Tammy Kaehler--Kiss the Bricks

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Okay, it's Tuesday, we have a long week ahead of us, and I think we need a little excitement. As in VROOM VROOM, get your blood pressure up and your heart racing excitement. All it takes for me is this first line from my buddy Tammy Kaehler! If you haven't read Tammy's books featuring Kate Reilly, race car driver, you are in for a big treat. Tammy has gotten close to her character in a way that most writers only dream about, and this year she has totally topped it. She's got a job at--Well, I'll let Tammy tell you.

TAMMY KAEHLER: “Green, green, green! We are green for the Indianapolis 500!”
My heart pounded at race speeds. A voice broke through the static in my headphones. Patsy, a friend and pit spotter shouted, “Tagliani’s got a problem, he’s in the pits.”
Crap, I think. That’s one of my drivers. I’m already screwing up my job!

I’ve had a lot of opportunities over the last dozen years that other people would sell organs to experience. Like sitting down with hall-of-fame racing drivers to learn how to drive certain tracks—and finding out who pees in the seat of the race car and who doesn’t (yeah, it’s a thing). Like getting a ride around a race circuit from Mario Andretti. Like swapping book recommendations with a woman who drives 230 mph.

Like sporting an all-access credential—the kind money can’t even buy—for the Indy 500 last year.

But my story gets better. The 2016 race wasn’t just any Indy 500, it was the 100th running of the iconic motor race, and the place was overflowing. With something approaching 350,000 people. (Seriously.) They said one of every 1,000 people in the United States last May 29 was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They said IMS represented the 30-somethingth largest city in the country that day. It was packed.

But wait, my story still gets better. I wasn’t just attending the race. I was in pit lane—working for ESPN. And I was terrified I would do something wrong.

My job was to be a backup pit spotter—a representative of the network broadcasting the race who monitors a certain set of pit spaces, teams, cars, and drivers. In my case, I had the last dozen cars in the 33-car field. The top twenty were covered by other pit spotters, plus on-air talent and cameras. My cars/drivers were those least likely to have hot stories, so I didn’t have talent or camera. Just me and my nerves.

I wandered up and down my portion of pit lane throughout the race, collecting information about pit stops, problems, changes made to cars, and so forth. Once, I legged it to a particular pit to get an answer Patsy and her on-air guy needed. Occasionally, I reported when a top-20 running car of mine was headed for a pit stop.

Mostly, I sweated and worried. And had an absolute ball.

BE IN THIS MOMENT! I kept reminding myself. ENJOY THIS, RIGHT NOW!

And I did. I’m aware just how rarefied the air is I get to breathe. I mean, who gets to work the pits for the Indy 500?!

What’s more astonishing—or worse, if you’re one of those people who’d climb over my twitching corpse to take my spot—is that growing up, I didn’t know a thing about the Indy 500. Or racing at all. I was working for a mortgage company that started sponsoring racing, and I went along to the races because they needed help. That was the start of my insider access…and the start of Kate Reilly.

I started in a smaller, less well-known series. With less-known teams and drivers. As I’ve written more books and done more research, I’ve met more and more people. One person led to another, who led to another, and suddenly, I know a woman who races in the Indy 500. In fact, Pippa Mann not only races in the Indy 500, but she’s also a reader! (She’s my unicorn, basically.) She enthusiastically became my primary source for KISS THE BRICKS, set at the Indy 500. 

Just as suddenly, when I needed access last year to research the new book, it turns out I knew the right people who were willing to recommend me for the job in the pits. And the best part of this story? They recommended me again for this year.

So come Sunday, May 28, when The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indy 500, takes the green flag again, think of me. I’ll be the one stressing, sweating, and grinning ear-to-ear in the pits.

DEBS: I'd never have thought someone could turn this die-hard horse racing fan into a car racing fan, but Tammy did just that with her first Kate Reilly book.  She makes you feel what it's like to be in the seat of the little, fragile metal shell, careening around the track at nearly warp speed. And there's a cracking good mystery to make it even better.

