CozyMystery.Com: Kathleen Marple Kalb Interview

 CozyMystery.Com: Kathleen Marple Kalb Interview

KRL Update

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 3 more fun mysteries-"The Whisking Hour" A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander, “Death at a Firefly Tea" by Laura Childs, and "The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris" by Mark Pryor https://kingsriverlife.com/04/18/three-food-bookshop-mysteries/

And a review and giveaway of "Murder on Site" by TG Wolff, along with an interesting interview with her https://kingsriverlife.com/04/18/murder-on-site-by-tg-wolff/

 

We also have the latest Crime Writers of Color Coming Attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/04/18/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-april-june-2026/

 

If you enjoy Southern Gothic stories, check out the special midweek guest post that went up last night on KRL written by mystery author Erica Wright https://kingsriverlife.com/04/15/the-enduring-appeal-of-southern-gothic-stories/

 

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week, we have a review and giveaway of "Ours is a Tale Of Murder" by Nora Murphy https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/ours-is-tale-of-murder-by-nora-murphy.html

 

And a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder on the Sea Otter Express" by Nikki Knight https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/murder-on-sea-otter-express-by-nikki.html

 

And a review and giveaway of "The Boy in the Wall" by Jeffrey B. Burton https://www.krlnews.com/2026/04/the-boy-in-wall-by-jeffrey-b-burton.html

 

Happy reading,

Lorie 

Thursday Treats: 2/5/2026

Welcome back to “Thursday Treats.”  Viewership dropped more than half from week one to last week, so that was less than thrilling. So too was our weather event though things easily could have been way worse.

 

We survived the three inches of sleet and a dusting of snow, though not completely unscathed. Scott fell twice last week on back to back days trying to get stuff out to the bins. With my cane, there was no way I could do it. He did not break anything, but his neck remains sore and stiff. 

As to publishing news of interest….

 

Author Nikki Knight has the third book in her Gracie “The Hit Mom” Mystery series coming out next week. Murder on the Sea Otter Express: A Grace "The Hit Mom" Mystery takes readers to the New Haven Aquarium where Gracie’s intended target dies without her taking action. Comes out Tuesday in hardback, paperback, and eBook.

 

Author Michael Bracken, and many others, appear in Black Cat Weekly #231. This is a weekly publication featuring short stories and novellas in multiple genres. You can buy individual issues or one of the far better subscription deals at blackcatweekly.com.

 

Also out now is Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 16 Winter 2026. Edited and published by Brandon Barrows, the issue includes short stories by Mr. Barrows, Vinnie Hansen, and others. I am way behind on my reading, but I have enjoyed and reviewed previous issues.

 

Fellow SMFS list member Ron Clyburn announced on the list that his short story, The Fence, was available to read online at The Literary Garage. This is a free read and well worth your time.

 

Speaking of free reads, Michael Bracken announced that his short story, Store-Crossed Lovers, appears at the Substack of Cold Caller Magazine. You can read it here. By the way, he also recently announced that he, Joe R. Lansdale, Cheryl Head, and Warren S. Moore, will lead a writing workshop for the month of July on learning how to write crime fiction. Looks like it will be a really cool thing to do. You can learn more at the Newberry College website.  

 

M. E. Proctor also announced that her short story collection, A Book to Live By: Stories from a Different World, is now out. Published by Wordwooze Publishing, the read is available in eBook and paperback.

 

Jeffrey Siger announced on Facebook that his book, A Study In Secrets is the first book in his new The Redacted Man series. He explains the background of the book in this blog post as well as at his website. It is at Amazon as well as at other places.  I have read the book, enjoyed it, and will have my review up on this blog soon.

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Guest Post: TIMES TWO: When the Publishing Gods Smile – and Slap by Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

Please welcome Kathleen back to the blog today. She is in a bit of an odd position as she has not just one, but two books coming out this Tuesday. Two reads in two series.

 

 

 

 

TIMES TWO:

When the Publishing Gods Smile – and Slap

 

It’s either every writer’s dream – or nightmare: having two traditionally published books released in one day. And it’s my March 25^th.

You can either lead the parade or let it run over you.

