Prequels & Sequels with author Sofie Kelly

I’m thrilled to welcome author Sofie Kelly (love the website) to Prequels & Sequels here at A Serial Reader. Ms. Kelly’s current release is Curiosity Thrilled the Cat. Her 1st entry in the Magical Cats mystery series. Prequels & Sequels features books past and present that have impacted an author’s life from childhood through today.

1. On your nightstand now:
The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman. I’ve been a fan since I read Trick of the Light. This is the second book in the series and it was a gift for my birthday. Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser. I’ve been doing some research into how people deal with adversity and a friend suggested I read this book. Betrayal by Lili St. Crow. I read the first book in the Strange Angels series and now I have to know what happens next. Everyday Witch A to Z by Deborah Blake. This is another book for research but I’m really enjoying it. I also have the current issue of RT Book Reviews and a back issue of National Geographic

2. Favorite book when you were a child:
Just one? That can’t be done. I can tell you whatever I was reading became something I wanted to do. When I was reading the Dr. Doolittle books I wanted to live in a house full of animals. Then when I was reading about Pippi Longstocking I wanted to live in a house full of animals with no adults. I discovered Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and I wanted to be a detective.

3. Your top five authors:
That’s a challenge and it’s also subject to change depending on what I’m reading. Right now:
a)Lynn Viehl. I loved the Darkyn novels and I like her new Kyndred series as well.
b)Kim Harrison. I think Rachel Morgan is a wonderfully complex character and I like the series as much now as I did when I read the first couple of books.
c)Robert Crais. I love Joe Pike. Love. Joe. Pike.
d)Lawrence Block. He wrote of one of my favorite books, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes. I also like his books about writing.
e)Kurt Vonnegut. Welcome to the Monkey House is another of my favorites, which probably explains why my copy looks like it was carried on a mountain rescue mission in the mouth of a St. Bernard.

4. A book you’ve bought for the cover:
I don’t think I’ve ever bought a book for the cover. I’ve bought books because I was intrigued by the first line or the back cover description, but not because of a cover.

5. A book that changed your life:
I don’t know if it changed my life, but When the Sacred Ginmill Closes definitely helped cement my interest in mystery writing. I didn’t see how I could ever craft a story that well, but it made me want to try.

6. A book that made you want to be a writer:
Welcome to the Monkey House has to be at the top of the list. Vonnegut’s writing was like nothing else I’d ever read, certainly nothing like the short stories I’d been reading in English class. He was funny. He was irreverent. I’d read one of the stories in the book and then I wouldn’t be able to get it out of my head. That’s good writing.

7. Favorite line from a book:
“Money down the drain, Max.” It’s from the Rosemary Wells picture book, Bunny Money. In my house we use the line when something hasn’t quite turned out.

8. When you’re not researching, writing, or reading:
I’m cooking or working on some kind of art piece. Lately I’ve been making my own paper and using it in collage pieces and in my art journal. And because I got a blender just for paper-making for Christmas, I don’t have to use my food processor to make pulp anymore, which makes everyone very happy because I’m not splattering paper pulp all over the kitchen or anybody who happens to be in the room.

9. And lastly if you so choose: Anything you’d like to share with readers about the current or upcoming title(s) in your Magical Cats mystery series.
The next book in the Magical Cats mysteries will be Sleight of Paw and it’s tentatively scheduled for this fall. Kathleen is still in Mayville Heights. She still has the cats, Owen and Hercules. And Mayville Heights is celebrating Winterfest. (**Personally I’m waiting, not so patiently, for Amazon to put up the pre-order key**)

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