The following is an interview with Stephanie Kane regarding the upcoming release of her novel, Cold Case Story. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kane about the creative process of bringing this personal story to the page, what she hopes that readers may take away from the book, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Your upcoming novel, Cold Case Story, is a very personal story that balances between mystery novel and autobiography. For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe the book’s premise, and what provided you with the impetus to give life to the case by fictionalizing it?
Stephanie Kane: Cold Case Story is the true story of the 1973 murder of Denver-area housewife Betty Frye. Betty’s murder was very personal for me, because it happened on the eve of my marriage to her son. In 2001, I fictionalized it in my first mystery novel, Quiet Time. Four years later, Quiet Time was the catalyst for reopening Betty’s murder and reindicting her killer.
BD: As an author, do you find that your writing often provides a creative and emotional outlet for yourself, so much as it provides for your readers, or is this a more singular experience in this instance?
SK: That creative and emotional outlet is why I write. I used to be a corporate lawyer, and my first genre series was legal thrillers starring dyslexic criminal defense lawyer Jackie Flowers. In Jackie, I exorcised my corporate left-brain demons by creating a lawyer who was better than I ever was, and who drew on talents I didn’t have to make up for a skill (reading) that had always been my strength.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that this story will connect with and impact readers?
SK: How do you come to terms with your own role in a murder? Cold Case Story pulls back the curtain on that, and on what happens to a victim’s family when the killer walks.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
SK: Object Lessons is the third installment in my Lily Sparks art-conservator mystery series. The story is a modern take on 1940s crime scene dioramas pioneered by Chicago heiress Frances Glessner Lee to train detectives to solve crimes. Lee’s dioramas were dollhouses, but the dolls in them were dead!
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Cold Case Story and your other work?
SK: Readers can reach me through www.writerkane.com, the Stephanie Kane Amazon Author Central page, and on Facebook at @AuthorStephanieKane.