And I’ve never been a fan of getting run over.

So here we go.

First, neither I, nor anyone else involved in this hot mess planned it.

Two years ago, March 25^th was just another day on my calendar. Originally, the Nikki Knight book, Hound of the Bonnevilles, the second Grace the Hit Mom mystery, was due last July. Shortly after I turned in the manuscript, though, the original publisher, a small and very good startup, Charade Media, was bought by Turner Publishing. The sale ended up being great news for everyone – Turner’s Keylight Books imprint has done very well by me. But the pub date had to slide. Not really a surprise.

As for the book under my own name, The Stuff of Mayhem, the second Old Stuff Mystery, was supposed to come out in November from Level Best Books. Some production glitches and delays – neither my fault nor theirs – delayed it six months.

Welcome to March 25^th.

Two books, two publishers, two pen names…one day.

Two-Fer Day.

Where I can, I’ve been promoting them together. Where I can’t – I’ve tried to be strategic. Careful not to be too greedy with friends who blurb and give me guest post spaces.

And honestly, sometimes just sitting here staring at my computer reminding myself that this is the best kind of problem to have. A once-in-a-career moment –and I’d better enjoy it!

The books? Nikki Knight’s Hound of the Bonnevilles stars Grace the Hit Mom is a part-time lawyer, full-time parent…and secret assassin. This time, she’s defending a woman accused of killing her second husband, Nicky the Used Car Czar, and Grace is pretty sure she killed Nicky because Grace killed husband #1. Of course, with that title, there’s a hound, and a Bonneville, plus plenty of holiday-season craziness.

In The Stuff of Mayhem, historian Christian Shaw uses her knowledge of old things to catch the killer after her town’s Independence Day cannon firing ends in a fatal explosion. Christian, her “two dads,” and her young son, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes – not to mention hot Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli – end up uncovering a nefarious plot that unravels at a 90-something lady’s bat mitzvah.

Both available March 25^th, otherwise known as Two-Fer Day, wherever you get your books!

 

 

 

                                       Excerpts from both books…..

 

 

The Stuff ofMayhem: 3/25/25, Level Best Books

The 90-something Bat Mitzvah girl catches a killer:

 

Our suspect poured champagne into the four glasses on the tray and started by taking a quick sip from one.

Clever. She would know how to do a good misdirect.

Ed, Garrett, and Joe exchanged glances. They got it too.

I kept moving, now near the open French door as I worked closer.

Henry, with all the seriousness of an eight-year-old who suddenly understands his photographic memory matters, studied the glasses.

Our suspect had no idea what she was up against.

She carefully handed a flute to Amy, who took it with a sunshiny elderly-lady smile that would have fooled almost anyone.

Henry studied the glass. I had to stare for a moment to realize it was slightly different in color and not as bubbly as the other champagne flutes. Not Henry. He recognized the difference immediately and nodded to me.

I met Amy’s gaze.

She raised the glass to the killer. Smiled. “GOTCHA!”

 

 

Hound of the Bonnevilles: 3/25/25, Keylight Books/Turner Publishing

Defense attorney and secret assassin Grace Adair has a problem with her new client:

 

“You can handle it better than I can.”

Always a dangerous comment from your partner. But it doesn’t usually mean you’re about to be dragged into a murder case, and it certainly doesn’t mean your own life could be on the line.

Since my husband, Michael Adair, is the lawyer you call when you’re really in trouble in New Haven County, Connecticut, and I recently offered to second-chair (or guest-star) when he needed me, the murder case wasn’t such a big surprise.

The issue was the defendant and what she might have done—or had done—before the charges brought her to Michael…

…the problem wasn’t Sherri’s second husband.

It was her first.

I was reasonably certain she’d had him killed.

Because I’d killed him.

 

 

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2025

Kathleen Marple Kalb, aka Nikki Knight, describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat. Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

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Guest Post: SECOND – OR FOURTH? – CHANCES by Kathleen Marple Kalb, author of A FATAL RECEPTION

Please welcome Kathleen back to the blog today….

 

GUEST POST: SECOND – OR FOURTH? – CHANCES

By Kathleen Marple Kalb, author of A FATAL RECEPTION

 

            I’m terrible at giving up.

