Lynn Slaughter Novelist
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What a pleasure to host Kaye George on my blog as she releases SOMEONE IS OUT THERE, her first suspense novel. Kaye is living proof that perseverance,  along with a terrific sense of humor, pay off, as she ushers her 17^th book into the world.

First off, congratulations on the release of SOMEONE IS OUT THERE. Can you share with our readers a bit about the book and what inspired it?

Thank you, and also thanks for having me here today! I’m honored.

It was a lot like the inspiration for when I started writing murder mysteries, I think. I wrote literary short stories in my younger years and collected piles of rejection slips. One day I decided I wanted to be published! And what I was mostly reading were mysteries. So maybe, I thought, I should write those.

Now, a few years later (loose definition of “few”) I notice that I love to read true crime and watch documentaries, and also suspense and psychological thriller novels. Aha! I decided to try one of those. I had a ton of fun learning a new style and was delighted to find a publisher much more quickly than I did the first time around. I set it near where I used to live, Dayton OH, and used a famous catastrophe that occurred nearby for tension.

You are the award-winning, bestselling author of not one but five mystery series! What drew you to writing mysteries?

As I explained above, I was mostly reading them, so eventually knew I should be writing them. (I’m doing the questions out of order!)

Are there particular authors who especially inspired you?

Reaching back to the last century, my reading was a lot of Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, and a lot of watching Perry Mason. Plus many more.

One series is different, though. What inspired me to write my People of the Wind (Neanderthal) series is my interest in archeology and pre-history. Tons of discoveries were being made, telling us how remarkable the Neanderthal people were, and I wanted to spread the word that they were capable, smart people, not grunting brutes.

However, I had a tough time getting that series published until I found Jay Hartman’s company. He used to be at Untreed Reads, but he’s now at the new, improved Misti Media, with White City Press as the mystery imprint.

Another origin story: before I found Jay, agents would tell me they loved my novel, but didn’t know how to sell it! I got so frustrated that I decided to write the most ridiculous book I could. I invented Imogene Duckworthy, inept detective, unwed mother of a child fathered at a truck stop by a man whose name she didn’t get, and living in a single-wide with her mother. And she wants to be a PI. She does everything wrong, she’s too stupid to live (TSTL, in the lingo—a big no-no), and still solves cases. I went for humor with these.

Then I self-published them and they were very popular! Then I found the home for the Neanderthal books.

You wrote your bestselling Fat Cat series under the pen name of Janet Cantrell. What led you to adopt a pen name for that series?

That was a Work for Hire project that I applied for and was chosen for. The publisher owns the pen name, the books, including titles, text, and characters. It was supposed to be my foot in the door to Penguin. It was, at first, but then the door shut when Random House acquired Penguin soon after that, and most of the editors and authors were fired. Oh well, for three books, I was a Penguin author. 

Actually, they sold very well and people STILL ask if there will be another Fat Cat book. After consulting an attorney, I figured out how similar I can make a new series—what to avoid and what I can do. The up-coming Comfy Cat series is being written for the readers still asking about Fat Cat.

You inject wonderful humor in much of your writing. Have you always been funny?

If I were just a bit braver, I’d love to do stand-up comedy. I DO love making people laugh. I think laughter can get us through so much. I love to study good comics and greatly admire them. The timing, the tone, the words—it all has to be just right.

In addition to novels, you’ve written numerous short stories and novellas. What are the similarities and differences in your writing approach and process, depending on whether you’re writing short or longer fiction works?

My approaches are very different. I think most fiction writers tend either toward short stories OR novels. Not many people love writing both. My preference is short stories. I can hold a short story in my head, the whole thing. And a couple of times a mysterious voice has dictated a story to me and I take notes. Those two didn’t get any editing and were published just as first written. That’s not my usual.

But, for me to write a novel, it’s an effort. I spend about five weeks getting started, using templates and instructions from several classes I’ve taken. I plan out the villain’s story, the protagonist’s story, write a preliminary synopsis, the background, and all sorts of things, until I have a plot. As I write, of course, a lot of those things change. But I have to start with a plot and an outline, something to hang my words on.

And do you consider yourself more of a seat-of-the-pants writer, planner, or somewhere in-between?

I contend that everyone is a little of both. As I mentioned above, for novels, I’m a plotter, but after I’ve plotted, I don’t stick to it if I need to go a different direction. If it’s a spectrum, I fall near the plotting end of it.

