Delighted to have Kathy Cretsinger with me today. Welcome, Kathy.
Thank you, Cindy, for inviting me to be on your blog. I love writing and talking to people about writing.
My writing career began several years ago. My friend, Wilburta Arrowood, visited me and told me I could write. I’ll have to say I had doubts. I wanted to write but had no idea how to get started. Wilburta helped me to get the writing bug.
After attending several conferences, I decided to self-publish my first book, and I began Mantle Rock Publishing in 2012. Little did I know I would not have time to write for myself, but we published a lot of books in the last eight years, several were best sellers.
In July 2020, I sold most of the company to a friend, and she started Scrivenings Press. Now, I have time to write for myself and publish a few books for friends. This brings me to my first book in two years, Bogged Down by Murder.
My husband grew up in a community in Tennessee called Shady Valley. Shady Valley is a beautiful part of heaven nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. Three mountains surround the valley, and the Appalachian Trail runs through the top of Holston Mountain. The other mountains are Cross Mountain, which the Trail also runs across, and Iron Mountain. There is only one way to leave the valley without going over a mountain, the Gorge. The Gorge is part of Cherokee National Forest and includes an area called Backbone Rock. Beaver Dam Creek runs through the forest, filled with trout and rolling over rocks.
Inspiration for this book came from my daughter. We were leaving the valley after the Cranberry Festival a couple of years ago, and someone said something about Shady Valley. My daughter said, “Nothing shady ever happens in Shady Valley.” My brain began to turn, and I started working on this book. There are cranberry bogs in Shady Valley, not placed by human hands.
Shady Valley has a lot to offer people. It is secluded, quiet, and peaceful. We love to go to Shady Valley to visit with family, but we especially enjoy a slower pace of life. You buy with cash or check.
Tell us a bit about this mystery.
Imagine this. A city woman inherits a farm in Shady Valley, and she has to live there for six months to get the inheritance. She owns a large company that teaches people how to eat and live healthy. Shady Valley is a farm community. Most everything is either fried or not what she eats. She dreams of changing the community to eat as she does, no bread, fried food, potatoes, rice, sugar, or most meats. My mind began to go in different places, but I eat a lot like that. I knew the difficulties Daisy would encounter.
My writing this book, in particular, was encouraged by my husband and daughter. They kept me on track with everything. I had never written a cozy mystery, but now I love them. The series, Nothing Shady Ever Happens in Shady Valley, has several more books in my head. The next book will release in the spring, “Death by Doubloons.” My husband keeps telling me to finish other projects I’m working on and to finish this book on time.
My favorite place to write is in my office. The office is not the most glamorous place, but the best place for me. I have Age-Related Macular Degeneration. I can’t see the screen of a laptop, but I have my laptop hooked up to a large screen. I have tried other places, but this is the best for me. I can think better, and I can close the door, even lock it.
A giveaway
There will be a drawing for a copy of Bogged Down by Murder. To qualify, you must leave a comment on this blog. The book releases August 31, 2020, but the E book is on preorder on Amazon. Click here.http://amzn.to/3iYcOnl
More about Kathy
Kathy Cretsinger and her husband migrated from the hills of East Tennessee to the flatlands of Kentucky several years ago to be close to their children and grandchildren. This brought another change in their lives. Kathy began publishing her books, and a few years later, she decided to help other authors who are having a hard time in the publishing industry by starting Mantle Rock Publishing LLC. Recently, Kathy sold most of her publishing company to Scriverings Press.
Kathy loves being close to her family and enjoys growing orchids, which continue to multiply. She is now finding more time to write the books that have lived in her head for the last few years. Visit her at kathycretsinger.com where she has a weekly blog.
Website kathycretsinger.com
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