            That’s the easiest way to explain why the Ella Shane Mystery Series is picking up at Level Best Books. It’s not the first time I’ve flatly refused to quit, either in my writing career or my day job as a radio news anchor. But seeing this fourth Ella book, A FATAL RECEPTION, come out into the world at a new home, with a dream-come-true cover is an incredibly sweet victory.

            The series features an Irish-Jewish Lower East Side orphan who found fame and fortune as a Gilded Age opera diva known for “trouser,” or male soprano, roles. I like to say Ella is part Anne of Green Gables, part Beverly Sills, part Errol Flynn, and all her own woman. She’s definitely not like any other amateur sleuth you’ve read – and she’s a lot of fun.

            Unfortunately, she’s had a rocky ride.  

            The first time around, it was a long trip to publication, with 200 rejections over three projects, most of it during a family health crisis, and finally, a lockdown debut: April 2020. Some great early reviews, nice support from my radio colleagues, and then the brick wall of Covid.

            As a working journalist, I’m deadline-oriented, so after I finished the third book on the contract, I started writing the fourth, just in case.  And maybe hoping if I had it, I’d need it.

            No surprise, I didn’t need it for Kensington. No hard feelings – with my sales, I’d have dropped me, too!

            But I couldn’t let it sit on my computer forever – I loved it too much. A FATAL RECEPTION uses a wedding as a frame for two mystery plots, plus plenty of fun with Victorian mores, Gilded Age snobbery, and even a wink at Titanic, because why not? In short, a good ride with a strong mystery backbone, solid historical background, and characters who I liked too much to let go. Plus a scene from a Civil War veteran’s funeral that I really loved – edited excerpt below.

            By early 2023, I had a new series in the works at Level Best (the Old Stuff mysteries) and my then-agent was retiring. It made sense to ask him to offer A FATAL RECEPTION to Level Best, just on the off-chance they might be interested.

            I was prepared for a no.

            Maybe even ready to admit it was time to walk away.

            But they liked it. And even wanted to give the series another try. Three books’ worth.

            So here we are. Ella Shane is heading down the aisle to wedded bliss, and new adventures to come. The second – fourth? – chance I never expected.

            The writing lesson? You never know. So if you love it, don’t give up.

 

EXCERPT:

 

We all bowed our heads, as the minister intoned a simple final prayer, with the same professional calm as the rest, and then, for a measure or so, there was nothing but the sound of the pallbearers’ booted feet.

            I could feel the men beside me tensing, all carefully hanging on to demeanor in the near, and nearly unbearable, silence.

And then, suddenly, ripping through the quiet like the first shot must have done on a humid July morning at Gettysburg, a raspy, impossibly ancient voice, intoning:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord....

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Because there could be nothing else. On the second line, several others joined in, all older gentlemen and veterans too:

He is trampling out the vintage where the Grapes of Wrath are stored...

As he reached the last word, Preston patted my arm and nodded to me, and I joined him:

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword...

Then, encouraged by Preston and the others, Tommy, Gil and the rest of the congregation began to sing along as well:

His truth is marching on...

Glory, Glory Hallelujah!

Now everyone was singing, except a few society women, who looked genuinely confused and offended. Lorimer’s protegee put her hand on her heart as the casket passed, proudly singing through her tears. So did his sons, both clearly doing as their father had taught them.

The veterans, singing one more lost comrade out, were no longer aged and decrepit but alight with pride. All standing straight, carrying the spirit and the memory of those who never came home.

As we reached the final chorus, the congregation marched after the family, onto the church steps, now more proclaiming than singing as we went:

Glory, Glory Hallelujah!

Glory, Glory Hallelujah!

Glory, Glory Hallelujah!

His Truth is Marching On!

As the last notes faded in the heavy June air, the cadets gently placed the casket in the hearse, standing together for one last silent salute.

