Ask the Author: Kris Calvin
Answered Questions (5)
Kris Calvin
Hi Elizabeth,
I appreciate the questions! That said, I'm going to be a little circumspect in the first answer so that it doesn't contain spoilers.
A few years ago a bill requiring that any cell phone use while driving be hands-free was enacted in California. I was peripherally involved in its passage and knew some of the conversations around research that went into the design of the bill. That experience was definitely on my mind when I developed the plot for One Murder More.
The premise of profiting from prior knowledge of potential new laws as a motive for crime is not something I've heard otherwise discussed (although it might have been). But my background includes graduate work in economics, so I am always looking for the "money" incentive/angle on things. as you know, that emerged as a core thread in this story.
This book features lobbyist/ amateur sleuth Maren Kane. I enjoyed writing about Maren and feel like I'm just getting to know her. So while this might be her only story since it stands alone, I could see treating it as a prequel to one or more later books in the thriller genre, since that is what I am interested in next!
Again, thank you for taking the time to write. I look forward to continued dialogue with you, as I hope to learn and grow as a writer.
Kris
I appreciate the questions! That said, I'm going to be a little circumspect in the first answer so that it doesn't contain spoilers.
A few years ago a bill requiring that any cell phone use while driving be hands-free was enacted in California. I was peripherally involved in its passage and knew some of the conversations around research that went into the design of the bill. That experience was definitely on my mind when I developed the plot for One Murder More.
The premise of profiting from prior knowledge of potential new laws as a motive for crime is not something I've heard otherwise discussed (although it might have been). But my background includes graduate work in economics, so I am always looking for the "money" incentive/angle on things. as you know, that emerged as a core thread in this story.
This book features lobbyist/ amateur sleuth Maren Kane. I enjoyed writing about Maren and feel like I'm just getting to know her. So while this might be her only story since it stands alone, I could see treating it as a prequel to one or more later books in the thriller genre, since that is what I am interested in next!
Again, thank you for taking the time to write. I look forward to continued dialogue with you, as I hope to learn and grow as a writer.
Kris
Kris Calvin
Second book in Maren Kane mystery series!
Kris Calvin
I think this advice is the most frequently given, but that may be because it works: Write every day at the same time for at least a set minimum that you can manage with your schedule (hopefully an hour). Every day. No planned days off. (Although one may happen, it should be rare).If you live with others, get their buy-in that this is your protected time to write. If you have small children, schedule it before or after they are usually up, and pray the gods of childhood sleep are with you.
You can do this.
You can do this.
Kris Calvin
The best thing about being a writer is...writing.
It is my joy, my salve, and my path out of pain and the mundane.
It is my joy, my salve, and my path out of pain and the mundane.
Kris Calvin
When I have trouble writing I stop and read a chapter by an author who I feel writes in a similar tone and with the balance of dialogue to narrative that I like. For some reason,the block eases when I expose myself to someone else successfully employing the written word to tell their story.
Author John Lescroart, author of the Dismas Hardy series, has come to my rescue this way many times.
Author John Lescroart, author of the Dismas Hardy series, has come to my rescue this way many times.
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