to Hovenweep National Monument some years ago. I loved that setting and had to use it in a book!

 

In my treasure hunting adventure, Desert Gold, the heroine and her best friend hunt for the lost Victorio Peak treasure, a real Southwest legend. I drew on personal experiences hiking in the desert for Erin and Camie’s adventures – though fortunately I’ve never stumbled on a rattlesnake nest or gotten caught in a flash flood!

 

I blogged about my Southwest inspiration more here.

 

5. Do you write every day or just when the spirit hits?

 

I am a full-time writer, working from home. I usually spend an hour or two catching up on e-mail and other tasks. Then, ideally, I work on one of my own projects for a couple of hours, unless I have too many other deadlines. In the afternoon, I may tackle research, nonfiction books or articles, critiques, or marketing and publicity. A lot of my income comes from educational publishing for young people, which I do under the names Chris Eboch and MM Eboch. I generally don’t work on novels on the weekends, though I may do other business-related activities.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

I live in New Mexico with my husband and our ferrets. My home office window looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners, quail, hummingbirds, and foxes.

 

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Get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material when you sign up for my newsletter. This collection includes a ten-page mystery short story set in the world of “The Accidental Detective” series, information about the series, and the first chapter of book 1. After that are three fun, short stories originally written for children.

 

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

 

I like romance, romantic suspense, and mystery, but nothing too gruesome. I don’t need dead bodies strewn on every page. Sometimes historical romance is a comfort read. Maybe because I don’t write it, I can turn off the editorial brain and just be a reader. KJ Charles is a favorite author!

 

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