Please welcome today’s guest, Anita Klumpers. Her new suspense novel, “A Murder of Crows,” came out April 22, 2022. I hope you enjoy my interview with Anita.
Which one of your books was your favorite to write? Why?
“Buttonholed” has to be my favorite. As usual, I had no idea where the story would go when I agreed to write on the theme “Whatever is of good repute.” Hey, I didn’t even have a story! But on a short trip to Nashville we visited Andrew Jackson’s home and learned about duals.
My story, setting, and characters were birthed in pretty short order.
So a book set in a fictional eastern Tennessee town, peopled with southern ladies and gentlemen and sensibilities, was created by a Midwestern grandma who’d never lived further south than Denver and still has her mom’s Chicago-girl accent.
It was fun to write and research and invent and to give life to the characters.
Since I usually write suspense-romance and get myself utterly tangled in plot devices of my own making, a straightforward humorous romance was so much less stressful!
Which of your characters is/was your favorite? Why?
Elise, in “Hounded.” She is so different than my other female protagonists! They all have a bit of me in them—anxious to please, a little insecure, sometimes a bit klutzy. And always trying to be kind.
Elise is strong, opinionated, beautiful, abrasive, and a real mess. It was fun to write about someone I personally have noting in common with, except a love of dogs, our parents, and a need for a Savior.
Which authors have most influenced your writing?
Mary Stewart. She had a strong sense of location, a gracefully intelligent writing style and genuinely suspenseful stories with just a thread or two of romance woven through.
Josephine Tey wrote glorious mysteries but her strong and sympathetic portrayal of characters make me admire her books even more.
Dorothy Sayers was a strong, intelligent and articulate Christian who didn’t write “Christian” fiction but her faith and belief system seemed the foundation of her novels.
“A Murder of Crows” Blurb:
Teacher Paulina Deacon lives in a quiet North Dakota town. Newcomer John Tolen shows interest in her and Pauli senses some delightful changes in her future. But a murder of crows and the murder of John Tolen snatch that future away in an instant. Leaving everything, including her name, behind, Pauli flees to the woods of northern Wisconsin.
Hal Karlsen’s life work at the clinic in tiny Brier is to change lives of those with various addictions. Few people from the outside find the little town. Until a young woman with a deadly secret arrives. And Hal has no idea what to do with her.
A menace followed Pauli into the woods, and grows stronger each day.
Can Hal protect Pauli? Will Pauli stay alive long enough to convince him she means no harm? And will those deadly crows drive her mad before either can occur?
Anita Klumpers Bio:
Anita Klumpers’ previously published novels are “Winter Watch,” “Hounded” “Christmas Passed,” and “Buttonholed.” She lives in south central Wisconsin with her husband (of Dutch origin) and her dog Trudy (of questionable origin).
When not fervently wishing she had a more organized approach to writing, Anita spends time with her family, including three sons who should be used to her by now since she homeschooled them forever. She dotes on three lovely daughters-in-law and seven of the cutest grandkids you ever did see. Her church family is absolutely amazing and she thanks God for blessing her so abundantly. Whenever possible, she enjoys time with her husband and friends, all of whom are also pretty cute. Her deepest joy comes from the grace and knowledge of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Buying Info:
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Crows-Anita-Klumpers-ebook/dp/B09TGNZ5T7
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/
