Kristi Jones

Kristi Jones grew up in the military and has lived in Germany, England, Turkey, and many places throughout the U.S. She attended a German high school that left her with a lifelong love of languages. She holds a degree in history and is a member of Sisters in Crime and The Writer’s League of Texas. In her free time, Jones loves to paint, travel, explore historical sites and comb through old bookstores and museums for obscure nuggets of historical details to add to her stories. She lives in the Houston area with her husband and two rescue pups.

Jones's new novel is Murder in the Ranks.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think Murder in the Ranks immediately tells the reader my book is a mystery and there is some military element to the story. Dottie Lincoln, my book’s sleuth, is a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in WWII. The word ‘ranks’ does some heavy lifting here to show that these pioneering women, serving in the first American women’s expeditionary force, were indeed soldiers. I hope the title brings up the question, who would want to kill one of these soldiers? And why?

What's in a name?

I wanted Dottie Lincoln’s name to be as American as apple pie. I wanted her to be relatable. At the same time, her name is a choice she’s made. Her full name is Dorothea Lincoln von Raven. Her father was in the army and married a French woman while stationed in Germany after the Great War. Dottie’s chosen name hides a somewhat checkered past and puts her in danger. It is also part of her attempt to redefine herself - as a woman, as an American and as a soldier.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

I don’t expect my teenage self would be too surprised by Murder in the Ranks. In many ways, this book reflects a lot of my own childhood experiences. I grew up as an Air Force brat, surrounded by military men and women. I was always fascinated with women in uniform. My Dad was a fighter pilot and at one point, he was stationed at a German Air Force base. The nearest American base was almost five hours away and we were the only Americans in town. I went to the local school and learned German. Dottie’s childhood experiences are similar to my own. She is the daughter of a military man, who was stationed in occupied Germany after the Great War.

I’ve also always had a fascination with history, especially military history. When we lived in England, my parents would take me to the local pub and I’d listen to all the stories of the old-timers who’d survived the Blitz and Dunkirk and many other battles. In Germany, my best friend’s Dad had served in both World War I and World War II. I majored in history and German in college. A few years ago, I discovered the 149th Post Headquarters Company, the first American women soldiers to serve in a combat theater, and I knew I had to write about them. I’ve also been a fan of mysteries since I was a kid. It started with Nancy Drew mysteries and Agatha Christie. Again, being stationed in England when I was in elementary school, I was fascinated with mysteries and touring castles and some of the great houses only fueled that obsession. So, yes, in many ways, Murder in the Ranks was inevitable!

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings are always harder! When I start writing, I’m writing to explore. To suss out the story buried in a bunch of facts and random ideas. It’s only when I come to the end of the book that I really know how the story should start. It’s only at the end of the story that I truly know who my main character is. Dottie Lincoln starts Murder in the Ranks as an insecure, somewhat weak person, who shields herself from rel connections with the soldiers in her company. By the end of the story, she is coming out of her shell. She learns to stand up and fight for what’s right. During the process of investigating the murder of her fellow soldier, Ruth Wentz, Dottie steps into a fuller version of herself. But to show that progression, I had to start Dottie off on a mission destined for failure.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Every character in my book has a connection to my personality. Even the killer! I don’t know how to write characters completely alien from myself. I’m not sure that’s possible. One thing I enjoy about writing is having the opportunity to explore multiple facets of personality and choice. Our choices are what define us. Writing and reading stories allow us to explore multiple avenues of decision making and multiple versions of ourselves.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

My biggest inspiration is always the research. After I discovered the 149th Post Headquarters Company, I was granted permission to do research at the U.S. Army Women’s Museum. Nothing inspired me more to write Murder in the Ranks than reading the personal accounts of the women who served under General Eisenhower in Algiers, North Africa. One WAAC in particular did an oral interview, and she talked about how her husband told her after the war not to tell anyone she’d served in the military because it wasn’t ladylike. She also suffered PTSD from the bombardments in early 1943. Whenever the work got hard, I thought of this WAAC and pressed on. These women were true pioneers, and they paved the way for women to serve in combat today. Nothing inspires me more than these brave women soldiers.

