May the Force Be with Me!
by Kay Kendall
Right now I need all the help I can get. So today I called down The
Force to help amp up my super powers. In my case, The Force is Bob Dylan.
Let me explain.
My second mystery published almost three years ago. Like the first one, it
took its name from a Bob Dylan song title. I use Dylan to evoke the late 1960s when the
stories take place. In 2013 came my first mystery in the Austin Starr series,
DESOLATION ROW (see concert shirt at right). In 2015 came RAINY DAY WOMEN. And
then came a lengthy hiatus.
Now, at long, long last my marvelous editor and I are getting my third
mystery ready for publication. Maybe you think I’ve been lazing around the
house and doing nothing. Nope. Not exactly. Chez Kendall got hit by three
major illnesses in a row. First my husband fought cancer. Then I did, and then
I developed a rare bone disease from a botched dental procedure.
My third book got written along the way, but it took a super long time. As I
contemplate the work still to be done, my supply of oomph feels drained. The
revision I face on this continuation of the Austin Starr mystery saga seems
taxing. That’s why I call on Mr. Dylan to lend me some of his special sauce—just
a pinch of his enormous creativity, pretty please—to prepare me for the arduous
journey ahead.
Heck, I may need to wear this Dylan tee shirt every day for the next month.
Well, if so, it will be worth it. I look forward to bringing my third
mystery, AFTER YOU’VE GONE, to its publication date, later this year.
This third mystery is a prequel featuring Austin Starr’s Texas grandmother.
And wouldn’t you know it, she too loves to solve puzzles. In 1923, inspired by
her emersion in the Sherlock Holmes stories of her era, she chases down the
murderer of a relative when everyone else believes a peculiarly awful death was
merely an accident. She runs into rumrunners, bootleggers, gangsters, and
genuine flappers—even floozies. Headquarters for this activity in Texas during Prohibition
was the wild city of Galveston on the gulf coast. Al Capone even sent his goons
down from Chicago to try to muscle in on the action. Suffice it to say, Austin’s
grandmother has many eye-opening experiences.
Of course, Dylan wasn’t writing songs 100 years ago so I use another
song title instead, one that stands the test of time. Popular in the Roaring
Twenties when this prequel is set, the song “After You’ve Gone” has
been covered by many famous singers every decade since. I especially recommend
the versions by Ella Fitzgerald and Fiona Apple. Find them on YouTube.
And then, some months from now when Stairway Press publishes my new mystery,
I hope you will read it—and then conclude that some things are worth waiting
for. Just please do wish me luck in the meantime.
==============
Kay Kendall is a long-time fan of
historical novels and now writes mysteries that capture the spirit and
turbulence of the sixties. A reformed PR executive who won international awards
for her projects, Kay lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house
rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to her bunnies, she loves them
anyway! Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan buff. In 2015 Rainy Day
Women won two Silver Falchion Awards at Killer Nashville.
Visit Kay at her website < http://www.austinstarr.com/>
or on Facebook < https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor>
Kay, I am glad to hear you are back in fighting form and can't wait to read AFTER YOU'VE GONE. Be sure to ask me for a New Release Mondays spot when the time comes. Kudos to you for never giving up or giving in.
Hi there, Judy. Thank you for your encouragement. I will make a note of telling you my pub date when I know it so I can do the New Release Mondays. Thanks! Hope to see you at Left Coast Crime in Vancouver in 2019! When we can finally meet up face to face. Third time is the charm, eh?
Kay, you'll do it, I know. It takes more than family illness, cancer, rare bone disease, or tough revisions to keep us old hippies down. So looking forward to the new book!
Oh my, you did make me giggle, Linda! Old hippie sure is right, although in my case I really did not count as a hippie back then, but I sure do feel like one these days…well, counter-culture, that is for sure.
You are an inspiration to me in the keep-on-truckin' game of life. I do keep your amazing fortitude in mind. Hugs, kk
Brava, persistent woman writer! I eagerly await AFTER YOU'VE GONE.
Sending gentle hugs and Healing Light, because you so deserve so easier days. <3
Is there an ETA?