Interview with mystery/thriller author K.J. Dahlen

Today's guest is K.J. Dahlen who is touring with Goddess Fish Promotions for her book Bones.

There's a giveaway for a lucky commentor, too. The details are below.

Bio:
Kim lives in a small town (population 495) in Wisconsin. From her deck she can see the Mississippi River on one side and the bluffs, where eagles live and nest, on the other side. She lives with her husband Dave and dog Sammy. Her two children are grown and two grandchildren and for that fact she feels blessed. She loves to watch people and that has helped her with her writing. She loves to create characters and put them in a troubling situation and just sit back and let them do all the work. They surprise even her at times. They take on a life of their own and the twists and turns become a story. She found she liked mystery/thrillers the best. She likes to keep her readers guessing until the very end of the book.

Welcome, K.J., please tell us about your current release.
Bones started out as a short story but there was something missing so I sat down with a legal pad and a pen and started fleshing out what became this book. The book took on its own twists and turns as I sat down to actually write it. It’s set in a small town because you’d never think something like this could happen in a small town. Max is my main character and in this book Max is a sheriff. When he discovers a cave filled with human remains he has to find out who the bones belong to and why these people where murdered and who murdered them.

What inspired you to write this book?
My books are more about how the crime is solved rather than the crime itself. The idea that someone could use a cave as a dumping ground and no one would know for years sets Max up to find out the who’s and the whys of the crime. What some people do to stop his investigation along the way is what the book is all about. Max has to solve the crime and he doesn’t let anyone take that away.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I am currently working on a book titled Hiding in Plain Sight - Chloe’s life began at the age of ten when she was placed in foster care in Oklahoma. Chloe can’t remember much of her early years and now thirteen years later someone sends her a picture of a little girl and her parents asking if she is the little girl in the picture. When her friend’s brother, police officer Teague Sawyer starts investigating he finds a gruesome murder and a mystery surrounding Chloe. She didn’t exist before thirteen years ago. Who exactly is Chloe and why were she and her mother on the run so long ago? And who is after her now and why?

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
To steal a line from a movie- when you think about being a writer from the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night, you’re meant to be a writer. I had so many scenes running through my head the only thing I could do was start writing them all down. I would get an idea and I would sit down with a pen and paper and within a day I’d have an outline for a book. I have fourteen books out at the moment with two more on the way, at least three more books sitting on editors desks and about 15-20 more books outline waiting to be written.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I’m very lucky, I do get to write full time. I get up before my husband to make coffee and throw his lunch together, then after he goes to work I open my computer and it’s my time to write. Sometimes I write all day and sometimes I don’t. I guess it depends on where I am in the current book.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
How I can take a simple phrase or idea and turn it into a book. I wrote one of my books, called the Prophet on the phrase, “Has he tried to convert you yet?”

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I loved reading and writing even as a kid. When I opened a book the author would take me on an adventure and that’s what I try to do with my readers. I try to take them with me as the book unfolds

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
If every time you open a book the author takes you places you’ve never been before then she/he is doing her job. I hope every time someone opens one of my books I take them along with me throughout the book. If I can do that then I am doing my job as a writer

Thanks for sharing a bit about your writing and your life with us, K.J.

Readers, K.J. giving one lucky commentor the chance to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate plus the chance to help her with her new book--the winner will get to write a short blurb and K.J. will write the book based on it. So, leave a comment here and at other stops along K.J.'s tour. The more you comment, the better you chances of winning.

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