Visit Kristi Jones's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Midge Raymond

Midge Raymond is the author of the novels Floreana and My Last Continent, the short-story collection Forgetting English, and, with coauthor John Yunker, the mystery novel Devils Island. Her writing has appeared in TriQuarterly, Bellevue Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, Chicago Tribune, Poets & Writers, and many other publications. She has taught at Boston University, Boston’s Grub Street Writers, Seattle’s Hugo House, and San Diego Writers, Ink. Raymond lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she is co-founder of the boutique publisher Ashland Creek Press.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I hope it pulls readers right in! This was a tough book to title because Floreana has two narrators—women who, a century apart, struggle with love, family, and buried secrets—and it’s set in two eras on one island that has changed remarkably in the past hundred years. It was challenging to find a title that would incorporate a real-life, unsolved murder mystery, penguin conservation, and two women who seem very different but whose struggles are very similar despite the years between them. In the end, my hope is that the title Floreana offers a sense of place and of intrigue to readers.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

She would probably be quite surprised by the setting. As a younger person, I was interested in cities, not remote places. Now I’d much prefer to travel to the middle of nowhere than to a city—I’m not sure my teenage self would appreciate that. On the other hand, I think Teen Midge might recognize the struggles of the women in the story—the challenges of trying to find yourself by living life a certain way, and then wondering what you might’ve done differently.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

The blank page is the hardest for me; I always love to have an idea of where my story is headed when I get started. But if I waited for an easy beginning or to know where things would end up, I’d never write a thing! So I just have to dive in, and this is why my early drafts are a mess. I would say I rewrite beginnings and endings an equal number of countless times.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Animals and scientists—especially endangered species and humans in conservation work. In the contemporary narrative of Floreana, Mallory is returning to the task of building nests to give Galápagos penguins safe places to raise their chicks, and her fictional work is based on real work being done by the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels at the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park. The humans who devote their lives to saving and protecting animals—whether endangered species or stray cats or abused farm animals—are my heroes.

Learn more about the author and her work at Midge Raymond's website.

The Page 69 Test: My Last Continent.

Writers Read: Midge Raymond (June 2016).

The Page 69 Test: Floreana.

--Marshal Zeringue

Kate MacIntosh

Kate MacIntosh is always in search of the perfect bottle of wine, a great book, and a swoon worthy period costume drama. You’ll find her in Vancouver making friends with every dog she meets, teaching writing, and listening to true crime podcasts while lounging on the sofa in sweats and spouting random historical facts she finds interesting.

MacIntosh's new novel is The Champagne Letters.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Over twenty years ago, I was lucky enough to be traveling in France and I visited the Champagne region. In between tours of different wineries and copious amounts of free samples, I heard the story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, the founder of Veuve Clicquot. How do you not find a woman fascinating who runs a business, develops new innovations, works with smugglers to get her champagne out of the country during the Napoleonic war, and was a widow raising a daughter? I scribbled in my travel journal that I thought she would make a great character. That’s when I learned widows founded many of the great champagne houses. At the time, the only way a woman could own a business was if they were a widow. The present-day character is divorced, but she often thinks it would be easier if she were a widow, if her husband died instead of that he chose to leave her. That gave me the initial title for the story: The Champagne Widows.

When I had a publishing deal, the editor and I discussed the title. There was already a book with the title The Champagne Widows. Although there are many books with the same title, we decided to change it to avoid confusion. There were endless lists of options. Contenders included: Champagne Secrets, The Women of Champagne, The Widow’s Guide, The Champagne Gamble. In the end we went with The Champagne Letters, which, when we stumbled upon it, seemed the perfect fit.

