THE CRAFT OF WRITING — SEPTEMBER 2023
The CRAFT OF WRITING BLOG continues in September with its 2023 focus on authors who write series. This month, the tables are turned, and I’m being interviewed about my series, The Watch Mysteries, by my good friend and colleague Debbie Burke.
Did you notice the pen in the image with the books? That’s the magnificent “Beginning of Time” pen that was hand-crafted by my good friend, author and craftsman, Steve Hooley. Inspired by the theme in The Watch Mysteries, the pen is built on 1870 Clocktower Pine, covered with black-as-night-sky dye, then coated with golden-stars glitter paint, and finally coated with a wet-gloss finish.
Here’s your chance to win the pen. The name of each person who enters a comment today will be put into a drawing, and I will post the name of the winner after 9 o’clock pm CDT tonight. So join the conversation and earn a chance to win. Many thanks to Steve for donating the pen for today’s post.
Former winners are excluded from the drawing. (But not from commenting!)
The fascinating subject of time. An interview with Kay DiBianca about her series, The Watch Mysteries. And a chance to win the beautiful Beginning of Time pen. Click To Tweet* * *
Now here’s Debbie:
I met Kay several years ago when she submitted an anonymous first page for critique at The Kill Zone. Her story featured two young wannabe detectives who charmed me and made me laugh. That promising first page turned into the book Time After Tyme. Kay and I have since become trusted colleagues and good friends. I’m honored to interview her today.
* * *
Time is a major theme in your “Watch” mystery series. What inspired you to explore that topic?
I was out running when I decided to write my first novel. I was jogging past a long fence at the time, and I thought I could begin the novel by having the main character find a mysterious object on a fencepost while she was out running. (Ha!) I can’t remember why I decided on the watch as the “mysterious object,” but it may have been a subconscious desire to delve into my fascination with the subject of time.
From the perspective of writing, mysteries are usually a race against time. Find the killer before he/she can kill again. To emphasize that, a timepiece is always central to the stories.
What did you learn about time while writing your books? Are there insights that you hope readers will realize?
I’ve read some good books on the subjects of clocks, watches, and time. One thing I had fun learning about was the need for a reliable clock that could be used aboard ships so that the early explorers could pinpoint their position at sea. It’s a fascinating story told by Dava Sobel in her book Longitude. I wrote a post for the Kill Zone Blog on the subject.
As for insights, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that time is an equal-opportunity dimension. Rich or poor, everyone gets 24 hours in a day, and the way we choose to spend those hours is up to us. Although we may have constraints (jobs, family, obligations), our individual responses to the demands of time belong to each of us. Only we can decide.
Do you plan to continue the “Watch” series? Want to give readers a hint about what might be ahead for Kathryn and Cece?
Although I took a break for the last year or so to pursue a couple of other writing projects, I do plan to continue the Watch series. I think the main characters, half-sisters Kathryn and Cece, have a few more adventures to work on before I let them go. (And I want to know where they end up in their relationships with Phil and Ben.)
I’ve been playing with a few possible plot ideas. Maybe you or the folks who read this can help me think through them: 1) I’ve thought about sending the two young women off to Scotland when Kathryn is informed she’s one of the beneficiaries of a will left by a Scottish relative where some old mystery is smoldering. 2) Another idea is to have Kathryn run a marathon in an interesting world city where a murder happens during the course of the race. 3) A third possibility is to have Kathryn and Cece involved when a book reviewer is murdered after writing a scathing review of a mystery by author Purity Carp. Let me know which one you think would be most interesting in the comments!
The two young detectives in Time After Tyme stole the show, earning an award for “Young Adult Fiction.” When you wrote the book, did you have a YA story in mind or did it evolve into that? Does the book have a crossover audience of both adults and young readers?
I had wanted to write the young girls, Reen and Joanie, as secondary characters to add spice to Time After Tyme, and they were very good at their job! They had me laughing every day with their crazy antics in an attempt to “help” the police solve a murder mystery. I only entered it as a YA book in the Memphis Awards contest because I had friends who were entered in the Adult Fiction category, and I didn’t want to compete against them. I was truly surprised when the presenter called my name, but I think it’s confirmation that a book can straddle categories and appeal to a wide audience.
Do you have future plans for Reen and Joanie in upcoming books?
Shortly afterTime After Tyme was published, I was encouraged by several of my writing colleagues to start a middle-grade series featuring the two young girls. The result is the first-in-series novel The Other Side of Sunshine: A Reen and Joanie Detective Agency Book. I hope it will be published early in 2024.
You’re a licensed pilot and your upcoming book is about a female pilot who solves mysteries. How long have you been flying? What is the most thrilling experience you’ve had in the air? What is the scariest?
Lacey’s Star: A Lady Pilot-in-Command Novel is the story of Cassie Deakin, a young woman pilot who lands in the middle of a mystery with every flight. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Cassie and Deputy Frank White, a man she doesn’t trust, but whom she has a strong attraction to. I’m hoping it will be published later this year.
I received my pilot’s license in 1995. When I told my husband I was going to take flying lessons, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. But since then, he got his license in sailplanes (gliders), and we’ve had some good times flying together.
