Interview and Giveaway: Kari Townsend

Please join me in welcoming Kari Townsend to Debbie's Book Bag today. Kari is here to talk about her new cozy mystery, Tempest in the Tea Leaves. It's a part of her new fortune teller mystery series and readers are sure to love it. Look for me review of her book later today. See giveaway details at the end of the post!

DEB: Kari, tell us about yourself.
KARI: Well, what can I say about me? I have a master’s in English education. I have four children: three boys and one diva. And I’ve been married for twenty-two years. I love to travel, scrapbook, and a good glass of wine.

DEB: Tell us a little bit about your new book, Tempest in the Tea Leaves? Is this a single title or part of a series?
KARI: Tempest in the Tea Leaves is the first book in my new Fortune Teller Mystery series. It’s about a fun, quirky psychic who gives a reading to a frazzled librarian, predicting murder. When the librarian winds up dead, Sunny becomes the number one suspect. And Detective Mitch Stone, aka Grumpy Pants, is determined to see her behind bars.

DEB: In cozy mysteries, you see just about every kind of profession for the hero/heroine. What made you choose fortune telling for your main character?
KARI: I have always been fascinated by anything psychic, especially fortune telling tools. I thought it would be fun to focus each book on a different tool. That way I don’t get bored, and readers learn something new with each story. I love fun, light paranormal cozies.

DEB: Do you have a background in fortune telling or was that something you had to do a lot of research on? What kind of resources do you use?
KARI: LOL I wish! I am not psychic. I just do a lot of research. There is an amazing amount of information on the Internet when it comes to learning how to use each fortune-telling tool. I also love to have books at my disposal, and there are some fabulous books for beginners out there.

DEB: What led you to writing cozy mysteries as opposed to main stream mysteries or thrillers?
KARI: I just adore the small town atmosphere and fun, quirky characters you find in cozy mysteries. You still get to solve a fascinating murder. There’s just much more of a “cozy” Murder She Wrote type of feel. All the harsher elements are simply “off screen.”

DEB: Do you have any pet peeves about the publishing industry in general?
KARI: Not pet peeves, really, I just wish everything didn’t take so long. It seems like we wait forever for a book to come out (at least a year, often times longer), and these days response times regarding anything from new projects to edits on existing projects has gotten much longer than days gone by. It’s not unheard of for even published authors to wait six months or more to find out if they have a sale or not. It’s not the editors’ fault. It’s a sign of the times. They have way too much work to do these days. Frankly, I don’t know how they keep up with it all and stay sane.

DEB: What is your normal writing day like? Do you have a routine?
KARI: When my kids were really little, I would write during naptime from l2 to 3. Now that they are all in school, I still find I’m most productive from 12 to 3. So I spend the morning doing promotion, etc, then break for exercise and lunch, and then write in the afternoon. I don’t write at night or on weekends because I’m usually playing taxi to some sporting event and spending time with my hubby.

DEB: What advice would you give to new writers?
KARI: Never give up. It took me 14 years to sell, 3 of which were with my agent. But I finally got smart. Don’t write to the market, but be aware of the market, and don’t be afraid to try something new. It worked for me. My agent landed me two 3-book deals at two different houses just 5 months apart.

DEB: What are you working on right now?
KARI: I just handed in book two, Corpse in the Crystal Ball, which comes out in June of 2012. So now it’s time to start work on book three, Trouble in the Tarot. I really am loving this series. It’s so much fun to write.

DEB: Tell us something interesting that people may not know about you?
KARI: I was born in Portugal on an air force base. I’m the daredevil in my family. I love to do anything adventurous. Skydiving and bungee jumping are on my bucket list. Yet I’m terrified of rodents: mice, moles, rats! Eeek. I love to take pictures, so if you ever run into me, run and duck for cover. Chances are I’ll have my camera with me, and I’m not afraid to use it.

KARI: Thanks so much for having me. It’s been fun.

If you would like more information about Kari and her books, click on the links below:

KARI'S WEBSITE, BLOG, FACEBOOK, OR TWITTER...

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher has offered one copy of Kari's book, Tempest in the Tea Leave to one lucky winner from Debbie's Book Bag!

~ You must be a Google Friend Connect follower to participate.
~ US addresses only (Publisher Request)
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST Aug. 25th.

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