Kelley Armstrong
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong
Author of Every Step She Takes
In Rome Genevieve can be whoever she wants to be. Her neighbors aren’t nosy; her Italian is passable; the shopkeepers and restaurant owners now see her as a local, and they let her be. It’s exactly what she wants.
Then comes the day she finds a box on her kitchen table. A box that definitely wasn’t there when she left that morning. A box postmarked from New York City. A box that is addressed to “Lucy Callahan.”
A name she hasn’t used in ten years.
As a teenager, Genevieve was front-page news in a celebrity scandal. Now that she’s finally gotten her life back, someone wants to make amends for what happened to her all those years ago. She agrees to return to New York, but instead of finding peace, she finds herself at the center of yet another scandal. And this one’s deadly.
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong
Author I draw inspiration from:
For my domestic suspense thrillers, I draw inspiration from other women writing in the genre. Particular favourites include Rachel Hawkins, Shari Lapena & Darby Kane.
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Outside when the weather has just started to warm up. If I can get a chair by a lake, all the better.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Amelia Peabody, from Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody mystery series. Not sure it'd be much of a conversation, though. First she'd drill me to figure out what this mysterious box is and how it works, and then she'd set about concocting an elaborate scheme to get us out. It'd be fun, though :)
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I've been writing since childhood. I was an early reader, and that quickly turned into wanting to create my own stories. I didn't grow up intending to be a writer, though, While it was a dream, in my family (quite rightly, I think) writing it was considered a hobby, not a career choice. As I reached my twenties, I began seriously thinking it'd be nice to write part-time. I sold my first novel at 30, and moved into full-time writing a couple of years later.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
These days, I'm all about audiobooks. They let me get in a lot more reading time--while doing chores, walking the dog, driving etc. I also find that as a writer, when I read print, my editing and analyzing brain kicks in which isn't always what I want. If it's print, it's paperback--hardcovers are pretty but bulky. E-books are my choice for travel, letting me take my entire TBR shelf on the road.
The last book I read:
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. I love historical fiction, and Cañas does an amazing job of blending Mexican history, romance and, as the title suggests, vampires--the scary kind, not the sexy kind LOL
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I use both. As a former programmer, I'm much faster on a computer, but longhand lets me curl up in a chair or sit outside. As for my process, it's constantly evolving. I've discovered I work best from an outline. My finished novel never completely follows the outline though. Better ideas arise during the first draft and I follow them wherever they lead. The first draft is a very intense process for me, and during that time, I'm rarely without my notebook. When the first draft is done, I ease back into a more relaxed editing mode.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Anne from Anne of Green Gables. This is my go-to answer, and I think it's because I grew up with those books and imagined such a friendship. She'd be the adventurous one, always getting us into trouble, and I'd be the one figuring out how to get us out of it ;)
Author Interview - Kelley Armstrong | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
An unpublished writer I’d be writing whether I was getting paid for it or not. Career-wise, I’d have stuck with what I was doing while trying to get published, which was computer programming. I enjoyed it…just not as much as I did writing.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Victorian. Now, I'll be clear that I absolutely wouldn't want to dress as a Victorian--so many layers! I have a series set in Victorian Edinburgh, and I have wonderful re-enactors who beta-read for the fashion bits. But the fashions--for both men and women--are gorgeous.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Antartica. It's one of the few places I'd like to go but haven't yet. I'd like to take one of the cruises with the smaller boats and lots of educational content and adventure outings. I'd found one I liked pre-Covid, but since then, it seems everyone wants to go and prices have soared, so I'm waiting it out.
My signature drink:
For nonalcoholic, it's coffee, particularly cappuccinos. Alcoholic is margaritas.
Favorite artist:
I am so bad at these questions. With authors, I definitely have favourites that I follow and buy their next release, but with art and music, I like what I like, and I don't seek out anyone in particular.
Number one on my bucket list:
I'm always trying new things. When I was young, if I tried something and didn't show any talent for it, I stopped. I am well past that. I've learned to just do things for fun, and if I'm terrible at it, it's something to joke about. For things I'd like to try, there are a bunch of hikes on my list, not overtly challenging ones, but ones that would be fun, like hiking a route in Britain with a nightly stop. It's not something I could have managed year ago, when a mile hike was quite enough, but I'm working up to it!
Anything else you'd like to add:
Just a thank you!
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/KelleyArmstrongAuthor
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About Kelley Armstrong:
Author Interview with Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong believes experience is the best teacher, though she’s been told this shouldn’t apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies.
Armstrong is the author of the "Rip Through Time" and "Haven's Rock" mystery series. Past works include the Otherworld urban fantasy series, the Cainsville gothic mystery series, the Nadia Stafford thriller trilogy, the Darkest Powers & Darkness Rising teen paranormal series, the Age of Legends teen fantasy series and the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying middle-grade fantasy series.