Our most thrilling experience was when we went to Nevada on a “flying vacation” around the year 2000 and I piloted a small aircraft out of the Carson City airport and over the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe. It was an absolutely gorgeous trip in perfect weather.
The scariest experience was on the same trip. I always file a flight plan or request flight-following from Air Traffic Control when I fly. As we were flying around the mountains, ATC in Reno contacted us to say they couldn’t follow us on radar because of the mountains, so we went VFR (Visual Flight Rules). I think we were somewhere over Pyramid Lake when I looked out the right side of the plane and spotted another light aircraft flying directly toward us. We were never in any danger – I immediately turned and descended to a lower altitude – but it wasn’t an experience I’d ever want to repeat.
Recently you attended the Killer Nashville writing conference. What were the most interesting and/or important takeaways from that event?
Killer Nashville is a conference that focuses on mystery, thriller, and suspense writing that I’ve attended several times. One of the great things the conference offers is a group of Agent Roundtables where authors can have the first two pages of their work-in-progress read in a small setting of five authors and one agent. Each author receives feedback from the others, and if you’re lucky, an agent will request your manuscript.
I presented the first two pages of The Other Side of Sunshine at one roundtable and Lacey’s Star at another one. I was fortunate that two agents showed interest in the books.
Where can readers find your books?
Each of the individual ebooks is on sale for 99¢ on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and Google Play. The virtual boxset of the three books is also on sale for $1.99 on all of the same sites. Click on each image at the bottom of the page to go to the Amazon detail page.
Is there anything else you’d like to share that I haven’t asked you about?
Just to say many thanks to you, Debbie, for interviewing me. It’s interesting to sit on this side of the desk for a change. Also, equal thanks to Steve Hooley for supplying the gorgeous Beginning of Time pen for today’s post.
The fascinating subject of time. An interview with Kay DiBianca about her series, The Watch Mysteries. And a chance to win the beautiful Beginning of Time pen. Click To Tweet
Good interview! I’m glad to hear you’re continuing the Watch series, Kay. You’re right about time being an equalizer: rich or poor, we all have 24 hours.
Good morning, Vera! Since I started writing novels, I find it’s hard to stuff everything I need to do in those 24 hours. But it’s great fun trying. 🙂
Have a great week.
Vera, Kay’s statement about time as an equalizer is true yet people don’t often realize that. Glad she made the point.
I enjoyed reading the interview. I would love to attend the Killer writing conference. Are they held in other places besides Nashville? I googled around and couldn’t find any.
Good morning, Audrey! I hope you can attend Killer Nashville one of these times. I believe it’s one of a kind. It’s held in Franklin, Tennessee at the end of August each year. You can see all the things they offer on their website at https://www.killernashville.com/
Maybe we’ll see you there next year.
Audrey, there are an amazing number of writing conferences in different places. One good source is Shaw Guides: https://writing.shawguides.com/Events
Kay, what fun to read YOUR interview–and about your real-life adventures! Reen and Joanie certainly did steal the show in “Time after Thyme”–and what fun that they’ve now launched into their own series. What great ideas for continuing the Time series. For my vote, my first choice would be #3, the book reviewer. Second choice would be the marathon–bringing the theme of running back in. With all your wonderful ideas you come up with, I’m sure whichever route you go with will be such a good read! Prayers as you write!
Good morning, Barbara!
Thank you for your vote on the Watch series. I had begun the novel on the murder of a book reviewer but got sidetracked by the other two projects. I think having a quirky mystery writer as a character will make it a lively story.
Have a great week!
Barbara, Kay needs to write all three good ideas. The order I’d like is 2, 1, 3. The first two are unfamiliar places where the heroines have to get used to new environments as well as solve the mystery.
I have known Kay for a long time and her husband. I started reading the watch on the fencepost and Dead man’s watch that were very interesting but I haven’t been able to read Time after Tyme now that I have the time I plan to read it. Kay is a wonderful writer I really enjoyed reading her books.
Edna, Kay is not only good, she’s getting better with each new book.
Thank you, Debbie. That’s high praise coming from you, my talented friend!
Good morning, Edna! It’s so great to see your comment on the blog, and I appreciate the kind words.
Hope things are going well for you. Don’t forget to check back in after 9 pm tonight to see the results of the pen drawing!
Have a great week.
Great interview between two of my favorite authors! I recently had the pleasure of being a beta reader for The Other Side of Sunshine and it is a winner. A terrifically plotted Middle-Grade mystery that had me laughing out loud all the way through.
Hi Dorian! Those girls are a hoot, aren’t they? And they get the mystery solved.
Hi Debbie! They are hilarious. And Kay, who we know to be a puzzle master, put together a good one for them to solve. Hope you are doing well!
Good morning, Dorian and thank you for those kind words!
For those of you who don’t know, Dorian Box is the pseudonym of Andrew McClurg, a fabulous novelist and friend who is also writing multiple series. (I’m currently beta-reading his middle-grade novel, Madeleine Crocker and the Secret of Willow Temple.)
I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew last October on this blog. https://kaydibianca.com/2022/10/03/the-craft-of-writing-october-2022/
Thank you, Kay!
