Schooled In Lies by Angela Henry
Schooled in Lies is the 4th book in the Kendra Clayton mystery series. When GED Instructor Kendra Clayton gets roped into serving on her high school's reunion committee things turn deadly and she and uncovers enough secrets, lies, and betrayal to make her head spin.
Angela Henry is on her fourth Kendra Clayton novel, and that's not a bad run for a series, especially one that isn't even close to stopping. The praise for her works has been solid, including comments by Library Journal, Romantic Times Magazine and CrimeSpree Magazine.
Angela was gracious enough to give me a few minutes of her time and we discussed where her writing is taking her.
About the Kendra Clayton Mysteries. Was this always intended as a series? Do you have plans for continuing the series? Should the books be read sequentially? Or is it okay to start anywhere?
Well, the tag line for the series is: Mysteries with humor, heart, and soul. The series is set in the fictional college town of Willow, Ohio and revolves around Kendra Clayton, an English teacher/amateur sleuth who manages to get herself involved in the murder investigations in her small town and always manages to get in way over her head. It was always intended to be a series. I'm currently at book four and I plan on continuing it for as long as I can. There are some plot lines involving Kendra's personal life that carry over from book to book. But you don't need to read them in order. I think each book can stand on its own.
What can you safely tell us about Schooled in Lies without revealing too much?
In Schooled in Lies, Kendra gets roped into serving on her high school's reunion committee and isn't too thrilled about it since she wasn't popular in high school and the committee is mostly made of obnoxious people who were in the super popular crowd. Then making matters worse, members of the reunion committee start having freak accidents and getting strange messages. When an accident results in a death, Kendra is convinced it's murder. But she's the only one who thinks so. She does some digging and uncovers all the committee members' dirty little secrets and has to figure out which one of them is a killer before she becomes the next victim.
What's the writing process like for you? Do you outline extensively or do you just wing it?
I'm a total plotter. I have to write a detailed chapter outline before I write. I call it my blueprint. But I'm not completely tied to it. I usually manage to stick to about 85% of it. Things always change between the outline and the final draft.
Can you tell us a little more about MystNoir?
I founded MystNoir in 2000 because of what I felt was a lack of info about African-American mysteries. I usually feature one book a month and post mystery related news, reviews, and links to articles. It started out a website but I've recently turned it into a blog. It's a labor of love and has won awards and been featured in articles. I'm pretty proud of it, though since I've become published I don't have the time for it that I used to.
What's next for you? What's next for Kendra? What do you think makes The Kendra Clayton Mysteries stand out most?
I have a book that I hope will be the beginning of a new series currently on submission. It's an adventure/thriller set in Paris and features a librarian as the main character. I'd love to spread my wings and branch out to other genres. I'm really loving steampunk and urban fantasy right now. As for Kendra, book five is completed and in the pipeline for a 2011 release. I think what makes the Kendra Clayton series stand out is that it's currently the only ongoing series that I can think of that features and African-American female sleuth in a non urban setting.
James A. Moore is the award winning author of the Serenity Falls trilogy and Deeper. He lives in the suburbs of Atlanta and writes thrillers and young adult thrillers. His latest release is the short story collection Slices.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2011, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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