Deceived - An Interview

I'm pleased to welcome Mary Keliikoa back to Cozy Up With Kathy. Mary writes the Kelly Pruett Mystery series. Deceived is the third book in the series and today is its release day!

Kathy: In Deceived Kelly Pruett goes undercover at a homeless shelter. Is homelessness an issue you wanted to explore?

MK: It was an issue I wanted to explore for a couple of reasons. First, it’s obviously top of conversation these days. There are real problems with homelessness throughout the country and in the Portland area where the book is set. Second, I have a couple of family members that have been personally touched by homelessness in their lives and I wanted to show that not everyone gets to homelessness in the same way.

In addition, it also served the story I wanted to tell about Kelly’s journey towards finding balance in career and motherhood, and having her champion two young women that have gone missing from the shelter, married nicely into that.
 

Kathy: In this third mystery Kelly investigates missing and murdered young women. May 5th happens to be National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Did you plan this plot to coincide with this day? Why is it important to bring awareness to the subject of missing women?

MK: I didn’t plan it to work out this way. My publisher sets the dates of publication, and I debuted in May 2020, and they’ve kept to that schedule. That said – it’s wonderful that it has worked out to be in the vicinity of such an important date. While my characters are not indigenous women, I think anything that can shine a light on the real problems of women in our society to find their place, how easily they can be victimized, and the dangers they face, is very important. If my book can serve to change a perspective or expand someone’s view on the subject, then I’ve contributed in some small way and that is always important to me.

Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?

MK: Really the inspiration came from the core story that I wanted to tell. The reader finds out in the book that Kelly’s own mom has ties to the homeless shelter. Ties that she didn’t realize and it throws Kelly off. As Kelly reflects on her own maternal instincts, I also felt that bringing her into a shelter of women would bring those to the surface.

I also wanted to show the different reasons why people are homeless. There’s no quick and easy answers, but there are a lot of pre-conceived ideas of why people are on the street. And while some of those ideas might be correct…there are so many other factors that can play in. I wanted to show those women that Kelly encountered as real people and their struggles without hammering the reader over the head on the solutions.


Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Kelly?

MK: At this point, Kelly has completed her three-book arc. I do have many more ideas for Kelly. The wonderful aspect of writing a PI novel is that with every new book, there is a new case, and new wrongs to be righted. However, at this time, I am taking a pause in Kelly’s journey, and will return to her later as I have a new series featuring a small-town sheriff releasing in September.


Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?

MK: I would say I fall firmly into Team Panster. But I do have some ideas of the character, the crime, and the ending before I start. I often write a one or two page synopsis or back cover on the story—mostly hitting the high points.

However, I just don’t know how I’ll get to that ending necessarily, and that’s where the pantsing comes in. Since I enjoy discovering the character and the plot as I go, the process has worked great for me.


Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing, especially for a new release. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?

MK: Well, what I like least is asking people to buy my books. I’m like most writers—we are happiest creating our stories. And I definitely love that I get to share them. But I’m not big on trying to convince people to buy. I don’t like being sold to—and I don’t like doing that to others.

Unfortunately, if you don’t try to raise your voice a little, you’ll never be seen since in today’s market the publisher does little to nothing to help you rise above the hundreds of books that hit the market each week. So I do ask mostly because I want to continue to write and publishing is a business. If you don’t sell your books, then you might not get the interest of a publisher to write future books.

Probably my favorite part of marketing though has been meeting so many wonderful people and talking about books in general! I love being on podcasts, talking on blogs like this, and just getting to talk about the story and the process of writing itself. Mystery writers and readers in particular are fascinating, and our love of good books and story is evident in every person I’ve been blessed to meet. Those conversations are definitely the highpoint of marketing for me. 

**********************************************************************

Blurb:

PI Kelly Pruett finally feels like she's coming into her own. With her personal life well on track, a gig uncovering what drove a client's granddaughter underground could be good for business. But after her undercover operation at the homeless shelter reveals rampant drug dealing, she's suddenly kicked off the case... just as another girl goes missing.

Vowing to expose the truth even if it means pro-bono work, Kelly is taken aback when her half-sister helps her hunt down answers in a tent city brimming with distrust. When her investigation doesn't move quickly enough to save a second woman from a vicious murder, Kelly doubles her efforts unwilling to accept defeat.

*****************************************************************************

MARY KELIIKOA is the author of the Lefty, Agatha, and Anthony award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series, as well as the upcoming Misty Pines mystery series featuring Sheriff Jax Turner slated for release in September 2022. She has had mystery shorts published in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the ’60s. She spent the first 18 years of her adult life working around lawyers. Combining her love of all things legal and books, she creates twisting mysteries where justice prevails.

At home in Washington, she enjoys spending time with her family and her fur-kids. When not at home, you can find Mary on a beach on the Big Island where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is. To learn more about Mary’s life and work, please visit: https://marykeliikoa.com/