Great interview, Kay and Debbie. It was very interesting to learn more about your books and projects, Kay.
In answer to your question, I would vote for #2 – marathon is an interesting world city. Prague has the oldest functioning clock in the world. Wiltshire, UK, has an older clock that was repaired and again working.
Great pictures for this post, Kay!
Steve, the info you added about Prague and Wiltshire makes them both excellent settings. Now Kay has TWO books to write that are set in Europe!
Debbie, I thought you might like to do one of them.
Good morning, Steve, and thank you again for constructing the magnificent “Beginning of Time” pen. The pictures don’t really do it justice.
A vote for the marathon story! I like your idea of placing it in a city with a special clock. If you come up with a third city, you and Debbie and I can each write a mystery set in one of them. Maybe we could set up a series with three friends who travel the world running marathons and solving mysteries. (I think I’m getting carried away. 🙂 )
wonderful interview!
Thanks for stopping by, Charlene.
Thank you Charlene! Don’t forget to stop by back after 9 pm tonight to see the results of the pen drawing.
I have enjoyed the Time trilogy and look forward to more from this author. All three ideas sound captivating, but I would vote for the marathon runner mystery.
Good morning, Linda, and thank you for stopping by. Another vote for the marathon mystery. I’m beginning to see a trend.
Have a great week!
Linda, exotic, unfamiliar settings add colorful dimensions to a mystery.
Hey, Kay and Debbie! This was fun to read.
Your flying experiences gave me the shivers for sure…I hate to fly. But I guess it’s good that there are people out there who love it. Where would we be if there weren’t? Oh, home I guess! 🙂
Have a good day, you two!
Good morning, Deb, and thanks for stopping by. There’s great joy in piloting an airplane, to be sure, but it’s a lot of hard work and very time consuming. I’m no longer active as a pilot, but my husband and I have great memories of our time in the air. (And we’re very grateful that we came through those years without encountering any serious problems! 🙂 )
Have a great week.
Deb, knowing Kay as a careful, meticulous, detail-oriented person who maintains high standards, I would fly with her. Some other pilots I know–nah.
Hi Kay,
It’s so fun to hear more background on your strories and how you plan to keep them going. (You’ve got a writer’s brain for sure!) We have a small airport nearby and see gliders often. But we wouldn’t do it–kudos to you and your husband!
Hello Linore! I’m so glad you stopped by.
To all the other readers and commenters, Linore will be my interview guest in October, and we will talk about her multi-series experience in writing. Linore, I’m looking forward to it!
Can’t wait!
Learning to fly is on my bucket list! I’m looking forward Cassie’s story!
Hi Patricia! I hope you have a chance to take flying lessons. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching the ground drop away as you cross the end of the runway and soar into blue heaven.
Have a great week.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on today’s post, and a special thank you to Steve Hooley for supplying this great gift and to Debbie Burke for interviewing me.
I listed all the people who commented today who were eligible to win, and gave each of them a number that corresponded with the order that they commented in. Here’s the list:
1 Audrey Stewart
2 Barbara Curtis
3 Edna Aird
4 Dorian Box
5 Charlene Capodice
6 Linda Serino
7 Linore Burkard
8 Patricia Bradley
Then I ran a random integer generator to pick a random number between 1 and 8. The number it came up with was 1, so Audrey Stewart is the lucky winner of the “Beginning of Time” pen! Congratulations Audrey!
I’m a day late but the interview was just as good as if I’d read it yesterday 😉 Thank you Debbie & Kay, and congratulations to Audrey for winning a Steve Hooley pen. I sure do treasure mine. If I remember correctly, I was the first winner. Yay me! Kay, it was so good to hear where you are on the writing projects – it’s been a minute. Plus, I did not know Frank had a sailplane certificate. A plane with no engine? That’s brave! By the way, I vote for idea number 2 for your next Kathryn & Cece mystery.
Good day, Lisa! I’m so glad you stopped by. I was very interested to get your take on the flying aspects of the interview.
Yes, Frank owned a sailplane for ten or fifteen years and had great fun flying it. As a matter of fact, the reason we went on our “flying vacation” was so Frank could fly at “Soar Minden,” a famous glider operation in Nevada. You’ll be interested to know ATC opens a column of air to gliders in that area when conditions are right so they can go into Class A airspace. (Very rare.) We happened to be there on one of those days when the “wave” (wind blowing over the mountains that produces an tremendous uplift effect) was running. Frank went up with an instructor and ascended to a little over 25,000 feet in a sailplane. They have barographs in the planes that record the altitude on paper so the pilot can have proof of the flight. He won a “Lenny” award for it.
Thanks for mentioning which story plot you think would be good. Looks like the marathon is winning.
Have a great week, my friend.
I have never heard of the Soar Minden event – so cool! I bet only a handful of pilots can say they’ve flown a sailplane in Class A. What a memory to have. That one will hangar fly forever. I relished imaging you flight around Tahoe. I’ve only been there once, and it was beautiful from the ground. To see it from the air, going where you willed to go, well, that’s the thing about flying, isn’t it? The view from the air? Love to y’all. Have a wonderful week!