Today, Kate Kindle, author of Angel’s Requiem is our special guest. I was so flummoxed about actually being relatively caught up for a change, I posted my review for Angel’s Requiem a full week ahead of schedule! You may go HERE to check that out…
Kate is offering a free ebook copy of Angel’s Requiem, so be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win!
Kate was kind enough to do a little Q&A with me, so without further ado, let’s get started!
Author Interview
Angel’s Requiem
By: Kate Kindle
KK: Cassie, your site is very inviting to look at; there’s a lot to read and ideas to pursue. You are most hospitable to ask me to ‘drop by’ from http://kindlecloudnine.blogspot.com. Thanks for visiting with me today.
GL: Kate, please tell us more about yourself, your work, and Angel’s Requiem.
KK: My new print book is entitled Angel’s Requiem, and I am an Indie publisher through Create Space. It’s a New York City Murder Mystery based on a Venetian legend. Last week, you reviewed it, Cassie, and thanks for the kind words.
I think the thing I liked best about it was that my husband gave me a book about Venice and we sat up late talking about how it had possibilities for a story. It sat on my brain for a month or so, and then a story began to develop. In doing this novel, I have to admit I flew by the seat of my pants. No matter how I assembled a plot plan, or outlined characters, they seemed to evolve into a new plot with additional characters. Finally, halfway through the manuscript, I assigned an end to the book, and my writing began to have structure. Was I relieved! It’s a lot of work to write spontaneously, because I have to rewrite constantly. During the final rewrite, I had to ‘kill off’ twenty-three very minor characters whose names I removed without actually removing the people, who, in a movie, would have been anonymous walk-ons. That’s to say I like to add a lot of human interest to my work and the characters keep popping into my head.
GL: Twenty-three additional characters? I’m not sure I would have been able to keep them all straight if I were you! :-)
KK: Angel’s Requiem is my first book and the first in the Aidan Bonner series. I will have an Aidan Bonner prequel out in the near future. Any reader can come on over to my blog, and read the first three chapters of Angel’s Requiem. On SONY READER STORE, it’s listed under Historical Mysteries.
A second book about a romance at a hotel should be along shortly.
I also have written four short stories this past year, and they appear in various romance anthologies that are on my site from Victory Tales Press.
My background includes teaching, print and online journalism, and a host of part-time jobs during the years I was raising my three sons and a daughter. Those were years I treasured at the time, despite the mountains of wash and cooking three meals for six people every day. I look back on that time and I’m happy to say that I knew motherhood was the most important job in my life, and it didn’t matter to me that society was telling me ‘no’.
GL: This is most certainly something I can relate to!
KK: Home is northern New Jersey, an area that is alive and vibrant , not thirty minutes from New York City, where my hero, Rico Nasi, is murdered in Central Park. My picture here was taken at the Irish Famine Memorial on the NYC waterfront. There is always something interesting to do in the City, although I don’t get in there as often as I used to.
GL: Angel’s Requiem includes a ton of information about the world of fine art. Are you an art aficionado or did you do heaps of research?
KK: I do enjoy great art. However, this book called for research. I did keep the cover as my desktop icon during this past year, because it is such a nice photo; and it kept me going trying to make this as good a book as possible. Yes, I like art.
GL: Is Aidan Bonner based on anyone from real life?
KK: He’s a cop who knows how to get things done in a world that isn’t fair. I have known some cops who were SWAT Team members, others who were detectives. Men in my own family feel deeply about the beauty of the American way of life; they want to defend it. There is that in Aidan, too. That insatiable need to see justice done. It’s the American way.
GL: Was there any particular character or scene that you had a difficult time working with?
KK: Characters, initially, are a mystery to me. My best bet is to go with what I’ve conceived and start writing. Because dialogue is a pleasure for me to do, there’s a natural flow that begins that reveals to me the character’s nature as they speak. So, that resolves it.
GL: Do you enjoy watching murder mystery type television shows and movies? Are they a good source of information for you or are they more of a distraction?
KK: I don’t think mysteries or thrillers have ever been better! There are great technology and film techniques that make it possible to keep the viewer in suspense. Yes, I watch them. Yes, they did help me stay focused on writing my book. Ideas from them? Most likely, although I can’t think of one now.
GL: Have you ever traveled to Italy? England? Russia?
KK: No, I haven’t. I did go to Ireland, Nova Scotia, Quebec and many places around New York State over the years. I certainly like to travel.
GL: When your children were growing up, did you often read to them? What were some of their favorite books?
KK: We stopped at the library twice a week. A beautiful Andrew Carnegie-funded Georgian model like they used to build. They liked all the traditional ones–fairy tales, Golden Books about animals etc. Their favorite was a book called Lentil by Robert McCloskey, done with pencil drawings. Still in print. They liked Dr. Seuss, too, and the book Where the Sidewalk Ends.
GL: What is your favorite holiday and why?
KK: Christmas! Because of the beauty, lights, and pageantry that surrounds it. Because of the goodwill we all express with gifts and parties. Spiritually, it renews my (our) faith in God…..and man.
GL: Can you share an inspirational, touching, or funny quote from your favorite book?
Gone With The Wind
Scarlett: [Rhett has heard Scarlett's and Ashley's fight] and Sir you should have made your presence known
Rhett Butler: In the middle of that beautiful love scene. Now that wouldn't have been very tactful would it?
Scarlett: Oh! You sir are no gentlemen.
Rhett Butler: And you Miss are no lady.
[She is shocked and hurt]
Rhett Butler: Don't think I hold that against you. Ladies have never held any appeal for me.
KK: Ooooooo…….hh!! That Clark Gable! (Sigh)
GL: I must concur! Gone with the Wind is one of my absolute favorites, and I am a southern gal after all. I think it is a requirement to love Clark!
KK: Thanks for stopping by, everyone. Happy reading.
GL: Thank you so much, Kate! It was a pleasure having you visit…
Leave a comment below for your chance to win Angel’s Requiem in the ebook form of your choice. Good Luck!
