Nikki Knight describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order.
An award-winning weekend anchor at New York City’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes
short stories and novels. Her stories appear in Alfred
Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Black Cat Weekly, online, and in
anthologies including DEADLY NIGHTSHADE: Best New England Crime Stories 2022. She’s
been short-listed for Black Orchid Novella and Derringer Awards. As Kathleen
Marple Kalb, she writes the Ella Shane and Old Stuff mystery series. She, her
husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.
Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/nikki-knight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikkiKnightAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NikkiKnightVT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmarplekalb/
1)
What genre do you write?
Mystery. Since I’m on the lighter and less graphic end, I
ride with the cozy folks, but my characters are diverse and the storylines
often unexpected, so “cozy with a twist” is probably a better description.
Particularly with WRONG POISON. I don’t think there’s another cozy out there
with an amateur sleuth who’s an assassin.
2)
Do your characters come
before or after your plot?
Characters always come first with me. The main character and people around her are like my own family of blood, work, and affection: people I love and want to spend time with. Everything grows out of them. If I’m doing it right, the plot is something that could only happen to them…and only they could solve it! That’s especially true with Grace the Hit Mom. She immediately recognizes the murder weapon as a poison only her ancient sisterhood uses, and knows she’ll have to find the killer to protect her friends.
3)
How do you choose a
villain and how do you make them human?
My news background comes into play a lot when I’m working on the actual murder plot; unfortunately, I know that the people most likely to kill you are those closest to you. I also know that folks who are decent most of the time can do terrible things under the right (wrong?) circumstances. That said, I love unexpected killers, especially cute little old ladies or nice suburban moms. And I try for relatable motives. We can all imagine offing someone to make sure our elderly mother gets good care, or to protect our child from having their life ruined by a terrible mistake. We wouldn’t do it – I hope! – but we can understand it, and that makes the villain human.
4)
Do
pictures, real life or plain imagination create the character you want readers
to love?
The animal characters – a very important part of everything
I write – are inspired by real pets. Scotchie, Grace’s canine partner in crime,
is basically a 150% copy of a relative’s wonderful golden retriever mix. The
humans are mostly imagination, though I wouldn’t argue with the characters who
describe Grace’s husband Michael as “the wild Scotsman” because he looks like
Sam Heughan from Outlander. As a person, though, Michael is more like
real-life men I know: mostly clueless about what happens in their wife’s daily
life, but absolutely committed and loyal.
5)
What are you working on
now?
Finishing
a couple of good short story ideas that came after me at the end of the process
for WRONG POISON. Usually, I do shorts
between longer projects, but when the final edits hit, everything else stops.
So, I just scratched out a few lines for the stories, and now I’m working
through them. I also have the very beginning of an idea for Grace’s next
adventure…
6) Do
you have a work in progress?
I
usually have a few! Moving between projects keeps me fresh.
WRONG POISON: She's a nice suburban mom and a sacred
assassin...and Grace Adair’s secret life has just become a problem. When a
death at the Library Book Fair turns out to be murder – by a poison used only
by Grace’s ancient sisterhood, she knows she’s in trouble. Now, she’ll need all
her skills as a PTA mom and former prosecutor to find the killer and protect
her friends…and their secrets. Hopefully without using her other skills.
About those other skills: Grace and her sweet senior pal Madge are members of a
700-year-old order of assassins, sacred to the Archangel Gabriel and sworn to
remove evil men who elude human justice. Think #MeToo with untraceable poison. Call it a cozy with a twist. You’ve never met
anyone like Grace…and you’ll never forget her.
Buy: Wrong Poison: Knight, Nikki:
9798987684740: Amazon.com: Books
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