I was fascinated to learn that you’re a classically trained violinist, as well as an arranger and composer. Do you still play regularly? Perform?

I don’t much anymore. Only when my daughter and I get together. I tend to do one kind or artistic endeavor at a time. When I was painting, I would get ideas for pictures coming at me. When I write music, themes and melodies pop up in my head. And when I’m writing fiction, my brain dreams up plots and characters. I seem to only be able to aim my brain in one direction at a time.

And do you think your experiences as an arranger and composer have helped you in developing your craft as a writer?

Only in that my first novel series was about a musician. Being one helped me write about her life authentically. However, I think everyone should study some form of music. It’s good to have music in your life. I’m almost always humming something and don’t know who I’d be without music.

I was so impressed that in the wake of your husband’s death, you wrote HANDBOOK FOR THE WIDOWED to help others. Did you find that writing the book was also helpful and healing to you in navigating your own grieving process?

So very, very helpful. As I mention in the booklet (it’s not very long), I got so much help from so many people. I don’t know how I would have navigated that period of my life without them. So that I could keep track, I started writing down all the advice and helpful knowledge others gave me—my friends and my two support groups. Then I started to wonder what other people, who didn’t have this help, did. So I decided to give that help to them, if they need it. I have heard from a lot of people that the handbook was a welcome source.

What do you wish you had known before you started writing seriously for publication?

Actually, I started writing for publication when I was in high school. But it was many, many years before I got published. I’ve always been a big reader, reading in bed when I was supposed to be asleep. (That’s probably why I had to get glasses in 4^th grade.) Also, going through all the horse books in the children’s part of the library, then getting an unpaid job helping check out books, then getting permission to check out adult books upstairs. So I always, always wanted to write them. And be published. Maybe if I’d known how hard it is and how long it takes, that wouldn’t have been so good.

Any advice from your experiences for aspiring authors?        

Persist! No one will publish you if you don’t submit anything. I considered each rejection as a step toward publication. I took 468 steps over ten years, writing seven novels, but finally got an acceptance. I’ll mention that this all happened before the days of self-publishing.

What’s next for you writing-wise?

I’m working on my Comfy Cat series that I mentioned above. I’m about one third of the way into the first draft of the second book. I’ll finish that sometime this year, then write the third book. After that? I have no idea. Maybe the series will continue. Maybe I’ll do something else. Maybe I’ll actually work on the memoir I keep thinking about. Or write another psycho thriller.

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

I’d like to mention the community of writers I’ve found since I started getting serious about mysteries. The readers are wonderful, and I love everyone who’s ever read my stuff. But I don’t know how I would have gotten through the pandemic without my author buddies, or what I’d be doing now to keep myself off the streets. I have a theory that mystery writers dwell on bodies and weapons, rigor mortis and blood spatter, and we get all of that stuff out of our systems and into the computer—and our books and stories. So what’s left for us is that we can just be nice people. Seriously, I got into mystery writing because I wanted to know, wanted to explore, what on earth compels a person to do such a horrible thing, to take the life of another person. I do try to explore that with every mystery I write, trying to find the motive, the tipping point, the reasoning that must have gone into it. I can’t say I’ll ever understand it, but I’ll keep trying. And I’ll always be grateful for the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. I’ll mention Sisters in Crime, the Guppies, the Authors Guild of Tennessee, my old Austin Mystery Writers group, and the Plothatchers, a close-knit email group I communicate with every day.

 

About SOMEONE IS OUT THERE:

Someone is stalking Darla.

She has a lot on her plate already. Dealing with a breakup. Her best
friend shutting Darla out of her life. A handicapped mother. Her
career as a hospital nurse. She doesn’t need slashed tires,
threatening notes, or, least of all, a brick through her window.

She suspects her tormentor could either be her ex or her own father,
who attacked and crippled her mother years ago. But she’s just not
sure, and there’s no one but her dog to turn to.

Soon, she’s forced to rely on her own wits to protect her and her
mother as the frightening threats become more and more frequent.

And are progressively more dangerous.

 

BIO

Kaye George is an award-winning novelist and short-story writer who
has written novels and short stories in several subgenres of mystery.
Her latest, her 17th book and her first suspense novel, SOMEONE IS OUT
THERE, was published by Rowan Prose Publishing April 15th. Link for
the novel: https://books2read.com/u/m27rkG.

You can find out more here: http://kayegeorge.com/

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