Do Your Characters Speak to You? With Kathleen Kaska

1. - AP -  Do your characters speak to you?

Kathleen - All the time; usually when I’m alone, jogging, hiking, sweeping off the patio. Sometimes they even wake me up in the middle of the night, which can be sort of annoying since I’m not a very good sleeper.

2. AP -  What is the funniest thing you have heard from one of your characters?

Kathleen - My character, Ruth Echland, from my Sydney Lockhart Mystery series is the one who keeps me in stitches. I never know what the crazy woman will say. In Murder at the Driskill, the book I’m working on now, Sydney tells Ruth to be circumspect when talking to a suspect. Ruth says, “Don’t worry. Circumcised is my middle name.” She often confuses words, which is always good for a laugh. Most people think she’s a ditsy blonde, but I think Ruth knows exactly what she’s saying. She just likes to annoy Sydney, and Sydney falls for it every time.

3. AP - What is the most memorable thing one has said?

Kathleen - I like how Sydney’s boyfriend, Dixon, responds to her. In Murder at the Galvez, Dixon refers to Sydney as his girlfriend. Here’s the exchange that takes place between them.

            “When did I become you girlfriend?” I asked as we stood across the street from the police station.

            “When we were standing over the body of Ellison James sprawled in your bathtub at the Arlington Hotel.” Dixon inhaled and passed me his cigarette.

            “We hadn’t yet been introduced.”

            “That sort of experience needs no introduction.”

            “As far as you knew, I could have been married and the dead guy could have been my husband.”

            “You weren’t wearing a ring, and neither was he.”

            “Boyfriend and girlfriend then?”

            “You were too classy for the likes of him.”

            “And you could tell that even though he was not wearing any clothes?”

            “It was his hair. You wouldn’t date a guy with a pompadour.”

4.  AP - Who is your favorite character?

Kathleen - As far as the usual characters that appear in the books, I don’t really have a favorite. However, of all the characters that appeared in just one book, there are several I like a lot. For instance, in Murder at the Luther, there’s a guy named Ramsey Strump. He’s an alcoholic surveyor who kidnaps Sydney and Ruth at gunpoint. He’s harmless, though. He even allowed Sydney to talk him into wearing a kilt. In Murder at the Driskill, there’s a young girl named Lydia LeBeau, whom I just love. She ten going on thirty, and she smarter than Sydney and always one step ahead of her. I like Lydia so much I’m thinking of giving her her own series one day. As if I didn’t have enough to write already.

5.  AP - Who is your least favorite character?

Kathleen - I don’t really have a least favorite. Even the bad guys are likeable in their own way, well, all except Lynol Fogmore, the corrupt police chief in Murder at the Luther. His wife, Emma, can barely tolerate him.

6. AP - Characteristics that you admire in a character?

Kathleen - I like strong, independent female characters. I use them as my role models.

7.  AP - Pet peeves about a character?

Kathleen - I don’t think I have any pet peeves about a character, but Sydney certainly does. Her mother, Mary Lou, and her brother, Scott, drive Sydney mad. Mary Lou is flighty, bossy, and unpredictable. She’s never satisfied with what Sydney does and is always giving her grief. Scott is simply a whiny baby.



Read more about Kathleen Kaska and a list of all of her books  - 
visit her website and her blog.

---