The book goes back and forth between the 1800s where the Barbe-Nicole Clicquot is writing letters to her great-granddaughter to tell her about her life, and the present day when Natalie has fled her divorce and run away to Paris for vacation. Natalie finds a book of letters from the Widow and uses those to help her chart her new direction.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

Growing up, I spent so much time worrying about what other people thought. Were they mad? Did I have their approval? Did I seem to them as awkward and odd as I felt? I would love to have my teenage self read the book and perhaps begin to understand that there’s never a way to make everyone happy. Trying to please people (sometimes total strangers) and constantly checking to see other’s opinions, is a recipe for disaster. Hopefully, my teenager self would be inspired to consider what she wants for her own life.

I’m also quite certain that my nerdy teenage self would love all the historical details and odd facts. History has always fascinated me.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

The beginning of the book was always clear. I knew I wanted to start the Widow’s story with her husband dying, as that was when her life as an independent woman began. For Natalie in the present day, I knew I wanted to get her to France as soon as possible, that’s when her adventure starts. The ending, however… that was much murkier.

The story in the past is based on the real life of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, so her story already had a clear timeline. My only challenge was deciding what to include and what to leave out. My story ends with her success in launching the champagne house, but she would live until her 80s and had many more adventures.

The present-day story kept surprising me. I thought I knew what would happen, but suddenly things took a turn I hadn’t expected. An early reader commented, “I didn’t see that twist coming,” and I thought neither did I. I did several revisions of the ending and when I came up with the final scene, it seemed as if it had been planned. Various details, the jeweller the ring etc, were already in the story, so perhaps a corner of my brain (or my heart) knew it before the rest of me.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

As I mentioned earlier, the real-life story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was a big inspiration. The biography The Widow Clicquot, by Tilar Mazzeo, is fascinating.

However, the present-day story line had a more personal connection. A few years ago, my marriage blew up. It was right before my 50th birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary. We’d already booked, and pre-paid, for a big anniversary trip to France. Unexpectedly, I’d lost the person I thought was my best friend, my home, and half the belongings we’d spent our lives collecting. I was sure as hell not going to lose that trip. So, I went without him. Unlike the character in my book who ends up in several adventures, including one with a dashing Frenchmen, I spent a lot of time walking around Paris and eating my body weight in cheese. But I left that trip with an idea for a novel and the reminder that I’m a capable and strong person. The character Natalie isn’t a direct reflection of me or my former marriage, but I certainly used that experience. One of the best parts of fiction is unlike real life, you can control it.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

What doesn’t influence my writing? Wine, great food, travel, history, just about any random show on the BBC, overheard conversations, news, my life, and stories of friends and family. When I’m asked where to find ideas for books, I think that is never the problem. Finding time to write all the ideas I have is the daunting task. I find the world a fascinating place and I'm constantly asking myself, what if….?

Visit Kate MacIntosh's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Champagne Letters.

My Book The Movie: The Champagne Letters.

--Marshal Zeringue

Yvonne Battle-Felton

photo credit: Marat Battle

Yvonne Battle-Felton was born in Pennsylvania and raised in New Jersey before moving to Maryland. She currently lives in Yorkshire, England with her family. Battle-Felton holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in creative writing from Lancaster University. She is an associate teaching professor and the academic director of creative writing at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. Her debut novel, Remembered, won a Northern Writers’ Award, and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize.

Battle-Felton's new novel is Curdle Creek.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think the title captures the essence of the book really well. The title of the book is the name of the town and so much of the book is about the way the town operates, the cost of living there, the secrets it keeps. It’s not an entirely bad place or at least, there’s a rationale for how it came to be the way that it is so for a while, I flirted with the title: A Good Place for Bad Things. But the idea of the town came to me maybe seven years ago. I grew up in a rural town called Sweetwater. It was a town where nothing much seemed to happen. In many ways, Curdle Creek is the opposite of that. So, seven years ago I wrote a short story about characters about to experience their first Moving On ceremony. The town was Curdle Creek then and when I revisited it in my imagination the town and the title just fit.

