Katy McDermott

Hi there, and welcome to my author page! My name's Katy McDermott, and I've written 4 books (so far) - all whodunits, all part of a series (but they can be read in any order.) The names? Glad you asked!

Meeting Murder - my first, which took me over ten years to write! I wrote on-and-off, of course. Once I decided to really commit to the process, I wrote the 2nd half in about 6 months. It's set in Miami, Florida, at a drug company product launch. (I used to be a drug company meeting planner - you know what they say - "write what you know" - well, not the "murder" part...) In this first book, the reader meets amateur sleuth Laurie Kilcannon - and she meets a gruff and cynical Miami-Dade detective named Tim Riordan. Fun fact: while in Miami researching the book, I was caught in a torrential downpour, and conducted my first interview while dripping onto my subject's floor...

Meeting Darkness - #2, which follows Laurie as she moves to Cape Cod to be with the recently-relocated Tim. The town's wealthiest resident has been murdered - her house burned down around her - and Laurie and Tim work together to solve the mystery. Fun fact: I called my Cape Cod town "Barcliff," which is a fictional name - my late grandparents had a house on Barcliff Avenue in Chatham, MA, and the name is a little tribute to them...

Meeting Scandal - Book 3, which finds Laurie and Tim in Cape May for a summer vacation. Tim's there to meet Laurie's family and friends, most of whom take over a rented, raucous "shore house" for several weeks. Sun, sand, and surf - what could be more relaxing? Of course, neither Laurie nor Tim relaxes much once the Catering Manager at their hotel turns up dead in the walk-in freezer... Fun fact: my husband gave me the idea to set a book in Cape May when we went there on a brief vacation - we'd originally planned to go somewhere else, but those plans were derailed by Hurricane Irene...

Meeting Mayhem - my latest, and hands-down favorite... to research, that is! I believe in going to the setting of each book to interview local residents, take pictures, "get the details right," etc. - and this volume is set in Ireland! Laurie and Tim get in touch with their Irish roots, but crime does seem to follow them... Fun fact: the picture of me with the horse on this page was taken at Erislannan Manor Stables in Connemara, Co. Galway, and I'm with the model for the horse character "Treacle" in the book. And speaking of horses, this time it's a groom who's killed. And discovered in a most unusual place...

I'm done with my "Meeting Mysteries" for now - it's time for my characters to go live their lives! - but I'm certainly planning to keep writing. Perhaps a series for 'tweens about rescue dogs, perhaps a book for the Young Adult market (no vampires, though...) Oh, and this is outside of my "day job," writing copy for pharmaceutical ad agencies... sadly, I can't make it as a full-time author.

Yet.

The Peace Corps had a slogan: "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love."

It applies to being a writer too.