Mary Keliikoa spent the first eighteen years of her adult life working around lawyers. Combining her love of all things legal and books, she’s created a twisting mystery where justice prevails. She had a short story published in Woman’s World and is the author of the PI Kelly Pruett mystery series.
SS: Mary, can you share a bit about your background?
MK: I was in the legal field for eighteen years performing secretarial, paralegal and office management duties at various times. It gave me a bird’s eye view of the inner workings of law firms, lawyers and clients, courthouse and legal maneuverings. My love of the mystery genre stemmed from that time.
SS: Writing is undoubtedly a lonely occupation. John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) says writing is a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it. P. D. James (Cover Her Face) says it’s essential for writers to enjoy their own company. Do you see yourself along those lines? Are you a natural loner?
MK: I do see myself as a natural loner in many ways, but I rarely feel lonely and I do enjoy interacting with people. I think the fun of telling the story is seeing the reaction in their eyes. I might be a mixture of extrovert and introvert. But my happy place is writing my stories, and I can begin doing that in the morning and look up several hours later not even realizing that half the day is gone.
SS: How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
MK: I’ve considered myself a writer since my late twenties when I started writing. I’m huge on taking on-line classes, and I’ve worked with a book coach for a couple of my novels. I have found that to be one of the best avenues for learning my craft because it’s quick feedback from someone who has a trained eye. For me, learning is a constant that will never stop because I want to continue to get better.
SS: What is your writing Kryptonite? What’s most likely to stop the flow of your words?
MK: I generally edit as I go. But if I spend too much time on my edits, my inner critic can get too loud, and then I start doubting I can get it done. So I make sure to just read the previous chapter before I launch into the day’s work. That way I’m doing a light edit and moving forward without spending too much time there.
SS: I tend to follow that same protocol. It’s often believed that almost all writers have had their hearts broken at some point in time, does that hold true for you?
MK:Absolutely. In both my writing and my personal life I’ve had my heart broken. But if we let it, and as a writer we must let it, it becomes something for us to draw on for realistic emotions for our characters.
SS: What would a fly on the wall see if he watched you while you are writing?
MK: The fly would see me get up and get coffee, or heat up my coffee, or top off my coffee, at least ten times during my writing process. It would see that I must force myself to turn off social media and emails or I’ll click over an equal amount of time as getting coffee.
SS: Do you generally write in one genre? If so, what is it? And what can readers expect from one of your books?
MK: I love mystery and suspense, and that’s the area I anticipate that I will continue to write. You can expect my characters to have some deep-seated issues they must face and justice will always prevail. You can also bet there will be some family conflict and a love interest. I think both reveal the many layers of a character in how they relate to the people around them and the conflicts that arise.
SS: Do you think that self-revelation is part of the writing process?
MK: I do. I think we’re all trying to heal ourselves in some way through the process of writing. Whether it’s in a character we create and subject to trauma, or interactions between characters, or actual events we create, we’re ultimately working through our own stuff in some way.
SS: Are you looking to entertain or illuminate?
MK: Both. I think the best books entertain you but they carry a message—whether it’s finding one’s truth, a social commentary, or a spotlight on a subject. I think the key is that it shouldn’t hit your reader over the head, however. The illumination has to be subtle.
SS: How do you feel when you’ve finished writing a novel? Are there any particular characters that you have found it hard to let go of?
MK: This is going to sound corny, but I cry at the end of a novel when I finish. Part of that is I really strive to strike an emotional chord at the end that organically comes from the arc of the character. If I get teary-eyed on the last line, I know I’ve accomplished that.
I already know I’m going to have a hard time when I’ve completed the three books for Kelly Pruett. I love all of the main characters, and I will miss them when I no longer get to craft their stories.
SS: Have any new writers grasped your interest recently?
MK: The mystery writers coming on the scene right now are incredible. Kellye Garrett, Dianne Freeman, Tracy Clark, Elena Taylor, M.L. Huie, Heather Chavez, Vanessa Lillie, Ellie Marr, Heather Heistand, and I know I’ve missed a few dozen! Every one of the authors I’ve mentioned are so talented. I have read their books and are looking forward to their next ones.
SS: What is your most recent book? In twenty-five words or less, tell me why a reader should read your book next.
MK: Derailed is my debut. It’s about a single mom who is overcoming adversity. Adversity to forge her own path as a PI, dealing with complicated family dynamics, and to get past the obstacles thrown at her in solving her first case.
SS: Who is the protagonist in your most recent work? Describe him/her in ten words or less.
MK: Private Eye Kelly Pruett. She is a single mom, who is tenacious, kick-ass, smart, dedicated and determined.
