What Inspired You to Create Kristen?

In NYC at the BookExpo America Convention this past summer.

What inspired you to create Kristen Conner? That was the lead question by author, writer, columnist, and reviewer Kim Ford in a recent interview where I am on the cover of Christian Fiction Online Magazine. Click the link to read the entire interview that includes questions on starting a new publishing company, Sydney Lane Press, whether the Russian Mafia – one of the storylines in Cold As Ice – is a real menace in America, and the biggest changes I’ve seen in the publishing industry over the past 35 years. Thanks for a great interview Kim!

Kristen Conner – one of three daughters of a felled Chicago policeman who has contributed more than her fair share toward the elimination of crime in her city. Tell us how you were inspired to create this character.

I am such a fan of character-driven mystery series, I knew that’s what I wanted to create. First question, of course, was male or female? I considered flipping a coin. The decision was simple though. I looked at my own family. With three sons and three daughters, I’ll confess, my daughters provided more drama in my life! Now I’ve probably got myself in trouble again.

Let me mention one other inspiration as I created Kristen Conner. I started with the premise that I would not write a Christian series. I would do my best to write for the mystery genre. But just as Tony Hillerman, Fay Kellerman, and many others have written series with a very distinctly religious and reflective character, I would write Kristen as a Christian – a “church girl.” That may be a nuance but I think she has been very well received by readers who bought the books from the perspective of either genre. Read the full interview.