Around the Fire In-depth Interview with Author Kris Bock.

Please help me welcome Kris Bock to the fire. Kris, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m going to grab the kettle because I hear you enjoy a cup of tea. I’ve a box of Dragon Spiced Red Chai waiting for another chai lover. Whilst I do, will you please introduce yourself to the other guests? Tell them who are you other than your bio?
I’ve lived in New Mexico for over twenty years, three times longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. A lot of my novels are set in the Southwest.
I really had no idea what I wanted to be growing up. My mom thought I would have to be a librarian, since my main interest was reading. In high school, I got interested in photography, so I went to college for that. I quickly learned I didn’t want to be a professional photographer and switched to writing. 
I wrote my first novel, The Well of Sacrifice (a novel for ages 9 to 12, published under the name Chris Eboch), shortly after finishing grad school, while I was looking for work as a magazine editor. The novel is set in Mayan times, inspired by a summer I spent traveling through Mexico and Central America. 
Astonishingly, I sold the book! This gave me the mistaken impression that having a writing career wasn't so hard. I have since written many novels that I haven't sold, but I've managed to make a career of writing by doing a lot of work in educational publishing.
Around 2008, I was feeling restless and wanted a change. I had mostly been reading adult romantic suspense novels, so I started writing those under the name Kris Bock. Later I switched to contemporary sweet romance and then added mysteries.

You’ve been at this a while then. What interests besides writing do you enjoy? 
Reading is my main hobby. My tastes change based on a variety of factors. Lately I’ve mainly been reading historical romance, paranormal romance, and historical mystery, plus some sci-fi, even though I don’t currently write in those genres. I think reading outside my writing genre gives me a mental break from my own writing.
I also enjoy walking and hiking, and my husband and I occasionally do some archery. We are currently pet parents to one ferret.

I’m also a reader of many different genres and living in New Mexico you must have beautiful scenery for those hikes. Who is your network or support system?
Since I started in writing for children, I’ve been a longtime member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Those authors are still my friends and colleagues, even though I’ve largely moved on to writing genre fiction for adults. My husband is also a great supporter, and my brother is an author as well. In fact, we’ve written three books together!
Douglas J Eboch wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Now we write the Teenage Adventures of Felony Melanie series, which follow the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the Rom-Com newsletter to get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. These first two chapters from the novel Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium stand alone as a short story.

I love that movie and that your brother is a co-author.  Who or what books or authors are your inspiration?
For the Accidental Detective series, I was inspired by the Phryne Fisher Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood, plus senior sleuths such as Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote. I liked the way Phryne Fisher had a background that showed why she was fearless. And people seem to enjoy sleuths who are older women, who use their life experience to solve mysteries. Plus I was going to turn fifty soon and noted a lack of characters in that in-between age!
 
What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special?
I live in a small town, with some of my close friends only a few blocks away. We lack the big city activities, but we can walk or hike in nature and hang out at friends’ houses. The local Mineral Museum, part of the state Bureau of geology, is also fabulous! 

We have a mineral museum near us too. I enjoy going there and even down into the mine. What weird talent do you have?
I’m known for being graceful when I do challenging things like rock-climbing and swing dancing, but clumsy the rest of the time.

Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants?
I’ll take the tickets. If I didn’t have to pay for the flights, I might be able to afford food at my destinations! Plus I don’t have expensive restaurant tastes and rarely go out to eat.

What was your first job?
I went to high school in Juneau, Alaska and spent two summers working as a glacier guide on helicopter tours.
 
That’s beats my first job cleaning. Let’s chat about writing. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I have written quite a few series. The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series is an ongoing series with six books out so far and two more under contract. The Accidental Billionaire Cowboys sweet romance series – a complete five book series about a Texas ranching family that wins a huge lottery. The books feature four brothers and their widowed mother, each getting their own love story. 
The Furrever Friends cat cafe sweet romance series – a loosely linked series of sweet romance novels with different main characters in each book. Book 7, Pride and Prejudice at the Cat Café, is coming soon.
The Felony Melanie: Sweet Home Alabama romantic comedy novels – three books so far, as mentioned above.
I also have three linked and several standalone romantic suspense novels So I like series, but I also like the variety of writing romance and mystery in different series!

You are quite prolific. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
I have at least ten novels that aren’t strong enough to submit or self-publish. That’s all part of the learning process.

Literary success is different to many authors, what does it look like to you?
I want to make a living as a writer. I’d rather make a better living than I’m making right now, but I haven’t had an office job in years, so I call that a success! 
 
Congratulations! It’s my goal too.
​Kris, thank you so much for sharing the fire with me today. Before you head either back to your desk or out on a hike, please leave some information about your Accidental Detective Series.

In The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world, but can she survive going home? This series starts with Something Shady at Sunshine Haven: Injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. Then an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at a nursing home – where Kate’s mother is in an Alzheimer’s unit. If Kate can’t uncover the truth, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.

What others are saying.
“A great start to a new series... Readers will enjoy this new cozy mystery and eagerly wait for more sleuthing with Kate and the Coffee Shop Irregulars!” ~Reading is my Superpower
Purchase from Tule Publishing or get the links to all retailers. Available as an e-book and in print.
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Find Kris:
Website
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GoodReads Author Page
BookBub
Amazon US page or Amazon UK page