Ask the Author: Kathryn Reiss
Answered Questions (7)
Kathryn Reiss
Hi Christin! I've written eight books for American Girl. The first two were some years ago before the company was bought by Mattel (yes, the toy manufacturer!); they were part of an American Girl series called History Mysteries, where intrepid young girls from eras in America's past solve mysteries. The fun for me was in bringing a particular time in the past to life while also inventing a character and a mystery for her to solve! My two History Mysteries are: THE STRANGE CASE OF BABY H and RIDDLE OF THE PRAIRIE BRIDE. Then, after Mattel bought the company and wanted books that had doll/toy tie-ins, that line of books was sold to Rosen Windmill Press., who reissued the books in a line called Mysteries in Time. So they're still available, but not published any more by American Girl. I was asked to write some mysteries for three different American Girl characters, and have done four 'Julie' mysteries, and 1 'Kit' mystery, and 1 'Rebecca' mystery. The Julie mysteries are set in the 1970's: THE TANGLED WEB, PUZZLE OF THE PAPER DAUGHTER, THE SILVER GUITAR, and (forthcoming this winter) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. My Kit mystery is set during the Great Depression, in 1935: INTRUDERS AT RIVERMEAD MANOR. and my Rebecca mystery is set in 1915: A BUNDLE OF TROUBLE. THey're all a lot of fun to write, but also strange because I didn't create the characters myself, as I have done in all my other books. I hope you'll check them all out!
Kathryn Reiss
I have no lack of ideas bouncing around in my head! That's never been a problem. But finding TIME to write is harder, since I am also a professor of English, and a mom to many. I have to clear the decks, brew up a good hot pot of tea, and sit down for a three hour stretch. Only then does the story start unfolding properly.
Kathryn Reiss
My most recent book, Intruders at Rivermead Manor, was published by American Girl in March 2014. Now I'm turning my time to publishing my first ebook--MURDER AT HEATHERSTONE HALL--which is a sequel to BLACKTHORN WINTER, my YA murder mystery published by Harcourt in 2006. The ebook will also have a print option.
Kathryn Reiss
My advice for aspiring authors is something you've probably heard before: read! Read everything you can get your hands on, and then more besides. Read everything in the genre you most enjoy; that way you'll be sure NOT to write something too similar when you begin your own book. And the second piece of advice, after you've read everything and are ready to start your own novel: sit down a write out an outline. Just a list, even, of beginning, middle and end so you have a map for your journey. You don't need to stick to it, but it helps to know the plan.
Kathryn Reiss
The best thing for me is having a way to get all the stories jumping around in my head down on paper. And that other people want to read those stories is a huge bonus for me, and always (still) feels like a small miracle. In a more practical sense, writing is a great job for someone who enjoys being at home as much as I do. No commute!
Kathryn Reiss
Writer's block comes when a story isn't working--which is usually because there's something in the plot I've outlined that doesn't really work. So I'll take the dogs for a long walk... because I find that I often work out thorny problems... and come back and make a pot of tea, and then sit down to try to put my scenes in order. This happens, then THAT happens, then this, then that... I make lists, trying to be sure things are unfolding the way I need them to. The pot of tea really helps, too! In extreme cases of writer's block I'll put the ms. away for a month and work on something else. When I come back to it, I can usually see what's wrong.
Kathryn Reiss
Hello everybody! I've been an author for a long time, but i haven't done a lot on Goodreads yet, except enjoy reading everybody else's posts and get good books to add to my ever-expanding list of what to read... But I thought I'd answer a few questions I've been getting about what's going on with my most recent book. Back in 2006 my first murder mystery--BLACKTHORN WINTER--was published by Harcourt. A second murder mystery was planned, but got lost in the shuffle once Harcourt was bought by Houghton Mifflin. So that book is now in production to come out as my first ebook, and it will also have a print option. I'm excited to see MURDER AT HEATHERSTONE HALL become available at last to the nice fans who keep telling me they're waiting for it!
I got the idea for murder mysteries set in England when we were living there some years back. My husband is British and we're both college professors, so whenever there's the chance to travel in the summer or go away for a semester or a year during a sabbatical, we head to England. While I adore visiting London and other major cities in England, Scotland, and Wales, my real true love are the villages. So in both these murder mysteries I've got an American girl, Juliana, with family ties to England, getting mixed up in murder. I love stories where things that happened in the past still resonate now, like pebbles thrown into a pond send out rings that stretch on and on even when the pebble has sunk to the bottom... and in both novels Juliana stumbles on events from the past that are still playing out in the present--with dangerous consequences!
I got the idea for murder mysteries set in England when we were living there some years back. My husband is British and we're both college professors, so whenever there's the chance to travel in the summer or go away for a semester or a year during a sabbatical, we head to England. While I adore visiting London and other major cities in England, Scotland, and Wales, my real true love are the villages. So in both these murder mysteries I've got an American girl, Juliana, with family ties to England, getting mixed up in murder. I love stories where things that happened in the past still resonate now, like pebbles thrown into a pond send out rings that stretch on and on even when the pebble has sunk to the bottom... and in both novels Juliana stumbles on events from the past that are still playing out in the present--with dangerous consequences!
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