God give him rest.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3w1R6en

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2024

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat. Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

Guest Post: EVERYBODY LOVES GRACE by Nikki Knight, AKA Kathleen Marple Kalb

Please welcome Nikki Knight, aka the alternate ego of author Kathleen Marple Kalb, to the blog today. Her new book, Wrong Poison: A Grace “The Hit Mom” Mystery, came out from Charade Media earlier this month. She is also the SMFS Vice President. 

 

EVERYBODY LOVES GRACE

By Nikki Knight, AKA Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

            She scared the socks off one of my former publishers…but every time I tell someone about Grace the Hit Mom, they want to meet her. At least in book form.

            Some also want to hire her. I think they’re kidding. I hope.

            There’s something extremely appealing about the idea of a nice suburban mom who has a secret life as an assassin specializing in creepy men.

            I started noodling about Grace during a difficult and scary time in my life: my husband was in cancer treatment and I was querying a novel. The idea of a suburban mom like me with a powerful secret life entirely unlike mine was a fun escape.

            Grace pretty much grew on her own from that thread. Because I didn’t want her to be a crazed vigilante, I made her a member of an ancient order of lady poisoners who quietly set things right. She needed to be just like anyone else you’d see at the PTA meeting…with one significant difference.

            And when I started running the idea past family, friends, and beta readers, the answer was always the same: YES!

            My mother was the first person to meet Grace.

            A trained history teacher, she was especially drawn by the idea that if Grace’s sisterhood of poisoners has been around for a few centuries, they might have taken out any number of important figures. It was her idea – which made it into the book – to have Henry VIII on the lady assassins’ greatest hits list.

            Even though I eventually found an agent for a different mystery, an historical series that led to a lockdown debut (another post for another day!) my mother would occasionally ask me about Grace. She was sure everyone would love the Hit Mom as much as she did.

            Most of my mom friends certainly did. While I was writing an early version of Grace, I floated the idea with pals at school pickup. To a woman, they laughed out loud and said they’d buy it for sure.

            As appealing as Grace was to my mother, she was even more appealing to the school parents, because we were down in the intense daily work of caring for young children. It’s an incredibly stressful and exhausting time for most people, no matter how important and fulfilling it is.

            My beta readers, both newsroom colleagues, loved Grace too. She hit – sorry! – right in the journalist’s sweet spot of secret lives and dark humor.

            With all of that, I was really confident in Grace…and really riding for a fall.

            After the historical mystery was well in process, I found out that my publisher at the time was looking to expand their cozy catalogue. Armed with all the good reactions to Grace, I sent the proposal that would become WRONG POISON to my agent. He loved her too, and happily sent out the pitch.  

            The editor sent it straight back. I don’t know exactly what was said, but it was very clear that the idea of a cozy mystery with a killer mom as the amateur sleuth made their head spin – and not in a good way.

            That was my first real indication that Grace is a chemistry test.

            As a journalist, writer, and wife of a cancer survivor, I live in a world with some sharp edges. So do most of the people around me – even plenty of nice suburban moms. We sand those edges down with dark humor.

            It doesn’t make us bad or crazy. It makes us humans who’ve found a way to stand on the edge of the abyss without crumpling or falling over.

            I’m not going to apologize for that.

            I’m also not going to judge anyone who doesn’t get it.

            These days, with a pandemic and everything after under our belts, I suspect a lot more people live with sharp edges. Which may be why Grace works now.

            Or maybe most of us have always loved the idea of a killer mom…but we weren’t ready to admit it.

            My mother, Grace’s first and biggest fan, died in December, before Charade Books bought WRONG POISON. She didn’t get to see Grace turned loose on the world, to good reviews and plenty of wry laughter. But I know she’s smiling.

 

WRONG POISON: She's a nice suburban mom and an assassin...and Grace Adair’s secret life has just become a problem. When a death at the Library Book Fair turns out to be murder – by a poison used only by Grace’s ancient sisterhood, she knows she’s in trouble. Now, she’ll need all her skills as a PTA mom and former prosecutor to find the killer and protect her friends…and their secrets. Hopefully without using her other skills. About those other skills: Grace and her sweet senior pal Madge are members of a 700-year-old order of lady poisoners, sacred to the Archangel Gabriel and sworn to remove evil men who elude human justice. Think #MeToo with untraceable poison.  Call it a cozy with a twist. You’ve never met anyone like Grace…and you’ll never forget her.   