Here's a little snippet from KISS THE BRICKS, the 5th Kate Reilly mystery:

After the first practice session for the legendary Indianapolis 500 motor race, Kate Reilly is stunned to discover she was the fastest driver—but she’s more surprised to learn she wasn’t the first woman to top the speed charts in the race’s 106-year history. That feat was accomplished in 1987 by PJ Rodriguez—who shocked everyone by committing suicide ten days later.

When the press, bloggers, and social media go crazy over the connection, Kate loses her identity—suddenly everyone’s comparing Kate and PJ, calling Kate PJ, and wondering if Kate will kill herself, too. Except that PJ’s family claim PJ was murdered, and they want Kate’s help finding her killer and restoring her reputation. Thirty years after the fact.

In the days leading up to the iconic race, Kate takes to the track for practice sessions, fulfills sponsor obligations, promotes the race for the IndyCar series, and plays peacemaker between the warring sides of her family. She also digs into PJ’s experience in the Indy 500 paddock and uncovers pervasive prejudice and chauvinism—then and now. With investigative help from “Special Team Kate,” she’s on the trail of potential suspects for PJ’s murder…and then one of them turns up dead.

Kate prepares to run the biggest race of her life at the same time as she narrows down the clues to two murders, all while fighting for her voice and identity in the storm of media attention. But will the past stay buried or will history repeat itself and leave Kate fighting for her own life?

Meg Gardiner says, "Smooth, quick, and punchy, KISS THE BRICKS pulls readers into the high-octane drama of the Indianapolis 500. The racing feels authentic and intense, but what propels this novel is the compelling mystery," and I agree.
 
Here's more about Tammy: When Tammy Kaehler discovered the racing world, she was hooked by the contrast between its top-dollar, high-drama competition, and friendly, family atmosphere. Mystery fans and racing insiders alike have praised her award-winning Kate Reilly Mystery Series (Dead Man’s Switch, Braking Points, Avoidable Contact, and Red Flags), and Tammy takes readers back behind the wheel in her fifth entry, Kiss The Bricks. She works as a freelance writer in Southern California, where she lives with her husband and many cars. Find out more: www.tammykaehler.com.

DEBS: I love the title of this book, and the cover is fabulous! Tammy, do you have input on the cover?

READERS, Tammy will be dropping in to answer questions about KISS THE BRICKS, and about racing. (I'm not sure I want to mention the whole pee-in-the-seat thing, but, really?)

So tell us if you are racing fans, REDS and readers. Have you been to the Indy? It sounds amazing, and I want to hear more!
 
(And I know what I'm going to be doing on May 28th. I'm going to be glued to the Indy 500, hoping to catch at glimpse of Tammy.)

Tammy Kaehler: What Dolly Parton Taught Me About Being A Feminist

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Happy Friday, everyone! Today I'm thrilled to introduce novelist Tammy Kaehler, the author of the Kate Reilly Racing Mystery Series. I was lucky enough to meet Tammy in person at the Literary Guild of Orange County at Long Beach's Festival of Women authors last year, and we've been buddies every since.

I love Tammy's series, because her protagonist, Kate Reilly, is such a strong and brave heroine — and also because I know absolutely nothing about the world of car racing. It's such a fun glimpse into this specialized world.

Welcome, Tammy!

Tammy Kaehler: Let me start by saying that Dolly Parton was a fixture in my childhood, in that sort of “odd celebrity who’s always there” kind of way—not to mention as the woman with the biggest chest and the most fringe and rhinestones. I was a child of the 80s, so I watched the movie 9 to 5 over and over, knew all the words to Islands in the Stream, and knew her song “I Will Always Love You” long before Whitney Houston recorded it. I just didn’t know how much common sense lurked behind all of that big hair.