What's in a name?

In the short story I wrote, Osira’s name was Riley. She was 16 then. Now, she’s 45 and the name Riley just didn’t seem to fit her, not with all of the life she’s seen and all of the Moving On’s she’s participated in. She’s had a lifetime of loss. I was rolling old names around in my mouth, feeling how they tripped off of the tongue. The name Osirus came first. I like the way it sounds and feels. That it’s also the name of the ancient Egyptian God of the Underworld is not quite intentional. Osira is named after her father. There’s likely a story in that.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Teenage me would love Curdle Creek. But, she would want more mystery and less horror. Teenage me was quite squeamish. She was afraid of movies like The Hand and The Blob. Not that they looked realistic but maybe even more so because they didn’t. So while she wouldn’t read it in its entirety, she would absolutely love parts of the book. Still, she’d be a little surprised and maybe a little worried too that we wrote it.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find it harder to write beginnings because I don’t start with them. I get to know the characters through scenes. So, I play with them in different settings with different characters, at different times of their lives to see who they are, what they want, and what they’re willing to do to get it. My way into the story, into caring about the characters, is not the same point that I introduce them to readers at. Often, the scenes I think will be the opening don’t even end up in the book. But endings, I love an ending. Even in life there’s something satisfying about an ending, something inevitable that’s sort of comforting. It’s not that I’ll know what the ending will be when I start the book. I don’t. That’s what keeps me curious and helps me return to the page. I write to see what will happen.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Whenever I write a first-person narrator my inner villain takes over. Even if it’s for a bit. There are likely parts of me in quite a few of the characters, especially in the first drafts. The more I get to know them, the more they become their own entities and the less of me they need (or the less of me I need to write). Osira doesn’t start out with it but she ends up with some of my inner rebel. Other characters might have a bit of my sense of humor, slivers of my outlook, my competitive nature. I crack my knuckles constantly. It’s a way of relieving stress. I gave Osira that habit as a way of managing hers. But, in her community, she can’t even do that freely. But, Osira is also a rule follower. Even when she loses everyone she loves, she likes the reassurance of rules. In that respect, she and I are worlds apart.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I often write to music It might be something melancholy and moody like classical orchestra or something upbeat and full of tension like jazz. Music helps me to capture the rhythms of language and reminds me to let go, have fun, explore. These days I’m inspired by nature. The brightness of moon, the inquisitiveness of robins, the resourcefulness of squirrels, all of it. There are stories in my own backyard. Remembering that makes me remember that stories are everywhere and everyone has a unique way of bringing them to life.

Visit Yvonne Battle-Felton's website.

The Page 69 Test: Curdle Creek.

My Book, The Movie: Curdle Creek.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jennifer K. Morita

Jennifer K. Morita is a former reporter for the Sacramento Bee and is a writer for University Communications at Sacramento State. She is a fourth-generation Asian American who lived in Hawaii as a child. Morita is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and the current president of her local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She was a finalist for the 2022 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award.

Ghosts of Waikīkī is Morita's first novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Two lessons I learned early on in my publication journey:

You can judge a book by its cover, and

A rose by any other name, does not smell as sweet.

In other words, the title and cover of your book matter a lot, particularly for debut authors such as myself, who have to hook new readers with two or three words that convey the book’s plot, theme, and vibe.

And I thought Tweets were bad.

Ghosts of Waikīkī is a tongue-and-cheek reference to Maya Wong, an out-of-work newspaper reporter who reluctantly returns home to Hawaiʻi to take a ghostwriting gig for a rich, controversial developer whose family paved over much of O‘ahu. Although she was born and raised on the islands (not Native Hawaiian), Maya has been away for a long time. When a man dies under suspicious circumstances her first day on the job, she searches for the truth about an enigmatic stranger in the middle of a murder investigation while trying to reconnect with her family and friends.

