Author Spotlight: Welcoming Back Author Kris Bock

Meet Kris Bock, who’s here with Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek: Book 3 in the Accidental Detective humorous mystery series! Kris writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In the humorous Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café.

Which book are we talking about today, Kris?

Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek: The Accidental Detective Book 3 in my humorous mystery series is out October 3 and available for preorder now!

Can you tell us more about the main character?

After she’s injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returned to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age (49), even though she’s living like a teenager again: staying with her father, trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and running into people who still think of her as Kitty.

Tell us about a favorite character from the book.

A lot of readers really love Kate, because she’s relatable. Another favorite character of mine is her father. They have to learn to live together again as adults. Initially Kate tried to hide her investigation from him, but because he’s not stupid, he figured out she was up to something. They agree that he won’t give her a curfew or advice on dating if she won’t try to “protect” him by keeping secrets. He also has a coffee group that provides some eccentric sidekicks!

What was the biggest challenge this book presented? What about the biggest opportunity?

 I generally plan out mystery novels in advance. But with a mystery you ideally want to keep the villain something of a surprise until the end. It’s tricky setting up the clues and red herrings so everything makes sense but it isn’t too easy to figure it out. When I come up with a twist that surprises me and takes the book in a new direction, I figure it was a decent chance of surprising the reader as well.

If you were friends with a character in this book, what kinds of things would you do together?

As the group of people helping Kate with her investigations grows, they spend a lot of time drinking coffee and eating cookies or muffins or cupcakes. I prefer tea to coffee, but chatting and eating baked goods sounds great!

What do you look for in a story as a reader?

Some of that depends on my mood, but mainly I like a story that pulls me in so deeply I forget I’m a writer. Otherwise I tend to analyze the story as I read. I need to care about the characters and understand why they need to do what they think they should do.

What is the first book that you remember reading?

I don’t remember the title, but I remember being annoyed that my dad made me stop reading because the neighbor’s house was on fire.

Aside from writing or reading, what are your hobbies or interests?

I enjoy hiking, archery, and reading. I like baking but I try not to do too much of it, for the same reason that I try not to eat as much chocolate as I’d like. Is eating chocolate a hobby?

 What is something you can do better than anyone else you know?

Make pie crust. I don’t do any of the fancy things you are supposed to do, like chill everything, yet everyone agrees my pie crusts are the best. The trick is to avoid overworking it. If it looks like a big mess when you start to roll it out, you’re on the right track. You could probably say the same thing about writing a book.

What are you working on in the near future?

I have one more Accidental Detective books written, with two more scheduled for publication next year that I still have to write. I’m also writing the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series. (Apparently my characters suffer from a lot of accidents.)

Who wouldn’t want to be a billionaire? Turns out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves.

The series begins with The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas, out November 8.

I’m also writing a series with my brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama (yes, the movie starring Reese Witherspoon). Our young adult comedy series features “Felony Melanie,” Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. It’s a lot of fun to work with a writing partner, especially one I’ve known my whole life. (Find the books at Amazon US or other e-book retailers. You can check out the series for free if you sign up for our Rom-Com newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin.)

Thanks for having me, Nan!

 Get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material when you sign up for the Kris Bock mystery and romance newsletter. You’ll also get a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Find Kris:

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Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek

Turning fifty in her childhood bedroom wasn’t on her bucket list…

Kate Tessler is convinced her sister is trying to kill her. In fact, she might prefer death to Jen’s “50 for 50 Challenge,” where Kate will try fifty new things throughout the year she turns fifty. Still adjusting to her new underemployed life back in her childhood home in Phoenix, the last thing Kate wants is to prepare for paddle boarding, especially when she receives an anonymous message claiming that Mayor Todd Paradise is taking bribes. The author claims to have proof, including photos, and challenges Kate to publish the story.

Could good guy Todd, Kate’s almost boyfriend, really be corrupt or is someone trying to set him up? Kate sets out to discover the truth, with help from her multi-generational, unconventional, and often unhelpful crew. She thrived reporting from war zones as an international war correspondent, but can she survive a deadly fundraising party, a close encounter with a taser, a turn at an open mic night, and a hundred-pound dog named Whiskers?

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