Thursday, July 24, 2014

Interview and Giveaway
with author 
Kate Parker 


Kate is the author of the 
Victorian Bookshop Mysteries. 
Her first book in the series, THE VANISHING THIEF, was also Kate's debut novel! 
How lucky we are she choose the mystery genre! 

Kate is giving away 2 copies of her new book 
THE COUNTERFEIT LADY, the second book in 
the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries 
which releases August 5! 


Enter using  Rafflecopter 
at the end of the interview!

LKBR: Hi Kate. It’s wonderful to have you here.

KP: Hi, Lisa. Thanks for having me. And hello to everyone joining us.


LKBR: THE VANISHING THIEF, the first book in your Victorian Bookshop series, was not only the debut of a new series, but also the debut of your first novel. Congratulations! What was it like seeing your book on the store shelves for the first time?

KP: Wonderful. I'd gone into my local bookstore to pick up a book and when I glanced at the top shelf of New Mysteries, there was The Vanishing Thief. It wasn't supposed to be out for another week! I ran out to the car and had my husband come in to take my picture next to the shelf, pointing at my books. He was grinning as much as I was.


LKBR: How long did it take you from the inception to the publishing of THE VANISHING THIEF?

KP: Nearly two years. I'm a fast writer, so it was six months from inception until the series was sold, but at that time, The Vanishing Thief was too short. Berkley wanted more background on my characters. They were right. Developing the characters made the story more interesting. And then came line edits and copy edits and designing a cover. Publishing a book is a long process.

Kate standing at the back of Buckingham Palace

LKBR: What was your inspiration for the story?

KP: I've always loved ensemble stories. Think the CSI and NCIS franchises where there are several important investigators. I wanted to do that in the late Victorian period in London. Then I saw a sign welcoming the Archivist Society, and I thought, "it sounds like a Victorian detective agency." And so Georgia and her friends were born.


LKBR: Your second book in the series, The COUNTERFEIT LADY releases August 5. Would you be willing to share anything about the book and what Georgia Fenchurch will be facing that isn’t on the back cover blurb?

KP: I had a great deal of fun sticking Georgia in two worlds at once. She wants to stay in her familiar world in charge of her bookshop, but she has to travel in high society to solve the murder. Watching her interact with Phyllida and Emma and the duke in a Mayfair townhouse and then at a country house party is fun for the reader, but Georgia is a nervous wreck. She has to learn to trust her friends to help her with her bookshop.

And then there is the heat wave. Appropriate for an August release. Before air conditioning, summer heat waves in cities were brutal. I've heard stories of people sleeping in the parks at night while the police patrolled, keeping watch for looters while all the houses were empty.

Photo Courtesy of Kate Parker
The building under repair will be recognized by everyone who's
 watched Agatha Christie's Poirot on PBS. 

LKBR: What are three things you would like readers to know about you?

KP: I grew up in a household of readers, all of whom adored history and biography and mysteries. As a child I loved to listen to stories of bygone eras.
          I think writing is the best job in all the world. It took me a dozen years of serious effort before I sold my first novel, and I believe all that work was totally worth it to have the career that I've dreamed of.
          And I love to travel, particularly to Europe. Viewing old castles and cathedrals and houses and anything else old is my idea of heaven.


LKBR: Is there anything else you like to share with us?

KP: You can find me on facebook at www.Facebook.com/Author.Kate.Parker/ and on twitter at www.twitter.com@KateParkerbooks

My next story will be a change of pace. It'll be a Regency Christmas mystery novella in an anthology called Christmas Wishes.

LKBR: Thank you so much for being here, Kate. Best wishes on THE COUNTERFEIT LADY!


KP: Thank you, Lisa, for hosting me today. It was a pleasure being here.


GOOD LUCK!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 comments:

  1. I would love to read this book—thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!

    skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds like a fantastic series! Thanks for the chance to win.

    ReplyDelete
  3. New to me series...would love to win this book!
    eeyoregirl2009@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. A wonderful interview, Lisa! No need to enter me in the giveaway, I'll buy a copy. Just wanted to say that the book sounds fascinating. Gorgeous cover, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. love the covers and hope to get a chance to read it :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really enjoyed the interview. Would love to read and review.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoyed the review. Would love to read and review.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great interview!


    patucker54 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like I need to add this series to my TBR list. Love the atmosphere.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can imagine how excited you were to see your first book on the shelf at the store. I'm always amazed how writers do what they do - but I'm so thankful. I love to read and that pleasure wouldn't be there is we didn't have the writers. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I enjoyed the first book in this series and have been looking forward to the second :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice interview! I enjoyed the first book a lot and am looking forward to The Counterfeit Lady!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Always fun to share someone's first novel. Like congratulations on a families first child. Love books about books and bookstores too!! Ronnalord(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love discovering new cozy authors!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like a great read and would love to add it to my collection

    ReplyDelete
  16. this is a new-to-me series, so it is a 'must-read' for me!!
    thank you for the giveaway!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lovely interview! I LOVE mysteries and I look forward to reading Kate Parker's novels. Thank you for the opportunity to win a book and best wishes for the success of your latest book.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sounds like a good book.. on my to be read list.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've always loved the building the Poirot lives in. Very Deco!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great interview. Loved the first book for this series. It was a wonderful setting, Victorian England. Looking forward to reading the second book.

    ReplyDelete
  21. A great storyline and I just love the cover.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I feel bad that I just didn't know about this new series, but now that I do I would definitely like to catch up with reading it. I would be thrilled to win a copy of this book.

    What an interesting interview today too.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I thought the Vanishing Thief was a very polished book---I never would have thought it was a first novel. I'm looking forward to reading this next adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Looks like fun! Win or lose...it's going on my list to check out!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Looks like another new author for me!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I hadn't heard of this series. It sounds great! I love the time period-I also love Regencies.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you Kate & Lisa for a very nice interview! I, too hadn't heard about this series until now. I will definitely read the first one and would love to win this second in the series. Heat? No A/C? Arggh! (giggle)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Great interview - love to read this book!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Rafflecopter is not kind to those of us who do not tweet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Libby, Rafflecopter doesn't pick the entry choices, the person running the contest, in this case me, picks. I hate to be unfair to those who don't Tweet, but having those entry options not only helps the author get more followers, but it also helps spread the word of the giveaway.

      Delete