What's in a name?

I named Maya Wong, the protagonist in Ghosts of Waikīkī, when I was pregnant with my first daughter. I’d always loved the name Maya, but my husband, a middle school teacher at the time who had upwards of a hundred students a year, shot it down. “There’s a Maya in every single one of my classes,” he said.

I was tempted to dig in my heels, even go as far as filling out the birth certificate when his back was turned. Until I realized Maya was the main character for the mystery series I’d been thinking about writing.

Our daughter was a teenager by the time I actually started writing the manuscript, and Maya still didn’t have a surname. I was experimenting with a variety of Japanese and Chinese last names, not able to move forward with plotting until I knew who my character was, when my cousin Christina - a Wong - texted to wish me a happy birthday.

And that is how Maya Wong got her name.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

My teenage self would be shocked.

For one, the thought of being a real author seemed like a crazy pipe dream. I always wanted to be a writer. I would doodle silly stories in spiral notebooks (before my family had a computer) and never finish them. The blank pages were too daunting. The idea that I would write an entire novel, let alone get someone to publish it, seemed as attainable as becoming the Queen of England.

But more importantly, there weren’t a lot of mystery novels written by and about Asian American women when I was a teenager, certainly not when I was devouring Nancy Drews as a kid.

Today, the middle grade, YA, and adult fiction landscape is changing and becoming more reflective of the world we live in. But make no mistake, we still have a long way to go. Diversity in fiction, particularly genre fiction, is necessary to show the true breadth and richness of the people who make up this country’s culture. There’s nothing better than to walk into a shop and see a display of books with characters who look like you and your kids.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings. I lost track of how many times I wrote and rewrote the beginning of Ghosts of Waikīkī. Sometimes, I still have to think about which version I eventually settled on. For me the beginning is a lot like writing a lede for a newspaper article — I know a good one when it comes to me, but it may take a lot of massaging to make it work.

I was probably halfway through plotting the manuscript when I got the idea of how it should end, so I jumped ahead and jotted it down. The last line may be the only sentence in the entire book that never changed.

Visit Jennifer K. Morita's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jen Marie Wiggins

Jen Marie Wiggins's first book, the gifty nonfiction title Married AF: A Funny Guide for the Newlywed or Bride, was published in 2022. She has a background in advertising and public relations, and her writing has appeared in Southern Coastal Weddings, Savannah Magazine, Savannah Homes, and elsewhere.

Wiggins's new novel is The Good Bride.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The Good Bride plays into the story on several levels. Ruth has been talked into this large wedding as a means of promoting her beloved coastal summer town which was decimated by a hurricane. She is also a people pleaser and concerned with doing the right thing in the impossible situations she’s placed in by her family.

What’s in a name?

I gave my main character the name of Ruth because it means loyal which is a trait that defines her on many levels. At the beginning of The Good Bride, she struggles with being able to stand up for herself to her family. When things go awry and all these creepy things happen, I wanted part of her journey to be finding and drawing on a new strength within herself.

How surprised would your teenage reader-self be by your novel?

Very! I don’t think my teenager self would believe I wrote one. I always loved reading and writing but the idea of being a writer terrified me. It was something I always wanted to do and came to later in life after I turned 40 and summoned the courage. (so I suppose maybe I am a bit more like Ruth than I realize lol)

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change

I start with the end in mind and tend to bounce around. With my new book, I am using more of an outline than I have in the past. Writing is progressive and it’s usually one scene, one character’s point of view that stokes the muse.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I think everyone struggles with wanting to please others. I definitely have a much stronger personality than Ruth. I tend to say what I think. I do have two sisters like Ruth (though they are nothing like her crazy sisters.) It was fun to draw on that playfulness that sisters share and how only family can and will say certain things to you.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Pat Conroy made me want to become a writer. There was something about the honesty in his writing that really spoke to me. Carol Joyce Oates and Wally Lamb also influenced me.

