Kathryn Lively

My latest book, KILLING THE KORDOVAS, was inspired by a number of events. If you read the story, you'll pick up on the general frustration with reality television and the people who gain fame through dubious circumstances. I came up with the idea after visiting a comedy club - I had suffered writer's block, and I asked myself what would happen if a frustrated writer, tired of rejection, vents on an amateur night and becomes a hit? What would happen if her emotions become so strong she entertains dangerous thoughts upon learning a reality star got a book deal just for being famous?

KILLING THE KORDOVAS has its share of dark humor. It's a bit of a departure from the cozy mysteries I've written in the past, but as I wrote it I decided I wanted to go bold for a change and see where I could take the story.

I don't really consider myself an indie author - I like to think of myself as an author, period. I have published with small houses in the past, and I have self-published, and when I finish a story there's a different reason for the method of publication.

My first novel, LITTLE FLOWERS, was published by a small press that folded in 2002. I was able to place the work elsewhere, but that house (which mainly pubbed romances) turned out not to be a good fit. I chose to publish it myself to better reach its intended audience.

I published THE GIRL WITH THE MONKEE TATTOO on my own because I wanted the book ready for a specific event. I published KILLING THE KORDOVAS on my own because of its uniqueness. It's not a mystery in the traditional sense, or a horror novel. There is suspense and humor, and I suppose I felt I should see it through the journey every step of the way.