Today Kate Parker is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Deadly Darkness, the latest novel in the Deadly mystery series.

Welcome, Kate. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

Deadly Darkness is the sixth in the Deadly Series. In this story, Adam and Olivia finally marry, but their honeymoon quickly becomes a struggle with murders, a missing young woman, and German spies. The Deadly Series follows Olivia from before World War II when she finds she’s now a young widow in need of well-paying employment to this book set on the cusp of war and the next books set in WWII. Along the way, she travels to Nazi Germany to rescue people and discovers German spies in Britain for counterintelligence.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

A chance spotting in a newspaper article about the first blackout practice over southern England two months before the start of the war. And what goes on in the dark…

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

The theme is about good and bad relationships between parents and children. Doesn’t everyone wonder about that?

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them? 

My characters tend to spring alive and breathing in my brain, which makes it a busy place. I adore Olivia. She’s me, only younger, brighter, braver, and better looking.

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about? 

Lots of research in old newspapers, books, and photos. I love to visit England and wander around museums and along streets to get a feel for the setting of the stories. When I sit in front of my computer, I can shut my eyes and find the place where each scene takes place.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?  See above.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?

I had a great deal of fun writing Deadly Darkness and all of the Deadly Series. I hope your readers enjoy Olivia’s adventures.

Thank you for answering my questions, Kate, and good luck with Deadly Darkness, the latest book in the Deadly mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Kate by visiting her website and her Facebook, Bookbub and Goodreads pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon – B&N – Kobo

About Kate Parker: Kate caught the reading bug early, and the writing bug soon followed. She’s always lived in a house surrounded by books and dust bunnies. After spending a dozen years in North Carolina, she moved to Colorado. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful, but she’d developed a love of wide rivers, warmer and wetter weather, and fast-growing greenery that sent her hurrying back to North Carolina.

Deadly Travel is the fifth book in the Deadly Series, and Kate’s plan is to follow it quickly with Deadly Darkness, both set in 1939 in the days leading up to war. There are at least three more of the Deadly Series coming that will bring the beginning of the war to Olivia’s doorstep. Kate reports that she is having fun creating new stories to entertain readers and chaos to challenge her characters.