Visit Jen Marie Wiggins's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Good Bride.

--Marshal Zeringue

Katryn Bury

Katryn Bury is the author of the critically acclaimed Drew Leclair mysteries. A lifelong true crime nerd, she holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology/criminology. Bury works with middle grade readers as a library technician by day and writes mysterious coming-of-age stories for those same readers by night. She lives in California with her family, along with a vast collection of pop-culture knickknacks and Nancy Drew books.

Bury's new middlegrade novel is We Are Not Alone.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

This is such an interesting question, because what changed between my proposed title (Alone in the Universe) and the published title (We Are Not Alone) was as simple as the stakes. My original title told the reader a lot about how my main character, Sam Kepler Greyson, feels when the story starts. My editor thought—and now I agree—that we should tweak the title to indicate a spark of hope between how Sam feels at the beginning and the end. We’re introduced to Sam just after his best friend, Oscar, has died from cancer—but also after he goes into remission. Because he thinks that no other kid can possibly understand how he feels, he does feel very alone in the universe. But, upon finding Cat, he realizes that there may be others like him, who come to this feeling for their own reasons—and are also looking for a partner in exploring those unanswered questions in life.

What's in a name?

I spend a lot of time naming my characters, because I really want to convey their background, as well as the demographics of the location I’m writing about. Sam having two last names is important because he has two moms—and I wanted both to be represented to indicate the weight of that relationship. I also wanted a name that would reflect Sam’s identity as a culturally Jewish kid (Sam is a familial name on my married side). Kepler is a German name, where Sam’s biologically maternal family comes from, but is also a nod to the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who looked to astronomy and the stars for the answers—just like Sam. Cat’s last name is personal, because I wanted to reflect her unique heritage as someone of Chilean-Italian descent, a private connection for me as someone who saw a large section of Italians sharing my real last name become major historical figures in Chile.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

My teenage self would perhaps not be surprised to read this book—especially since I experienced a loss very much like Sam’s at only thirteen years old (my best friend). However, I think my teenage self would be surprised that I was able to summon the resilience and confidence to keep writing through rejections, as I had already experienced so many as a teen sending my work out to small presses.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find beginnings impossible because, while the story tends to play out in my head as I write, I don’t truly get to know my own characters until I’ve written a first draft. Because of this, I almost always have to re-write my whole first chapter to reflect where my character is emotionally at the start of the book. By the time I get to the end, I have a handle on what type of ending I want my character to have. With my first books, I wanted a sense of comfort and completion, because I find the solution part of mysteries to be very comforting. But, with We Are Not Alone, I wanted to intentionally leave it up to the reader to decide what they think happens at the end. What the reader takes from the ending is truly reflective of what kind of person they are!

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I always tell the students I connect with at author visits that, if you’re a writer, you can tell your own story a thousand different ways. Because I’m someone who prefers first-person narrative, I also prefer to write from my own experience. I start with a seed—one or two things that have happened to me personally— and then I let the story grow its own way from that seed. In We Are Not Alone, the root of the story is very much based on my own feelings after my best friend died at fourteen, and then my own experience going through cancer treatment and entering remission.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I like to take inspiration wherever I find it! Often, my story ideas are born from some injustice—whether it’s something I see in a movie or show that sparks a memory—or the inequity and pain I see in the world. When my eyes and brain are tired and I need a reading break, I tend to envelop myself in stories of all kinds. For this book in particular, I think any fan of The X-Files will see a very strong inspiration there. Sam and Cat, in and of themselves, are like Mulder and Scully—one who is curious but needs evidence, and the other a true believer. Their shared favorite show is one called Otherworld—an invented story that has a very X-Files vibe to it.

Visit Katryn Bury's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Robin Morris

Robin Morris has had a lifelong obsession with books and cats. She works in finance and is a certified book editor, a literary agent assistant, and an author of fiction and nonfiction.

