
Pursuit of the Truth (West Investigations)
by K.D. Richards
I am so happy K.D. took time out of her busy day to
answer my questions!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born and raised just outside of Washington, D.C. Although I’ve always written and enjoyed writing, I took a different path career-wise right out of school and earned a law degree. A job opportunity for my husband gave us the opportunity to move to the Toronto area where he is from so after working as an attorney and legal instructor for fifteen years we made the move to Canada and now spend summers and school breaks in the U.S. Of course, not recently due to the pandemic but I’m looking forward to getting back to the DC area this year.
What are three things most people don’t know about you?
- I took up playing violin at age 38. I’m horrible but I do love it and recently my son said “I actually recognize that song” so I must be getting better!
- I met one of my best friends in kindergarten and nearly forty years later we still text or talk almost every day.
- I prefer sour foods over sweets.
What is the first book you remember reading?
Green Eggs and Ham. I LOVED that book as a child and still have it memorized.
What are you reading now?
I’m just getting started reading They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. I’m only 10% in but it’s really good.
What books have most inspired you?
I’ve always liked mysteries. My mother bought a bunch of those 5-minute mystery books and I always devoured them. One of my absolute favorite books to this day is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskins. I think it’s the first book I read with a real twist that made me immediately go back and start reading again to catch all the things I’d missed the first time.
What made you decide you wanted to write mysteries?
I think it would be The Westing Game and possibly the movie Clue
. I watched that movie dozens of times as a teen. I’m naturally curious, some might even go so far as to say nosy! I want to know why things happened and what motivates people. And being a lawyer I do like to see the bad guy be brought to justice.
Do you have a special place you like to write?
I do have an office but I’ve also learned to write wherever and whenever. Especially when I worked outside the home, I’d write on the train during my commute. Dictate scenes to Siri while waiting to pick up my sons. If I waited for the perfect time and place, I’d have never completed a manuscript.
Where do the ideas for your books come from?
That is an awesome question and I wish I knew. For Pursuit of the Truth, I just knew I wanted to write a story about a woman that owned a hotel, had been through a series of recent hardships, and had a crush on the head of hotel security. I’m a plotter so for the rest of the story I sit down and simply daydream about what could happen until I find something I like.
Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Revisions and editing! I’m usually so excited about a story when I’m writing the first draft, that’s where everything is new to me. By the second and third time through I’m thinking “not this again”! Of course the revision and editing stages are where the story really is so I power through. It’s all worth it in the end.
What do you think makes a good story?
Of course interesting, complex, believable, characters and a good juicy plot are necessary. But I do think “good” is subjective. I know we’ve all read books that got amazing reviews but just we just don’t connect with them.
Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Well, there are a lot of strong women in my family so I try to write strong women as well. Nadia Shelton, the heroine, in Pursuit of the Truth is a little like me in that as a child I did want to own a hotel and I lived in New York City years ago. But I think all of the ladies in the West Investigations series are great.
What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Pursuit of the Truth is a romantic suspense so the story does focus mostly on the romance and mystery but it is also a story about a family. The theme of the entire series is actually family. The four West brothers have taken over the private investigations firm that their father started and that changes their relationship toward each other and creates tensions between them. Nadia is also dealing with family issues in Pursuit of the Truth. I think seeing the characters dealing with relationships other than the core romantic relationship in their lives adds depth and complexity.
What’s next on the horizon for you?
Books two and three in the West Investigations series! Look for them in Fall/Winter 2021.
K. D. Richards is the pseudonym for Kia Dennis. Kia was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs just outside of Washington, D.C. A writer since a young age, after college she earned a law degree and worked as an attorney and legal instructor for fifteen years but never stopped writing fiction. She currently lives in the Toronto area with her husband and two sons. Sign up for her newsletter at kdrichardsbooks.com and follow her on Twitter @kiadwrites
Author Links: Website Facebook Instagram Amazon Goodreads:
About The Pursuit of the Truth
Pursuit of the Truth (West Investigations)
Romantic Suspense
1st in Series
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue (January 26, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1335401539
ISBN-13: 978-1335401533
Digital ASIN: B08CSRDVWK
His skills can keep her safe
Her secrets could get them killed…
Security expert Ryan West’s worst fears come to life when hotel CEO Nadia Shelton is pushed in front of a taxi and nearly killed. Someone will do whatever it takes to find the brother Nadia thought was dead, and the only way Ryan can protect her as they uncover the truth is to stay strictly professional. But the sparks igniting between them are nearly impossible to ignore.
From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.
Purchase Links:
Amazon – Kobo – Harlequin – B&N
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Thanks so much for having me. This was a fun interview.
KD