About Cathi Stoler:
Cathi Stoler’s first mystery series includes TELLING LIES, KEEPING SECRETS, and
THE HARD WAY, all of which feature P.I. Helen McCorkendale and magazine editor, Laurel Imperiole. She recently finished the first book in a news series, BAR NONE: A MURDER ON THE ROCKS MYSTERY, and is working on a full-length sequel to her novella, NICK OF TIME, which features International gamble, Nick Donahue. She’s had stories published in several print anthologies and online, including “Fatal Flaw,” a finalist for the Derringer for Best Short Story and “Magda,” originally in the Criminal Element Girl Trouble anthology. Stoler won this year’s Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for Best Short Story for her “Kaluki Kings of Queens” in MURDER NEW YORK STYLE anthology, FAMILY MATTERS. Cathi is Vice-President of the New York/Tri-State chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.
What inspires you to write?
I’ve always loved writing and was a creative director/copywriter for all of my working career. I’ve also always wanted to write mystery and suspense stories. My stories come from things that are happening in the world around us…identity theft, fraud, jewel theft, money laundering. I think turning these topics into fiction, takes readers out of the ordinary day-to-day and gives them a touch of intrigue that takes them away from the everyday.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m definitely a panther. I enjoy coming up with an idea for a book and then working it through as I go. I always have some idea how the story will end. But creating characters and plot lines as I write gives me the freedom the change and adapt the story if something exciting that feels right occurs to me.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes. Doesn’t everyone? I thinking talking to them, or imagining them walking around as ‘real people’ actually makes them come to life. It helps give me the right voice for every character and to me each character having their own voices is important to bring the reader into the story and create more tension and drama.
What advice would you give other writers?
Just keep writing. I was afraid to write my first book and actually went to a class at Marymount College in New York City entitled How To Overcome Your Fear of Writing A Novel. I decided that if the other students liked what I wrote, I would go forward. If they didn’t, well, that would be it. Fortunately for me, they liked my story.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Since I have an agent, I always thought I’d go with a traditional publisher, which is what we did. Since my first book,
self-publishing has become more prevalent and many people have success with it. I do think, you have to be prepared to do a lot more work if you self-publish. Each person, and each book, is different, so you have to look at what you hope to accomplish before you decide.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I honestly don’t know. I hope that no more bookstores or bookstore chains will close and that all avenues of publishing will remain open to writers.
What genres do you write?: Mystery, Suspense, Thrillers
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Cathi Stoler Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