Morris's new novel is The Days Between

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The title is dropped at the end of chapter five when the main character, Andrew, decides to find out what happened in the days between the last time he saw his one who got away, Kathryn, and their chance encounter in chapter one.

If Andrew handn't gotten curious about those days between, he would not have unraveled his "perfect" life.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Considering I had the first few sparks of an idea for this book as a teen, I think teenage Robin would be very proud that it is a physical book with pages and readers! Never give up, guys!

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I find the beginning and the endings to be the easiest part of storytelling. It's weaving the parts together in a compelling way that is the most difficult.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I see parts of myself in all of them, both good and bad. I found Andrew the easiest to connect with and write, and Amy's drive and brilliance was the most difficult for me to channel. If I were in her position, I may not have had the patience and emotional control she has, which is tough for me to imagine.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I feel I absorb parts of storytelling through all sources: TV, movies, song lyrics and personal connections. Even interactions I see in public will inspire a scene or dialogue.

Visit Robin Morris's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Days Between.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lilli Sutton

Lilli Sutton writes contemporary adult fiction. She holds a BA in English from Shepherd University. From Maryland, she now lives in Colorado. She draws inspiration for her writing from the natural world and the intricacies of human relationships.

When she's not writing, she's usually cooking, hiking, or trying to keep up with her ever-growing TBR list.

Sutton's new novel is Running Out of Air.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

There’s something about evoking the air (or lack of air) and books about mountaineering—Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and Breathless by Amy McCulloch, among others. The world’s tallest mountains call to mind a lack of oxygen, and I think that’s a large part of our fascination with them, and the people who chose to climb to heights where there literally isn’t enough oxygen to maintain physical functioning. They don’t call it the death zone for nothing.

Running Out of Air wasn’t the original title, though—it alluded to the John Muir quote “The mountains are calling and I must go.” My publisher pushed for a title change to highlight the thriller elements of the novel, and I’m happy with where we landed. It nestles the book among the other stories, fiction and nonfiction, of the high mountains. And of course, literally running out of air is an unpleasant and dangerous experience—which hints at what happens later in the novel.

What's in a name?

The fictional Himalayan mountain in my book, Yama Parvat, is named after Yama, a Hindu deity of death and justice. That alone tells the reader just about everything they need to know about the mountain itself, but whether the mountain delivers justice with a fair hand is left up to interpretation. I went with a fictional mountain, rather a new route up an existing mountain, because I wanted the reason for Evelyn and Sophie to physically reunite to be monumental, historical. Yama Parvat exists, in Running Out of Air, as “the last great question,” the fifteenth, and only unclimbed, 8000-meter mountain on earth. When the opportunity for an expedition arises, neither sister can say no.

I wanted the mountain to have a bit of a dreamlike quality, too. The weather on Yama Parvat plays a large role, as do its misleading physical features. Is the mountain sentient, doling out judgement of sinners like its namesake, Yama? Or is it merely nature, random acts of unfeeling ecological systems?

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

I’ll go with medium-surprised. I always loved contemporary fiction, even as a teenager. I read some fantasy, but I preferred stories set in the real world. I do think she’d be surprised about the subject of mountaineering, mainly because I didn’t develop an interest in that until I was solidly in adulthood, though I’ve always loved being outside in nature. She would also probably wonder why it doesn’t have more romance. I still enjoy the occasional romcom, but I don’t think I could write one!

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

It’s definitely harder for me to write beginnings. I find it so difficult to know the exact moment at which to enter a character’s world. The original first chapter of Running Out of Air was slower and more introspective. While everything in that chapter was relevant and went a long way to establish relationship dynamics and frame the story, it lacked the excitement and tension of the expedition chapters, and didn’t feature the sisters on page together.

