1--What is the title of your latest release?
HER FIRST MISTAKE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
The murder of Detective Noelle Marshall’s husband thirteen years ago was never solved. But now new leads shine a spotlight on Noelle’s role in his death. What has she kept hidden all these years?
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My editor said she’d love to see a book that takes place in the past but has flash-forward scenes. I thought about that concept for a while and came up with an idea I thought would work. The first half of the book takes place 13 years in the past and is interspersed with brief present-day scenes which give the reader insight into what is occurring in the past.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely. Noelle Marshall is outgoing and has little fear of anything.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Confident. Intelligent. Family oriented.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Writing in a different format–the flash forward idea–sparked the author in me. I’ve written the same way for so long, I was growing stagnant. This book made me see that shaking things up helps my work stay fresh.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go. When I write and then edit the final scene, I’m done except for a quick read through of the entire manuscript looking for dropped threads and continuity.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Don’t know if this qualifies as “foodie” but APPLE FRITTERS
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I currently don’t have a space or office. My daughter took over my office in Oregon since I’ve been renting a little house in Utah for the past year. There isn’t a good place for me to work here. My books and writing supplies are in boxes scattered in the living room, and I’ve been moving from the couch to the dining table to the patio table trying to find a good place to write. Nothing feels quite right. I’ll be glad to have a dedicated space again.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Robert Dugoni. He has a passionate love for writing and teaching, and he makes the time to write his passion projects in different genres.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It’s the series that made me decide to try my hand at writing a book.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My agent had been trying to sell my book for a year. One major publisher was considering it, and we’d had several conversations with the editor there about what changes she’d like to see. My agent called one day and said, “We have an offer!” I assumed it was the editor we’d been dealing with. Instead, it turned out to be from a recent pitch she’d made while sitting at the bar during a writing conference. That publisher has now published 23 of my novels and 11 novellas. I’ve never wanted to be with anyone else.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Depends on my mood. I love a good police procedural, but I also love historical fiction.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
This is a tough one. Movies I never pass up when I spot them on TV include Armageddon, Sicario, Independence Day, Overboard, Iron Man and Thor:Ragnarok.
15--What is your favorite season?
In Oregon I love summer because it’s mild, blue, and green. In Utah, I’ve learned to love the spring and fall because it’s warm from March to November. Summer is an inferno.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Brunch with mimosas
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Michael Connelly. Everything he writes. And his show Bosch.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Does dessert count?
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Read. We also take motorcycle trips and offroad.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Book 2 in the Noelle Marshall series: NO ONE KNEW!
When a very personal cold case murder is reopened, a detective’s secrets come to light in a novel of shocking twists and suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
Thirteen years ago, Assemblyman Derrick Bell was murdered in his home by an intruder. His wife, Noelle Marshall, was left for dead. The crime was unsolved, but it wasn’t forgotten.
Today the FBI is tackling a fresh perspective on the case and looking to Noelle, now a detective for the Deschutes County sheriff’s office, for new clues. It is reopening everything Noelle thought was behind her. Memories of her escape from a traumatic childhood. A marriage that wasn’t the perfect love story she’d been promised. And a husband whose charm and privilege hid a dark side. But Noelle has been hiding something too: a secret about the night Derrick died that she has never told anyone.
As past and present and leads and misleads collide, one thing is frighteningly clear. Derrick’s murder wasn’t just unsolved. It’s unfinished. And only the truth—no matter the risk—can save the next victim.
Women's Fiction Psychological | Mystery Police Procedural [Montlake, On Sale: June 10, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781662525759 / ]
Kendra Elliot has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and sold more than 13 million books. Kendra is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She spends most of her time in the Pacific Northwest with her family.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy