Sunday, May 17, 2020

Bumps in the night, Mary Keliikoa writing her braver self


HALLIE EPHRON: An active imagination is a crime fiction writers best friend. Provided she doesn't mind being kept up all night be all the what-ifs that scary sounds trigger.

Today we're happy to welcome Mary Keliikoa, a terrific writer with an active imagination which she's managed to harness. Her new novel, Derailed, is getting heaped with praise - Publisher's Weekly calls it a "w
inning series and debut launch... this is definitely a series to watch"!

MARY KELIIKOA: I have always had an over active imagination—and not always in a good way. As a kid, I would occasionally spend nights at my grandmother’s home. The creaks of her fifty year old home during the day were enough to spark my thoughts of the boogie man coming to get me, but it was at night when my brain went into overdrive. 


My brother and I would sleep upstairs in an attic-like room over the garage, accessible through a separate set of stairs from the main living area. A rickety coiled radiator clicked on throughout the night. I swear it glowed red, although that might be an exaggeration. I only remember believing the house was going to catch on fire and I wouldn’t be able to get out, so I would stay awake as long as I could until I just couldn’t, hoping I’d survive.

The home I lived in with my family wasn’t much better. I grew up on the Oregon coast in a double wide trailer next to an ash tree that scraped like sharp nails across top of the metal roof when the wind picked up. At the coast, that was most every night. My bedroom window also looked out into a bleak, black forest where coyotes roamed. Or wolves. Or serial killers.
It also didn’t help that our trailer park was located in Fort Stevens, right next to military forts, batteries and bunkers built in 1863 and used until 1947. One old man at the end of our street spoke of the ghost of a young soldier who walked the outlying paths searching for enemy soldiers and unruly children. Try walking those paths as a kid and not be scared to death.

Sometimes my fears were justified. My dad was a charter fisherman and I’d listen to the CB on the dryer waiting for his return each afternoon. On more occasions than I’d like to remember, the calls were terrifying as the boats battled the jetties to get back home safe. Sometimes they’d capsize when a rogue wave hit. One of those fishing boats lost everyone aboard. I lost a friend that day. I never wanted to go out on the boat with my dad after that.

And there was that time when my imagination didn’t have to work hard to imagine the worst. I was 14 and a classmate was abducted from the roads I walked regularly. She was found murdered a hundred miles away. Even now I rarely walk country roads alone.

With so many things terrifying me in my youth, and spilling over into my adulthood, it’s a wonder that the genre I chose to write in was mystery. Even now I can’t watch thriller movies or read books where the crimes are too graphic. But maybe it’s the fact that I do have these fears that I chose the way I did.

When writing my own mystery story, I get to create a protagonist that is much stronger and much braver than I am. Ghosts wouldn’t give them pause and squashing a bad guy who was messing with them would be an instant reflex. Even when they’re afraid, they’re willing to face and overcome those fears no matter how bad I make it for them. And I do work to make it rough.

I also get to create the world in which those characters live. The reasons for the bad actions are justified, or at least explainable. Best of all, the outcome is completely under my control.

Maybe more than ever I like that aspect the most because so much in our world now has felt very much out of my control. Storytelling is my way of making sense of the senseless. At least I know how the story will end. And I assure you justice will prevail.

What keeps you up at night? 


HALLIE: These days, I find there's plenty to keep me up at night. And as I've gotten older I'm more likely to BE up i the middle of the night. For comfort, I come downstairs and read whatever mystery novel I'm in the middle of. And somehow that helps me get back to sleep. Go figure.


Derailed
by
Mary Keliikoa
 
A dying wish. A secret world.
Can this grieving investigator stay on the right track?

PI Kelly Pruett is determined to make it on her own. And juggling clients at her late father’s detective agency, a controlling ex, and caring for a deaf daughter was never going to be easy. So she takes it as a good sign when a letter left by her dad ties into an unsolved case of a young woman struck by a train.

Hunting down the one person who can prove the mysterious death was not just a drunken accident, Kelly discovers this witness is in no condition to talk. And the closer she gets to the truth the longer her list of sleazy suspects with murderous motives grows. Each clue exposes another layer of the victim's steamy double life.

On a crash course with a killer, she must piece together the puzzle of what really happened to the victim that rainy night, before her own fate is sealed and she loses everything near and dear, including her life.

Mary Keliikoa is a Pacific NW native and spent the first 18 years of her adult life working around lawyers. Combining her love of all things legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails. She has had a short story published in Woman’s World and is the author of the PI Kelly Pruett series which debuts with DERAILED in May 2020. When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.

54 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new book/series, Mary . . . “Derailed” sounds quite intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading it . . . .

    Oh, goodness, Hallie, there are a whole lot of nights that I get up and read simply because I can’t fall asleep. I don’t have an answer for why that is, but there are times that finding sleep is difficult indeed . . . . .

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    1. Nice to know it's not just me... I have, however, become a champion afternoon napper.

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    2. Thank you, Joan! Reading works for me too and I like the way Hallie rolls! I might need to start integrating an afternoon nap myself!

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  2. Congratulations, Mary, on the release of Derailed. This sounds like the start of a great new series for me to try.

    Fortunately, I rarely have any trouble falling asleep. No strange sounds or creepy stories as a kid. Even now with all the anxiety and trouble around the world, I can usually fall asleep immediately after going to bed.

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    1. It's a gift, not to be taken for granted, Grace.

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    2. Thank you, Joan! Reading works for me too and I like the way Hallie rolls! I might need to start integrating an afternoon nap myself!

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    3. Morning Grace and Thank you! (Sorry about posting Joan below. Clearly need more coffee! Agree with Hallie -- sleeping is a gift!

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  3. Derailed sounds very intriguing. I look forward to reading!!!!

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  4. Wow, Mary - I had the same imagination as a child. I still do, but luckily not much keeps me up at night. Isn't a joy when we can bring sense to the senseless?

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    1. Aloha Edith and yes it is a joy! It's such a great place to draw from in writing stories!!

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  5. When I was a teen, I used to check my closet and under the bed. (Fortunately, there was never anything unexpected there.)

    Congratulations on Derailed. It sounds spine-chilling and ultimately very satisfying. :)

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    1. Hi Barbara, I did the same thing. I will only admit this here -- but I actually used to take a running start from the door and jump in the bed to avoid what might be under it, lol. Thankfully like you, the room was always all clear! Thank you on the congrats!

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  6. Congrats on the new book Mary. I find myself at least technically ahead of this blog entry because I already have DERAILED on order. It "should" be arriving in the next few days. I am really looking forward to reading it.

    As what keeps me up at night? Well, not much really. I have the opposite issue. I fall asleep all the time now. I'll be watching something on TV and then all of a sudden I wake up and it is three hours later.

    The bigger problem for me is staying asleep through the night rather than not getting to sleep.

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    1. I have the same problem jay... trying to stay up later and severely limit my wine with dinner seems to help. I do often get ideas while lying awake - so question for Mary: do your characters go bump in the night?

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    2. Hi Jay -- Oh thank you! Happy reading! Waking up can be just as annoying! I find that happens a little more often than I'd like myself these days!!

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    3. Yes Hallie -- sometimes they do! And for them, those bumps usually have a real source, not just coming from their vivid imaginations. :)

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  7. Congratulations on your new book!

    In the winter, while I'm burrowed under a stack of wool blankets drifting off to sleep, I sometimes hear mice skittering in the attic or bedroom wall. I yawn. Mice, I can handle. Sit up, instantly awake. But what if they're rats? The kind with big yellow teeth running along the outdoor electric wires?

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    1. Aloha Margaret -- Thank you so much! Oh no -- let's hope they're not rats. You draw a vivid image that has me glancing around at any sound, lol.

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  8. Congratulations on the new book, Mary, and welcome to Jungle Red, an oasis of sanity in this crazy world.

    I, and everyone I know, have trouble sleeping through the night. Remember that opening scene on "Married ... With Children" where the fountain water pressure went down to nil when Al flushed the toilet? I have visions of that happening at 3 a.m. all over the country.

    Night noises don't phase me. Between little Penny and her selective barking plus the Ring that videos movement, I feel safe. The first week we had the ring, it captured a person walking up our drive and peering into the garage. We called the police.




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    1. Aloha Ann thank you, and so happy to be here! I do remember that scene!! I received the Ring for Christmas. I really need to figure out how to get it set up!! Our Bella girl is a wonderful dog, but she's not so selective!

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  9. We usually have a police cruiser parked out front (our next door neighbor) which keeps down the ne’er do wells

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    1. That would definitely come in handy in discouraging mischief :)

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  10. This week I'm up worrying about my mum, who is in hospital with a blocked bowel and having surgery later today. At 91, the risks are big. All good thoughts to Anne in Edmonton...thank you, JRW, for this community. xo

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    1. Oh, Amanda, how awful. May your mother's surgery go well today.

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    2. Sending good vibes for you and your mom, Amanda. So hard. Sending a virtual hug.

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    3. Oh, Amanda, how worrying. Sending good thoughts to you and your mom.

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    4. Only positive thoughts for your mom and you.

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    5. Sending you and your mom positive thoughts and prayers

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  11. Good Morning Mary. As I type your book should be downloading to my Kindle. It sounds exactly what I need to occupy me today. As far as keeping me up? It started as a child, watching the Outer Limits and the Twilight Zone didn't help. My covered birdcage became a floating ghost, the window had EYES!

    One of the luxuries of old age is one can eat when you are hungry and sleep when you are tired. I have become cat like, napping extensively combined with voracious reading. Hope all is well with you and your loved ones, and best wishes with Derailed.

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    1. Thank you, Coralee! I hope you enjoy! Twighlight Zone and Outer Limits would definitely do the trick! I love the floating ghost image! All is well with me and my family, thank you! I hope the same for you and yours.

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  12. Brava, Mary, for creating an alter ego with great bravery.

    We are kindred spirits in the bump-in-the-night terrors. When my husband and I got married in 1982 I had never been alone in a building in my life before. And he traveled six months of the year for a couple decades. I'm still a fraidy cat at night unless I know all the doors and windows are securely locked. My husband can undo all that in two minutes flat, though. He has been known to unlock and leave unlocked doors I just secured moments before. Aargh.

    Having a friend murdered is traumatic, for your young self, most particularly. I've known four people who were killed, including two childhood friends, but they were all adults when they met their fates. One crime has never been solved, and one was only just solved a year or two ago, decades after she was found dead. They still don't have a real motive, though, other than pure meanness.

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  13. Thank you, Karen! Those husbands! Mine does that on occasion and I've taken to just doing the last round at night to make sure the doors are locked! Hopefully I remember to do it before I'm actually in bed before I realize I didn't check! I'm sorry about all of your loss :( It is traumatic. That is definitely one of the things I do enjoy about writing is making sure there is a reason. It still might be a horrible one, but pure meanness is harder to process for me.

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  14. Mary, welcome to Jungle Reds! And Congratulations on your new book! When you mentioned active imagination, I was reminded of my 4th grade class. A classmate made up a story to the teacher about why he was NOT wearing his hearing aids. He weaved a story to us all (the teacher and us kids) about how a robber broke into his house while everyone was sleeping and stole his hearing aids. Our teacher said to him that he has a very active imagination and that he could write books. I am still laughing about that. Hearing aids were NOT comfortable!

    What keeps me up at night? If I have caffeine in the late afternoon, I can NOT sleep. Thinking about 1000 different things that needs to be done keeps me up at night. I am trying to be more organized and get rid of the clutter so I do not feel so scatterbrained.

    Diana

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    1. Thank you so much, Diana! That's a great story! That caffeine can be bothersome for sure and getting organized can really help with focus. I know when I clean out my office, or straighten my closet, I always feel so much better.

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  15. Hi Mary, and congratulations on your book! A debut novel is such a wonderful thing! And that's a great quote from PW!

    I had a very active imagination growing up but I wasn't especially afraid of things--except the little egg-headed men who lived in the hole under the creek bank... I don't worry too much about noises in the night as hubby is an ex cop and we have too German shepherds. What usually keeps me up is ideas. I don't know why my brain suddenly kicks into gear right when it's time to go to bed.

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    1. Thank you, Deborah! Those egg-headed men living in the hole will get you every time! I love how story ideas keep you up and it is amazing how much you realize you have to get done right about the time your head hits the pillow! I've definitely learned to get up and take some notes if something keeps me up too long!

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  16. Congratulations on your book release Mary. Loved the book and looking forward to book #2.

    I have an active imagination and I always try to look on the bright side of any horror I come up with.

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    1. Thank you, Dru! I was so thrilled you loved the book! Looking on the bright side is definitely the fastest way to the other side. I love it!

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  17. Derailed sounds wonderful! I love the premise! As for creepy things in the night. . . if I can't hear it, it isn't there. Right? When we lived in El Paso we had a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood on the edge of the desert. Frank was a Border Patrol agent and he worked the night shift from time to time. Alone at night I could hear sounds from all over the neighborhood until I turned on the swamp cooler. That drowned out everything. Nothing like a little white noise! And, of course, we had a dog who was my outdoor head of security.

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    1. Thank you, Pat! I love the way you think--a little whitenoise and a dog sound like the perfect remedy! :)

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  18. Sounds delightful, Mary, and congratulations on your debut.

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  19. I'm a little amazed when I think back on the places I've gone alone and the strangers I've trusted . . . and all has been well. Pure luck, mostly, but when the little voice inside put up warnings, I also heeded those. Too often women are afraid of looking foolish, or rude, and go ahead with something that doesn't feel right. Now, though, Safe At Home, with masks and gloves for necessary outings, for the good of all. It's another kind of courage. <3

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    1. So much truth in everything you said, Mary! And always important to listen to the innervoice even if someone else doesn't approve!

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  20. Congratulations on your debut, Mary! I always love twists on the classic PI, who is of course a man, and a loner, and relaxes in the evening with a bottle of whiskey. It's wonderful to see DERAILED has a single mother struggling with family as well as work!

    As for fears, from the moment I became a mother, I really only had one - that something terrible would happen to one of my kids. Probably the most common fear there is; I have a good friend who clipped newspaper stories of teens crashing cars for years, pasted them in a scrapbook, and made her boys read it from start to finish before they began driving!

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    1. Thank you, Julia! I definitely wanted to make my PI relatable, and being a mom myself, wanted to see that everyday woman put into the trenches! And motherhood does trigger all of the fears for sure. I hope your friend's boys thought twice when they got into a car. Nothing more sobering than reading those kinds of articles.

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  21. Congrats on your debut, Mary! How thrilling!!! I'm usually so brain exhausted but the time I go to sleep, I don't wake up until morning - have literally slept through my teens having a pool party I did not know about. LOL! Love that your PI is a modern female taking the lead! Can't wait to read it.

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    1. Thank you, Jenn! It's been very exciting! Oh I wish I'd had a mom like that when I grew up :) I could never sneak in without being detected!

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  22. Congratulations, Mary, on your debut book! I can only imagine how exciting it must be to see not only your book out there, but it is the start of a series, too. I love the title of Derailed, and the cover is great, too. I enjoy a female PI, too.

    Your mention of your classmate that was abducted from the same roads you walked stirred a thought and some memories in me. It's like the old saying that even a paranoid person can be right. We hear stories of danger and harm, and while we may worry that it could happen to us, we don't usually believe that it will. But, sometimes it does, or it comes too close for comfort. You walking those same roads as the abducted girl. I'm sure you've thought that it could have been you. When I was just two years old, we had moved to a new house, and I was sleeping in a crib in the hallway to the bedrooms. Someone broke into our house and had walked past me sleeping there before he was scared off. Another time when I was old enough to be riding a bicycle (with training wheels), we neighborhood kids were playing outside, and it had gotten dark. The rules were to stay in front of our house and not venture out after dark, but I was so delighted with my new freedom of riding a bicycle that I rode down to the end of the street where there were no streetlights. Someone reached out from the darkness and tried to grab me. I had the presence of mind to scream and scream loud, which brought all of the other kids running to me. Whoever had thought to take me or harm me or scare me had his efforts thwarted by my brother and my friends. There but for the power of a crowd of screaming kids was my ending before I began. So, yes, I've learned that most of the bumps in the night or fears of danger are baseless, there is always that paranoid person who is right one time.

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  23. Oh, so behind..running in! If you want to hear the first chapter of DERAILED read out loud on Facebook by the fab Hannah Mary McKinnon--you can do that right now on First Chapter Fun! Click here--you will love it!
    https://www.facebook.com/hannahmarymckinnon/videos/2590586151156333/

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    1. Ah thank you, Hank!! Hannah is truly amazing!

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  24. Thank you, Kathy! I so appreciate your comments. It really is a dream come true. And you are so right, sadly sometimes those imaginary bumps in the night are far too real for some. I'm so glad that your situations didn't turn into something more terrible. Although those near misses can definitely play in our mind just the same.

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