Lynn Slaughter Novelist
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I’m delighted to welcome Kassandra Lamb back to my blog today to celebrate a very special occasion, the release this month of her 40^th novel, MALIGNANT MEMORIES. I’m amazed and inspired by her productivity! Below are her responses to my interview questions, followed by her bio/contact links and book descriptions/buy links:

First off, congratulations on the release of your 40^th novel! Wow!  Can you share with our readers a bit about your latest, MALIGNANT MEMORIES, and what inspired your novel?

Thank you, Lynn! Even after 40 books, I’m still pinching myself sometimes. It’s hard to believe that my lifelong dream of writing fiction has finally come true.

As for this latest story, I’ve always been fascinated by human memory. We rely on it so much, take it for granted even. But it’s actually not very reliable. (I did a blog post recently on the fickleness of memory.) For one thing, it’s not always accurate; a lot of things can interfere with and distort what gets recorded. And then there’s the whole issue of traumatic amnesia.

I thought it would be quite interesting to see how a hard-nosed police chief might cope with a young woman who has total amnesia, even for her own identity (its official name is dissociative fugue). I love torturing my protagonist with challenges like that.

Your protagonist in this new C.o.P. on the Scene Mystery is a Chief of Police. I know that your background is in psychotherapy and college teaching. How did you go about researching Judith’s career as someone in law enforcement?

That has been quite challenging for me! Of course, as a mystery writer, one has to learn about law enforcement, even with amateur sleuths as main characters. But putting a police investigation under the microscope, that was new territory. I’ve read several books written by police officers specifically for writers, and I’ve attended a conference called Writers’ Police Academy multiple times.   

WPA is run by former law enforcement folks, and they do a fantastic job of giving writers an inside look at what they do and how they do it.

This is Book 5 in this series. How has your protagonist, Chief of Police Judith Anderson, grown and changed during the series?

After twenty years as a police officer, many of those years as a lieutenant in charge of her own homicide unit, Judith thought she had all the tools she needed to run a small police department. But she soon discovers that she’s lacking certain skill sets, especially when, in her first eight days as C.o.P., she finds herself chasing a serial killer (Book 1).

That shakes her confidence some. She had also always assumed that she didn’t need friends; she was a total workaholic. The only people she’d socialized with before were her mentor (a former partner in homicide) and his wife. But when she leaves everyone and everything that was familiar behind and moves five states away, she discovers what loneliness feels like.                 

Cracks start appearing in her carefully constructed no-nonsense façade. And the insecurity, plus certain aspects of the cases she’s handling, trigger flashbacks and nightmares about her own dysfunctional childhood.

By this book, number 5, she has let down her walls some and has let several beings in, including the handsome sheriff of the neighboring county and the abandoned kitten of a murder victim.

But the whole relationship thing is still a struggle for her; she doesn’t know what the rules are. And she keeps getting hit with situations, like an amnesiac who may or may not also be a criminal, that are outside of her wheelhouse.

In this latest story, you’re dealing with someone who has no memory of her identity or past. Is this something you ever dealt with as a therapist or have experience with?

I’ve had a lot of experience with traumatic amnesia for certain past events, but I’ve only once encountered full-blown dissociative fugue, and that was a student in one of my classes. But as a psychotherapist, I specialized in trauma recovery. As such, I dealt with delayed memories (previously blocked from conscious awareness) quite a bit. It’s a fascinating but sometimes controversial issue in the psychology field.

That’s what led to my interest in memory. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on the subject, but I’ve learned quite a bit about it through the years.

You’ve created several popular mystery series, including the C.o.P. on the Scene Mystery series, the Kate Huntington Mysteries, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy Cozy Mystery series. You’ve also written romantic suspense series under the name of Jessica Dale. How do you keep your series fresh and maintain your readers’ interest over several books?

That is a very good question. I rarely lack for story ideas, and I hadn’t really thought about why that is before.

I guess, as a former psychotherapist, I’ve heard about a much larger variety of human experiences than the average person. I absolutely do not use my specific cases from my therapy practice as models for my characters, but there are a lot of ideas that spring from having that window into so many different lives.

A related question: How do you know when it’s time to end a series and create a new one?

Another great question. There are usually three factors involved. One, I find myself stretching some to come up with fresh story ideas. Two, the main character has grown a lot and has overcome (or sometimes has just come to terms with) issues they had at the beginning of the series. And three, an idea for a new series has come to me, and I’m excited and eager to start it.

But it’s always hard to leave old friends behind.

You’ve been remarkably prolific in your post-therapy/teaching career. Can you share with us how you’ve succeeded in creating so many good books?

Well, I’ve been at it for fifteen years now. I finished the first draft of my first novel, Multiple Motives, in the autumn of 2009. After a lot of editing and polishing (and learning more about writing craft), I finally got it published in late 2011. By that time, I had also written the first drafts of several more stories in that series.

