Today’s featured author is Kimberly G. Giarratano. It’s not often that I get to say this, but I met Kim (!) in person. She was on a panel at Bouchercon last September and was kind enough to sign my copy of Death of a Dancing Queen.
Its sequel, Devil in Profile, is the subject of today’s interview. We also talk about the noir genre, Sisters in Crime, and more. Read on!
Connect with Kim on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and her website. Grab a copy of Devil in Profile here.
Hi Kim! Thanks so much for joining. Your latest release, Devil in Profile, is the second novel to feature unlicensed P.I. Billie Levine. In this installment, she stumbles across the body of an art collector with ties to Nazi Germany, and her involvement deepens as the cops zero in on her boyfriend. What do you love about Billie’s character? What personality traits and characteristics, in your opinion, make her a good private investigator?
What don’t I love about her? Lol. She is wish-fulfillment. I long to be as badass, tenacious, and brave as her. Also in my head, she has a dope sense of style (I definitely do not)—she’s really into 90s vintage. Billie also has an unwavering sense of justice which makes her a passionate private investigator. She’s a woman with a plan and nothing is going to stand in her way. Who doesn’t want to be like that? The slightest hiccup in my day and I want to throw in the towel. Oh, is it raining? Guess I’ll stay home and watch Netflix.
The Billie Levine series, starring a female, Jewish P.I., isn’t like the hard-boiled noir we’re used to seeing. What sparked the idea for Billie’s character, and specifically the positioning of her as a private investigator (instead of, say, an amateur sleuth)? And/or, what do you love about the noir genre, historically, and how it’s evolved over time?
I’m a huge Veronica Mars fan, and one thing Rob Thomas, creator of the show, did really well was subvert tropes. He took the alcoholic, trench-coat wearing PI and turned him into a teenage girl. The opening scene of the pilot is a shot of Veronica with a telephoto lens and a history textbook because she still has homework. I wanted to create my own Veronica Mars series, one with a protagonist built a bit in my own image. She’s young (I am not), but she’s Jewish and from New Jersey and she’s struggling to balance adulthood and caring for an ill parent. She came to me fairly actualized, which isn’t normal. Usually characters go through a metamorphosis as I write, but Billie arrived very real. I often think she’s around somewhere in Bergen County, drinking coffee and tailing a suspect.
I love hard-boiled fiction for its grittiness, typically featuring a down-on-their-luck investigator confronting the underbelly of humanity as they embark on a quest. And despite their personal struggles, they’re demanding justice, which in itself is quite heroic.
I also love how the genre has evolved to feature more women and people of color. My friend Delia Pitts has a PI novel coming out (Trouble in Queenstown) this summer featuring a Black, female PI who also lives in New Jersey. I’ve preordered the hell out of that book, and I can’t wait to read it. [Psst: preorder here! – M]
You have written mysteries for both teens and adults. How do you approach writing a YA mystery compared to an adult novel? What prompted you to shift from YA to adult, and was there anything about that shift that was particularly exciting or challenging?
The prompt to move from YA to adult came from two places. One was that I couldn’t envision Billie as a teenager because she cares for her mother with Alzheimer’s disease. For that to work, and for her fears of inheriting the disease to ring true, I needed her to be a little grown-up. She’s a young adult—she’s only 24—but an adult nonetheless. Because of this, I’d argue, she was the easiest character to write. I know what it’s like to be a grown-up (not fun) whereas when I write YA, I have to comb through some cringey, teenage-Kim memories. That said, writing for teens is different as their needs, wants, and emotions are different from adults. If teens are your audience, you have to write to them, not necessarily about them. There’s a difference. Your work should reflect their worldview and sometimes their worldview doesn’t make sense to adults. There’s been discussion online about YA books with spice. Spice is for adults. If you’re writing to an adolescent audience, any sex in your book should reflect that experience. Meaning a sexual encounter in a YA book should be awkward, complex, emotional, maybe a bit terrifying. You can write sex in YA, but make sure it’s realistic. It’s not going to be “spicy and sexy” because that doesn’t reflect teenage experiences.
And the other reason I transitioned to the adult sphere is slightly more business-related. I was an indie author for nearly ten years and indie YA doesn’t sell to teens (it sells to adults with Kindles and credit cards). Teenagers like physical books they get in bookstores and libraries and my indie titles weren’t available like that. So I had thought if I were to stay indie, I’d need to transition to adult. And alas here we are—the Billie books are my first traditionally-published novels. Moral of the story: no one can plan for anything.
As chapter liaison for Sisters in Crime, what do you love about this organization? How has it helped you grow as a writer, and what advice do you have for new members?
How much space do I have? Sisters in Crime is first and foremost an advocacy organization that began more than thirty-five years ago to support female crime fiction authors who were largely left out of the crime fiction space. Since that time, it has expanded its advocacy mission to include members of all marginalized groups. We’re constantly pushing publishing for more inclusivity. At SinC, “all writers belong.” We welcome all authors, regardless of gender, of all backgrounds in all stages of their writing career. From ‘pen to published’ is what I like to say. We offer craft and business webinars, a large online community, and more than fifty worldwide chapters. We really have everything for everyone.
If you’re a new member, get involved. Join a chapter or volunteer with National. Get into our online community, chat with everyone, or lurk if that’s your thing. I didn’t get involved until six years into my membership, and I’m not sure why I waited so long. I have met my best writer friends through SinC.
Lastly, what are you currently working on? When can we expect more Billie, and/or is there anything else you’re excited to share?
I turned in the draft for Book 3 in the Billie Levine series. It has an official title I can now share—Make a Killing—and will be out June 2025. In this book, I explore toxic corporate culture. Super fun. I pull no punches. Cover to come soon.
I’m working on some side projects—short stories and a historical mystery that is testing my research chops. And come fall, maybe I’ll write a witchy book that’s been sitting in my brain for a few years. And hopefully more Billie books. I have a stellar idea for her in a fourth installment. We’ll just have to see.
Thanks so much to Kim for the interview. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.