A Visit from Mitzi Kelly, author of the Silver Sleuths Mysteries

Mitzi Kelly

Author of The Silver Sleuths Mystery Series

From Mitzi Kelly's keyboard:

I grew up in El Paso, Texas in an idyllic childhood setting. We were always encouraged to use our imagination, to stay active and to read anything and everything we could get our hands on.

I moved to San Antonio, Texas in my late teens and eventually met my husband of 30 years. We have one terrific son and five very spoiled dogs.

I started my writing career doing feature articles for magazines and soon discovered that really wasn’t what I wanted to do. True stuff was boring! I wanted to create a world in which I had control of the characters and the drama. I used my love of creating fiction to start manuscripts in different genres: romance, mystery, drama. It was a ‘hit and miss’ process, though, because I was busy raising my son, holding down a full time job and helping my husband in his construction business.

Thankfully, my dream of writing novels never waned and I was officially published in 2010. Classic Revenge, the first book in the Silver Sleuths Mystery Series published by Avalon Books, is a cozy mystery with delightful, eccentric characters.

Classic Revenge...an excerpt

Trish looked over at the open window and grimaced. So much for luck. She went to the window and opened the drapes fully. Just as she had hoped, the screen was old and not secured by any security measures. She pushed hard and it flopped out onto the open ground. “Okay, I’m going first so I can help you on the other side.”

Just then they heard the front door open. Millie was jumping nervously from one foot to the other. “Just hurry, for goodness sakes!”

Trish landed on the ground with a thud. It was further down than she had anticipated, but it was still manageable. Millie’s head poked through the opening. “No!” she whispered loudly. “Legs first! I can’t catch you if you take a dive head first.”

“Oh.” Millie’s head ducked back in and then one leg jutted out. Soon, she was sitting on the ledge. “Ready?” It was a pointless question because Millie jumped at the same instant she uttered it. It wasn’t quite what Trish had in mind. She hadn’t planned on actually „catching‟ her friend, she was going to help her crawl down. Instead, all she managed to do was break Millie’s fall with her body as they both tumbled to the ground, arms and legs akimbo.

“Are you okay?‟ Trish asked breathlessly. The thought of Millie breaking an arm or a leg . . . or worse, had Trish worried.

“I’m fine. Now, get off of me so we can get out of here!”

Trish’s eyes widened and she held a finger to her lips. She thought she had just heard the bedroom door open. Oh, oh. Gesturing frantically with her hand, she motioned for Millie to follow her. They scrambled over to the next door neighbor’s trailer and ducked behind it a second before a stream of obscenities flew out the open window.

But then the cursing stopped, followed by only low muttering, and then nothing. Grabbing Millie’s hand, they made a mad dash through the mobile home park – well, as mad a dash as two old women could make – ducking between trailers and keeping an eye out for anyone following them. It seemed that all they left behind, though, was a wave of barking dogs.

What seemed like an eternity later, they saw Edna sitting in the car at the entrance of the mobile home park just as she had been instructed. “Let’s go,” Trish said breathlessly as she practically pushed Millie into the car and then fell in after her.

Edna looked at them in shock. “What . . .”

“We’ll tell you in a minute. Just get the hell out of here!”

* * *

And Mitzi shares with us:

This series is so much fun to write and thanks to the people that are, and have been, in my life, I’ve got enough material to keep this series going for years! Both of my grandmothers were spunky, independent women who never lost their sense of humor regardless of the trials in their lives. They were truly an inspiration. The second book in the series, Deadly Policy, is scheduled to be released in April, 2012.

I’m in the middle of the third installment in the Silver Sleuths series and I’m also working on a contemporary romance trilogy. In addition I’m drafting the outline for a family saga. I don’t stick to any one particular genre and that’s one of the benefits of writing fiction. The world out there is a blank page, waiting to be captured and formed into limits only defined by the imagination!

The most important writing tip I can offer is to not feel rejected when you receive a rejection notice. It’s going to happen. Do not get defensive or feel depressed. It’s not personal and you have to look at it as a process. When you receive that dreaded letter, turn right around and get another query out. Someone out there is interested in your work and it’s only a matter of finding that special editor who likes your idea.

I was very fortunate finding my publisher. I had this great idea of three older women stumbling into amateur sleuthing to help a friend who was accused of killing his wife. So I wrote a query letter describing my idea and pulled out my trust Writers Digest reference book. I started at the beginning of the alphabet and soon I received interest from Avalon Books. I dearly love the editors I’ve worked with there and the relationships we’re developing as this series continues is something I’ll always treasure.

I love to hear from people and can be reached at http://mitzi@mitzikelly.com/. There is more information on my webpage, http://www.mitzikelly.com/.

And from me:

Thank you so much, Mitzi, for visiting with me today and sharing about your delightful series and some insight into yourself and your writing.

Marilyn