Today’s featured author is Tonya Kappes, known for her Southern mysteries with heaps of hospitality and homicide. In the interview below, Tonya talks writing long series (her popular Campers & Criminals series is at 26 installments!), traditional versus self publishing, and her favorite ways to connect with her readers.
Connect with Tonya on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and her website. Find all of her books on her Amazon page.
Hi Tonya! Thanks so much for joining. Earlier this month saw the release of Blowin’ Up A Murder, book eight in your Kenni Lowry Mystery series, which is set in small-town Kentucky and features charming, quirky characters. Southern hospitality plus homicide is your specialty—what do you think makes this combination so popular?
It’s definitely the Southern style and ways incorporated with the murders that readers really love—how we Southerns like to sweep things under the rug and make insults without people even realizing it just adds a little fun to an already fun genre to read.
Your next release is Rangers, RVs, & Revenge, the twenty-sixth (!!) installment in the popular Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery series. What do you like about writing a long series?
I love writing long series because I truly know them inside and out, so it makes them easy to write for me and I feel like they are part of me. It’s been so much fun creating my own little world and readers feel like they are coming over to a friend’s house or coming home when they pick up the series.
I know you have experience with both traditional and self publishing. Can you share your thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of each publishing path?
I didn’t start my career traditionally published—I self published first, and writers back then avoided me like the plague. They denied me and kicked me out of their groups. It wasn’t until I sold over 30,000 copies of a book did HarperCollins come knocking and I decided to take the traditional deal. I’ve always had my foot in the self publishing arena and a tip toe in the traditional world. I have a book business and not a hobby. I employ four people so it’s become its own thing.
As an indie author with a large group of loyal readers, can you share some tips for engaging with those who love your books? What are your favorite ways to connect with readers?
I love my readers. I love going live with them on social media and I love meeting them in person. Everything I have I owe to them. When I started writing, my only goal was to help ONE person escape their life no matter what type of day they had. The ONE reader is the only person I think about daily and I’ve never strayed from that. I want them to feel like they are sitting down with a good friend every time I have an interaction with them.
You’ve got several more releases scheduled for this year—with so many series in the works, how do you plan what to write and publish next? What series are your favorites to write?
I write in four different series. Since Camper & Criminals is my most popular, I make sure there’s a book coming out in that series every other month at least. Then the others get rotated in no specific order. I do write the Holiday Cozy Mystery Series, a spin off from Camper & Criminals, just for my Patreon group then I release those later—that’s why they never release for the holiday they are about because I’m writing them for the Cozy Krew Patreon.
I don’t have a favorite. I love them all!
Thanks so much to Tonya 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.