Interview with Mystery/Thriller Author Katherine Hayton

As if having Awash in Talent accepted for publication wasn’t thrilling enough, with it came acceptance into the literary community of Kindle Press authors. It’s my pleasure to present some of their wonderful work for you here.

New Zealand author Katherine Hayton writes thrilling mysteries. The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton, in which a detective must solve a cold case or meet the same fate as the victim, will be published by Kindle Press tomorrow and is already available for preorder.

JK: Tell us about your last release.

Katherine Hayton: Breathe and Release is about a woman who wakes in hospital with amnesia, and the parallel story of a woman who is being held captive in an underground cell. Can she remember in time? Can she escape her prison? Can everyone hold their breaths long enough to get to the end of the book? All these and other questions can be answered by purchasing a copy.

JK: What are you working on now?

KH: I’m working on a sequel to The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton called The Second Stage of Grief. (That’s the stage with all the anger and the resentment and the “how dare you die” kind of stuff going on, so expect a fair bit of inflicting misery on other people.) It should be off to the editor for April so I can sit back and relax for a few minutes before I start drafting a brief outline for the third Ngaire Blakes Mystery.

JK: You’ve met with great writing success recently. Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

KH: Oh yes, but with slightly less time. I thought the writing was the hard part, and then I found out about the marketing and the website and the maintenance and the panels and the promotions and the... Changed for the better, obviously!

JK: What part of the writing process do you dread?

KH: Which bit am I working on now? That bit. That bit sucks the bomb.

JK: Any weird writing rituals to get you through those tough spots?

KH: Why? What do you mean? Who’s looking? Nothing that seems weird to me. I do talk to myself a lot, usually when I’m typing, but I’m happy to do that in front of people as well, so I don’t think that counts.

JK: What is your favorite quote and why?

KH: It’s never too late to be the person you always wanted to be – George Elliot. I think I like it because I’ve started again later in life to try to make something of myself, and this saying reminds me that I can keep doing that until I’m dead.

JK: What are your future ambitions?

KH: I’m looking forward to when I can retire from work. I enjoy my day job a lot most of the time, but I think I’d prefer working if I didn’t have to. Like volunteering for things. You stand on a street corner with a bucket and the job sucks for the most part, but if you turn in your bucket and walk away when you feel like it, what are they gonna do? Yeah. That’s some awesome power there. Going in every day to a job you enjoy but which you can walk out of at a moment’s notice if it comes down to it. That would be good. Anyone reading this, if you’d like me to experience this as a reality please feel free to order thousands of copies of my book so I can bring my retirement date forward. You’re awesome. No you are.

JK: Are you a romantic?

KH: Ahhhh, no. I’m a realist. A realist who would actually appreciate it if her partner bought her flowers for her birthday or her anniversary or just because once in a while. But not in a romantic way. In a “Look at what I got while you received nothing you bunch of losers—In Your Face” kind of way. Maybe I’m a competitive romantic?

JK: Let’s test that theory. What is the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

KH: Stayed with me for twenty years.

JK: Aww. You might be a romantic. Let’s test you again. What’s the best movie ever made? 

KH: Being John Malkovich. And why? Malkovich. Malkovich. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich. And that bit about the 13^th and a half floor was genius. And making Cameron Diaz look frumpy. How’d they manage that? And dropping out of the Malkovich dimension onto the New Jersey turnpike. You can’t write that stuff. Well, you may be able to if your name’s Charlie Kaufman, but I can’t write that stuff.

JK: I adore Malkovich and Charlie Kaufman’s writing, too. They way they follow their own illogic while always inviting the viewer to come along for the ride is something I’m always aiming for in my writing.

Thank you so much for stopping by. All best for your Kindle Press release, The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton.

Find out about Katherine’s latest work and sign up for her mailing list at her website. She’s always ready to share short stories and funny thoughts with her readers.