A Kate Dalton Mystery

 Book 3

 Book 1

Book 2

Working Title: 

Back Roads and Dead Ends

      If you’ve read my novels, you’ll remember Kate Dalton, who worked for The Phoenix Daily News, a reflection of my 17 years spent working at The Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix. I didn’t write for the “Republic,” but worked in their retail advertising department and subsequently in the paper’s research library (known in the age of more colorful language as “the morgue”) and also for its “new” (back in the 1990’s) online service, Arizona Central.

Author's First

On the other hand, Kate Dalton started at the fictional Phoenix Daily News in the newsroom writing obituaries. During her 17 years Kate worked her way into a reporter’s position and ultimately into an investigative reporter slot. Kate Dalton was the main character in my first novel, Honor Bound, and I liked her enough to make her friends with a character in the Arrowstar Series. 

Kate Dalton decided to retire and “go freelance” while riding around the U.S. in an RV. Her first stop being the fictional town of Mineral City, Arizona where she met the protagonist of the Arrowstar Series, Star Lance. After a couple weeks, Kate hit the road with her close friend, Susie Jessup from Honor Bound. I think I might like to write them into a mystery novel. While my current Arrowstar Series has elements of mystery, I’ve never attempted to write in that genre. 

Mysteries are my favorite genre to read, and while I found I really enjoyed writing historical fiction when I wrote The Storm Women, I think I’m ready to try my hand at intrigue. Since Kate Dalton finished her career as an investigative reporter, I’m thinking she might drift into investigating mysteries along the highways and byways as she travels in her retirement.

My protagonists thus far make their livings writing, but putting pen to paper as a journalist and cranking out novels exist in very different worlds. Journalists keep their writing tight, informative and up to the minute, while novelists wallow in the luxury of pages and pages of prose straight out of their imaginations with maybe a few factual, real life details thrown in. I prefer writing novels because I don’t find journalism creative enough for my imaginative bent. Reciting on paper about events already concluded feels boring and restrictive to me now that I’ve ventured into novels. 

Also, journalists are “people” people. They interview, research and rush hither and thither with the intent of regurgitating what they’ve found out – news-bites for the print media that usually end up lining bird cages. Not that I don’t respect journalists, I do. They work hard and write on deadline. What’s not to respect?

News writing just isn’t in my ink well to use a post-modern metaphor. My writing tends to be about telling a long, involved story inviting readers to escape to an exciting and heretofore unfamiliar place and situation, while mentally living inside someone else’s skin. Now that could be fun!

Check this space in April for Chapter 1 of Book 1 in the 

Kate Dalton Mystery Series.