SS: Could you say something about your relationship to your fictional characters? How autobiographical do you think your current work is?
MK: Kelly Pruett wants to find her way in the world, and I can relate to that. But she’s far braver than I am. Half the stuff I put her through, I would have given up the investigation long before.
SS: What are you working on at the moment?
MK: The Kelly Pruett series is slated for three books. So I am deep in editing mode for Book 3 at the moment. Book 2 is already with the publisher and will be out next year.
SS: What advice would you give aspiring writers?
MK: Never stop learning your craft. Take classes. If you can work with an editor or a good CP partner, do it. Above all else, keep writing and don’t worry about what other people are doing. There will be people who get published faster, they’ll sell more, they’ll get more recognition. Don’t compare. You do you and have fun with it.
SS: Is there a phrase or quote about writing you particularly like or that inspires you?
MK: I love Flannery O’Connor’s quote “I write to discover what I know.” It is why I write. I think on some level I’m trying to hear my own voice. But I would expand it to also say I write to discover what I don’t know and what I want to know more about. And that’s the joy of writing for me.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
SS: Describe your books in 3 words: Murder, Family, Secrets
SS: Favorite thing about your genre? The plot twists
SS: Another genre that you would love to write: Thriller
SS: When writing, are you a night owl or morning person? Morning
SS: Pantser or Plotter? Pantser
SS: Book you’re currently reading: PI novels. I’m on the Shamus Award committee for best PI 2019 and loving it!
SS: Your favorite guilty pleasure: Reality TV
SS: Your favorite villain or serial killer is: Hannibal Lectre. So creepy!
SS: Your favorite detective or spy protagonist is: Kinsey Milhone
SS: What is your favorite thriller or mystery movie? Knives Out in recent times, but I loved The Sixth Sense.
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A dying wish. A secret world.
Can this grieving investigator stay on the right track?
PI Kelly Pruett is determined to make it on her own. And juggling clients at her late father’s detective agency, a controlling ex, and caring for a deaf daughter was never going to be easy. So she takes it as a good sign when a letter left by her dad ties into an unsolved case of a young woman struck by a train.
Hunting down the one person who can prove the mysterious death was not just a drunken accident, Kelly discovers this witness is in no condition to talk. And the closer she gets to the truth the longer her list of sleazy suspects with murderous motives grows. Each clue exposes another layer of the victim’s steamy double life.
On a crash course with a killer, she must piece together the puzzle of what really happened to the victim that rainy night, before her own fate is sealed and she loses everything near and dear, including her life.
Derailed is available through:
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An excerpt from Derailed:
Chapter 1
Portland, Oregon has as many parts as the human anatomy. Like the body, some are more attractive than others. My father’s P.I. business that I’d inherited was in what many considered the armpit, the northeast, where pickpockets and drug dealers dotted the narrow streets and spray paint tags of bubble-lettered gang signatures striped the concrete. In other words, home. I’m Kelly Pruett and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
I’d just finished invoicing a client for a skip trace and flicked off the light in the front office my dad and I used to share when a series of taps came from the locked front door. It was three o’clock on a gloomy Friday afternoon. A panhandler looking for a handout or a bathroom was my best guess. Sitting at the desk, I couldn’t tell.
Floyd, my basset hound and the only real man in my life, lifted his droopy eyes to meet mine before flopping his head back down on his bed. No help there.
Another rap, louder this time.
Someone wanted my attention. I retrieved the canister of pepper spray from my purse and opened the door to a woman, her umbrella sheltering her from the late October drizzle. Her angle made it hard to see her face, only the soft curls in her hair and the briefcase hanging from her hand. I slipped the pepper spray into the pocket of my Nike warmup jacket.
“Is Roger Pruett in?” she asked, water droplets splatting the ground.
She hadn’t heard the news and I hadn’t brought myself to update R&K Investigation’s website. I swallowed the lump before it could form and clutch my throat. “No, sorry,” I said. “My dad died earlier this year. I’m his daughter, Kelly.”
“I’m so sorry.” She peered from under the umbrella, her expression pinched. She searched my face for a different answer.
I’d give anything to have one. “What do you need?”
“To hire a P.I. to investigate my daughter’s death. Can you help me?” Her voice cracked.
My stomach fluttered. Process serving, court document searches, and the occasional tedious stakeout had made up the bulk of my fifteen hundred hours of P.I. experience requirement. Not that I wasn’t capable of more. Dad had enjoyed handling cases himself with the plan to train me later. In the year since his death, no one had come knocking, and going through the motions of what I knew how to do well had been hard enough. Now this lady was here for my father’s help. I couldn’t turn her away. I raked my fingers through the top of my shoulder length hair and opened the door. “Come in.”
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