The Overlook Murder: A Wintergreen Mystery by Patrick Kelly | Author Interview

Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!

Tell us a little about yourself.

I grew up in Virginia and wrote my first short story in the second grade. After a long career in finance, I began writing popular fiction in my fifties. My wife and I live in Austin, Texas, but spend our summers in Wintergreen, Virginia. Wintergreen is the setting for The Overlook Murder. We have a terrier-mix rescue dog named Sebastian who often appears in my Instagram posts.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve piddled around with writing since the second grade but only began writing in earnest a dozen years ago.

Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?

Yes, I always wanted to be an author but couldn’t support a family with my writing, so I chose a different career path. I’ve written crime thrillers in the past, but the graphic violence eventually wore me down. Now I write clean, traditional mysteries.

Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?

I like cozies, but my favorite type of book to read (or write) is a traditional mystery that involves a detective who works with the police but not for the police. One blogger described my first Wintergreen Mystery as part cozy/part police procedural. Bingo! I am currently reading Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novel, Not Quite Dead Enough. Rex Stout wrote thirty-three novels featuring Wolfe from 1934 to 1975.

Do you have a favorite place to write?

At my desk with the door closed. I am far more productive if I can work for an hour at a time without interruption. Sebastian occasionally cuts into my productivity.

What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?

My desk is cluttered. A stack of papers on the left need tending. My grandfather was a ship’s carpenter, and I have a wooden clock he made that must be wound by hand. From my finance days, I have a bobble-head of me holding two money bags. For research on my next novel, I have a Wintergreen Hiking Guide that describes the many trails surrounding the community.

What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?

I grew up with three sisters, and we had a large collection of Little Golden Books. I probably read each of them ten times and remember the titles of The Little Red Hen and The Three Little Pigs. In elementary school, I became interested in history and read a biography of Abraham Lincoln. I thought then, and still do, that he was a truly great president.

Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?

I prefer to read physical books, but if I can’t find what I’m looking for in the library, I tend to buy e-books because they’re cheaper and take up less room.

If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

Paris. I went through a Hemingway phase in college and visited the City of Lights soon thereafter. Now, many years older, I would love to return. My dream is to live in Paris for four months and write a mystery featuring an American sleuth. Perhaps Bill O’Shea should win the lottery and move to Paris to take a French immersion course.

What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?

I have read many books and articles about writing and have learned at least something from each of them. But day-to-day living experiences and observations have influenced my writing more than anything else. Each of us are born as a blank slate that is slowly filled over the years by what we encounter along the way.

Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?

I am the membership director for the Heart of Texas Chapter of Sisters in Crime. SINC was originally formed to support women authors trying to break into the crime fiction market, but they have allowed men to join for many years.

Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?

In Murder in White, the next Wintergreen mystery, Bill O’Shea and his friends must try to solve a mystery in the middle of a raging snowstorm. The release date is scheduled for November 15 of this year.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!