I was more than a little obsessed in those early years. My husband was a bit worried about me. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, typing away. By the end of 2013, I’d published six novels and one novella.

And I’d discovered that I really liked writing novellas. They are faster and quite fun to write. After that, I averaged three books a year, and at least one of them was a novella. Until I started the current series.

Police procedurals tend to have more complicated plots. With that, plus the extra research, I’m doing well if I write one and a half stories a year, about half of what I used to produce. And I’ve gotten better at the whole work/life balance thing. I try not to work all the time.

I know that you have a collection of Christmas stories in the works. Any news to share about that? Or other projects you plan to work on next? 

Ah, speaking of novellas… I now have a Christmas novella out in each of my series, so I decided to bundle them together as a special deal for this Christmas. I’ve dubbed it Mistletoe Mayhem, and all three stories are set in Florida. It just released last Saturday.

I’ve also started the first draft of the next C.o.P. story. Judith experiences her first Founders Day celebration in her new city, but the event turns into a nightmare when a toddler goes missing. I also have plans for what will probably be a novella, set at Halloween. With any luck, I’ll get both of those stories out in 2025.

What advice would you give to aspiring mystery authors?

Ugh, that’s always such a tough question. There is so much advice one can give, but every writer’s journey is a bit different. My advice, based on my experiences, might or might not be relevant to others.

I guess the two most important things I’ve learned from all this is, one, write what you love. If you are excited and passionate about what you are writing, that will come through to the reader.

Two, don’t give up on your dreams. Mine came true when I was 59 years old. No matter how obscure and out of reach a dream may be, keep it tucked away in the back of your mind. Because someday the opportunity may very well present itself for you to make that dream come true.

Anything else you’d like to add, or wish I’d asked that I didn’t?

Actually, there isn’t. You ask great questions, Lynn. Thank you so much for hosting me today.

BIO:

Kassandra Lamb has never been able to decide which she loves more, psychology or writing. In her youth, she had to decide between writing and paying the bills. Partial to electricity and food, she studied psychology. Now retired from a career as a psychotherapist and college professor, she spends most of her time in an alternate universe with her characters. The magic portal to this universe (i.e., her computer) is located in Florida, where her husband and dog catch occasional glimpses of her.

She is the author of three mystery series, plus a guidebook for novice writers, and she also writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale. You can read more about her books at https://kassandralamb.com.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT LINKS:

BLOG: https://misteriopress.com

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/kassandralambauthor

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/kasslamb/

PINTEREST:  https://www.pinterest.com/kassandralamb/

BOOKBUB PROFILE:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kassandra-lamb

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Kassandra-Lamb/e/B006NB5WAI/

About MALIGNANT MEMORIES:

After two decades in law enforcement, C.o.P. Judith Anderson thought she’d seen it all… until a young woman walks into her police department, holds up one of Judith’s business cards, and timidly asks if she herself is this Judith Anderson, Chief of Police. The woman has no memory of even her own identity, so Judith turns to her friend, psychotherapist Kate Huntington for help.

The same day, a naked male corpse is discovered. Could their Jane Doe be the killer? And as Kate coaxes out more of Jane’s memories, she and Judith realize there may be another connection—to a teenager murdered years ago. Who is this woman, a criminal or an innocent? Or a witness to something that has now made her a killer’s target?

BUY LINKS FOR MALIGNANT MEMORIES:

Landing page on misterio press website:

https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/malignant-memories-a-c-o-p-on-the-scene-mystery/

Individual buy links:

AMAZON:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJYKPF5B/

APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/malignant-memories/id6736866254

BARNES AND NOBLE:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/malignant-memories-kassandra-lamb/1146418056?ean=2940180419293

KOBO:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/malignant-memories

GOOGLE PLAY:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=CVYpEQAAQBAJ&pli=1

 About MISTELTOE MAYHEM:

Christmas mayhem in Florida… Two novellas and a novelette, one from each of author Kassandra Lamb’s popular series, offer short “fun in the sun” reads to entertain during the busy holiday season (and year round). An Unsaintly Season in St. Augustine:  Even on vacation,  psychotherapist Kate Huntington can’t seem to stay out of other people’s messes. A Mayfair Christmas Carol:  Will service dog trainer Marcia Banks and her Black Lab, Buddy, be able to keep the ghost of Christmas past from destroying what is left of Mayfair, Florida’s founding family? The Twelve Heists of Christmas: A series of smash-and-grab robberies, by a Santa-masked thief, is derailing the Christmas shopping season in the Florida city where Judith Anderson is the new Chief of Police.

BUY LINK FOR MISTLETOE MAYHEM:

https://kassandralamb.com/books/mistletoe-mayhem-3-christmas-mysteries-set-in-florida/