 

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2023

Nikki Knight describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York City’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels. Her stories appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Black Cat Weekly, online, and in anthologies – and have been short-listed for Black Orchid Novella and Derringer Awards. Active in writers’ groups, she’s currently Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and Co-Vice President of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. As Kathleen Marple Kalb, she writes the Ella Shane and Old Stuff mystery series. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat. https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/nikki-knight

 

Lesa's Book Critiques: A COZY MYSTERY GIVEAWAY

 Lesa's Book Critiques: A COZY MYSTERY GIVEAWAY

Guest Post: LONG STORY SHORT: How the Pandemic Made Me a Short Story Writer by Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight)

Please welcome Kathleen Marple Kalb to the blog…

LONG STORY SHORT

How the Pandemic Made Me a Short Story Writer

By Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight) 

            I’ve always admired short story writers. The ability to sketch vivid characters and tell a full story in a few thousand words seemed like a magical thing. More, as a radio news anchor in my day job, I know it’s actually a lot harder to write short than long. It’s a gift.

            One I was very sure I didn’t have.

            Until 2020 pulled the rug out from under all of us.

            At that point, I was a debut mystery author, firmly convinced that I’d spend the foreseeable future writing and selling novels to all of those wonderful readers who were just waiting to see me at the bookstore.

            Sure they were.

            By publication day, I was helping teach Virtual Fourth Grade in my son’s bedroom, doing my weekend radio shifts from my husband’s home office, and writing whenever I had five minutes and a flat surface for a laptop. But at least I was still writing, working on the next novel, even though everything just felt wrong.

            Even the writing, which had never happened before. Writing was always the thing that felt right, the escape from my stressful world.  I’d written much of one book in the hospital waiting room during a family health crisis, so I knew about working through tough stuff. But not this time. Whether it was the stop-and-start from Virtual School, the energy drain of trying to sell a debut book entirely on social media, or just the daily horror, this time, I just wasn’t getting there.

            Still, I kept at it. Kept myself open to ideas.

            And then my local Sisters in Crime chapter announced plans for a short-story anthology. I thought: “Okay. I’ll try it, just to show support – and give them something to reject.”

            Really, I did.

            I went in with no intentions at all, just an interesting bit of information that had come up in my research for an historical mystery blog post, and a little research (I was a history major, that’s what I do!) about what makes a good short story. Then I just sat down and started.

             The tight focus and careful plotting required to tell a good story in a small space didn’t feel limiting, as I’d always thought they would for a novel writer like me. Instead, it felt familiar and satisfying, like writing a news story at work: getting all the facts (plot points) and the color to bring it to life, in the few seconds you have.

            I hadn’t realized what fun it could be to write, and condense, and sharpen a story that way.

            I also hadn’t realized how satisfying it could be to start a project with a very clear goal and finish it fairly quickly. The great thing about writing a novel is that you may not know where you’re going until you’re partway there. It never occurred to me that there was a lot of pleasure in knowing exactly what you have to do as you build it.

            That first story was so much fun, I started looking for more short ideas, and wrote several, mostly involving characters from my books in situations outside the main timeline. The process of looking for short story ideas has helped me as a long-form writer too, because I’ve learned to consider how much space a given plot needs.

            That first story is now in a New York/Tri-State Sisters in Crime anthology, after the advice and polishing of two very smart and helpful editors. And another one of my stories will be in a Creative James Media anthology early next year.

            I’m still working on a couple of novels. But I’m also still writing short stories when I get a good idea for one.

            And whatever I’m writing, I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned by branching out into short stories.

            The biggest lesson, though?

            Never assume something isn’t for you. That you don’t have the right gift or the right skills…or that you wouldn’t enjoy it.

            It might be just what you need. 

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2021

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb is the author of the Ella Shane historical mystery series for Kensington Books, and as Nikki Knight, the author of LIVE, LOCAL, AND DEAD, coming February 8, 2022 from Crooked Lane.  She’s a weekend radio anchor in New York City and a weekday mom in suburban Connecticut.