From a combination of factors, not the least of which was being raised (mostly) by a single mother who attended UC Berkeley in the 1960s, I grew up believing women should reach for anything they want and not be satisfied with the constraints of traditional female occupations. I attended a liberal arts college, and that’s when I became more aware of language use and gender roles, and all the stuff that “political correctness” (which I think is unfairly maligned) teaches you to recognize.

That’s when I excised the word “girl” from my vocabulary for any female over the age of 16. I learned to say “first-year student” instead of “freshman.” And I developed my habit of always carrying a whistle and never walking alone at night. (Yes, the awakening was the good with the bad.) By then, to me, feminism meant no stereotyping, eschewing historical societal expectations, and doing everything men could. I’d never been a particularly girly girl, and at that point in my life, you wouldn’t have caught me dead in ruffles, bows, pink, or hearts. Somehow, those were marks against feminism or symbols of a need to be protected that would then diminish my strength or power.

Ironically, it was when I went to work for a women’s college that I became more flexible in my idea of what women could be. As I think back, that’s when I started to realize—as I looked around every day at hundreds of women leading or following, excelling or goofing off, and generally filling every role, traditional or otherwise—that just being a woman and doing what I wanted to do was a form of feminism. It’s a sentiment that took a while to gel, and one that I finally articulated in Red Flags when Kate, the racecar driver, is questioned by the media about not doing enough as a role model: “I make a case for women every day I’m behind the wheel,” she says.

A large part of my interest in the racing world stems from meeting women in it who aren’t the beauty-queen trophy girls. The women who don’t trade on their looks for exposure or success. And then someone like Danica Patrick comes along. Whether or not you think she belongs in NASCAR’s highest tier or in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, she’s in both (or has been). She’s talked about the technical craft of racing, she’s led and won races, and she’s used her sexuality to promote her brand. For a long time I was really conflicted about my opinions of her actions.

And then I started writing Red Flags, creating a character who’s your typical Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but with a twist: there’s a smart, strategic brain behind the glitz, glam, and pocket dogs. I came to understand that the best thing we as women can do today is be who the hell we want and own it. And who’s the patron saint of that? Dolly Parton.

Because, let me tell you, the woman is no dummy. The first quote of hers I heard and loved was about being called a “dumb blonde.” Her answer: “I’m not offended at all by dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb, and I also know I’m not blonde.” Another that stuck with me—talk about owning it—is one I let my character quote: “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.” You be you, Dolly.

So while there’s still a part of me that’s still conflicted, I’ve embraced hearts, polka dots, full skirts, and pink. Even pink on a racecar, if it’s driven by a woman and is supporting the fight against breast cancer. (That, by the way, is true of Kate Reilly in my books and Pippa Mann in real life.)

And I’m going to embrace being who I am, on purpose. With kudos to Dolly.

What I want to know is am I the only one with this kind of confusion about what feminism means? Worried, like me, that you’re not doing it right? And be honest, who else out there is a secret Dolly fan?

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Love, love, love Dolly. But it wasn't until the film The Bodyguard and the Whiney Houson version of "I Will Always Love You" that I realized she was also a songwriter and producer. Talk about your triple threat!

Confusion about being a feminist? Reds and lovely readers, what do you think? Do you ever feel like you're "not doing it right"? What about this "lean in" stuff? (And why so much judgment, both from others and our own inner critics?) Please tell us (and meet Tammy) in the comments. 

(And now I can't get "I Will Always Love You" out of my head. THANKS, TAMMY!)

Tammy Kaehler discovered the racing world via a stint in corporate marketing, and she was hooked by the contrast between its top-dollar, high-drama competition and friendly, family atmosphere. Mystery fans and racing insiders alike have praised her award-winning Kate Reilly Racing Mystery Series (Dead Man’s Switch, Braking Points, and Avoidable Contact), and Tammy takes readers back behind the wheel in her fourth entry, Red Flags. She works as a freelance writer in the Los Angeles area, where she lives with her husband and many cars. www.tammykaehler.com