While querying agents, I ended up completely scrapping that first chapter and writing a new one—a short scene that flashes forward to the climax of the story, featuring Sophie and Evelyn together on Yama Parvat. I won’t give away too many details, but it’s full of tension, drama, and a literal cliffhanger.

Regarding the novel’s ending, it has remained largely unchanged since I first wrote it—some details have been added or removed, and of course there’s been work to develop the characters’ reactions, but otherwise, it’s the same final chapter after which I first typed “THE END.” That being said, I didn’t know how the last few chapters of the story would go until I wrote them. I joined the expedition and let my characters lead the way.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I don’t like to write characters that are too connected to me. They need to feel like separate, fully-formed people whose world I’m briefly entering. Fiction, to me, is about escapism and traveling through words, so I’ve never been tempted to write myself into my characters. That being said, I can only step so far away from my own experience of the world, so there are little traits and mannerisms that might be some of “me” in my characters. For example, I relate to Evelyn’s doubts about her path in life.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I love watching documentaries for inspiration. I’d be remiss to not mention the incredible, moving documentary The Alpinist, about Marc-André Leclerc.

I really enjoy the Smithsonian magazine; it’s taught me a lot about subjects I was completely unfamiliar with before, and frequently sends me down research rabbit holes. I have a similar relationship with The New York Times, i.e., I open the app to play a Crossword and end up reading a fascinating article.

When I’m feeling stuck creatively, I cook, listen to music or podcasts, and engage in other creative hobbies. Nothing beats spending time outside, though—a good walk or hike with nothing playing in my ears, just quiet time to let my mind wander and take in all the beauty and intricacy that abounds in nature. I’ve solved many insurmountable plot problems with a long walk.

Visit Lilli Sutton's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Suja Sukumar

Suja Sukumar loves hanging out in coffee shops and Indian restaurants, drawing inspiration from naan and malai kofta, masala chai and lassi. She is a senior staff physician at a health system in suburban Detroit, where she lives with her husband; two wonderful, beautiful kids; and an elderly cat.

When Mimi Went Missing is her debut novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

My title will give readers some idea of what the story is about since the plot revolves around the events leading up to and after Mimi's disappearance. Though, while it tells you that Mimi does disappear, you won't know (until you read the first chapter) that it actually centers around the fractured relationship between once close cousins Mimi and Tanvi. As you read further, you'll realize the depth of that fracture as Mimi vanishes and Tanvi becomes a suspect in the murder investigation.

What's in a name?

One of my characters goes by the nickname Mimi but her real name is Lakshmi. I wanted to show that she's Indian and Hindu but also have a name that's familiar to the audience here in the US.

No specific reason for choosing Tanvi for my main character except that I like that name a lot.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

My teenage self wouldn't be too surprised by the genre of my novel. I loved reading mysteries as a teen, and my favorite author was Agatha Christie. I was particularly drawn by the psychological intrigues in her novels and how the darkest secrets were hidden in the most tranquil appearing places. I wanted to set my novel in a small town for that very reason.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I found the ending a lot easier to write. I had an idea of what the ending would be like with the first draft itself, and this ending didn't change much during edits.

But the beginning was tricky. I wanted to show the main character interacting with her cousin so readers would catch onto their rocky relationship. I also wanted to introduce Tanvi's bully and the inciting event which initiated the entire cascade of events leading to Mimi's disappearance. And I also wanted to show Tanvi's state of mind--the backstory of her parents' murder-suicide and how this shaped who she was.

Needless to say, I had to do a ton of edits on my first pages to get the formula just right. Hooking the reader without boring them is critical in the first pages.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Representation was one element that inspired me. I wrote When Mimi Went Missing because I hadn't seen many YA suspense novels featuring main characters from the South Asian diaspora.

I also wanted to reflect intersectionality within the South Asian diaspora--socioeconomic disparity, mental health, and bullying faced by teen girls in school.

My next couple of works reflect environmentalism and the fight against patriarchy.

Visit Suja Sukumar's website.

--Marshal Zeringue