This evening I had the pleasure of co-hosting a novel podcast. “A Novel Talk” is normally co-hosted by Wendy Kendall, mystery author, and Carl W. Lee, writer of paranormal fantasy.
Wendy Kendall’s cozy mystery, Kat Out of the Bag was featured on this episode, so I took over the co-host chair to ask Wendy my burning questions about her new novel.
It was a great opportunity to interview an author I admire, and I put quite a bit of thought into the questions any reader might have about her book.
Here’s what I wanted to know:
Cozy mysteries frequently use a centerpiece element for the story – the tea shop, the bakery, etc. In this book it’s a purse museum. I wanted to know how Wendy chose that and what kind of research she had to do on the topic to become expert.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about Kat Out of the Bag was the use of strong female characters. I wanted to know more about her characters and how they represent women in different ways.
I particularly enjoyed the hint of romance between the main character and the K-9 officer. I wanted to know why she chose the cop as her main character’s potential love interest. And since I adore these characters, I wanted to know if there would be more of Kat and Jason as a couple in the next book in the series.
Wendy is a cozy mystery expert. I wanted to know more about the authors who inspired her in writing her own book. These are authors I may want to check out myself, and you will too. Wendy revealed several of her inspirational favorites, and what makes them great.
Finally, I had to know more about her fictional town of Bayside. It’s a sparkling gem on the Puget Sound, right in my region, and the perfect setting for a cozy. Wendy gave lots of detail and hinted at some exciting locations for subsequent stories.
Check out the full podcast, and listen to Wendy’s answers to my co-host, Carl’s great questions too. In addition, Wendy treated us to an excerpt from the book to whet readers’ appetites.
