On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Kathleen Lopez discusses her new novel, Bad Things Come In Threes, available for pre-order now, which weaves together the intense struggles of two brothers managing their special needs sibling’s care with the chilling pursuit of a detective targeted by a taunting killer.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Kathleen Lopez about her life and career, what inspired her new book, Bad Things Come In Threes, and her creative writing process.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
My name is Kathleen Lopez. I was born in Brooklyn, NY. I am married and we’re coming up on our 30-yr mark. We have two kids, one who just graduated from college, and the other is midway through college. Education has always been big with me. I earned my Ph.D. some years ago when the kids were little, so they knew that a degree of some sort was in their future as well.
I am big on trying to maintain a work/life balance. I don’t like being all work and no play, despite needing to pay the bills. You have to pursue something you enjoy too. I always try to find a creative outlet.
Some random general things about me: I’m a dog-person, I like to cook, I’m a woman so I like to binge murder shows (and then claim it is research), I enjoy a good glass of wine and a rainy Sunday afternoon.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
I honestly never thought about writing a book before. It was never on my bucket list. I started my first book while I was still in college, and it wasn’t even a book when I started it. It was a homework assignment that got wildly out of control. My English 101 teacher liked the idea and kept asking, “What happens next?” I would write more pages for him, and he’d read them and provide feedback and then ask again, “What happens next?” That went on for all four years of college. I eventually drifted from the project after I graduated from college.
It wasn’t until I was coming up on forty and came across the old 3.5” disk (google it kids) and thought I should finish this and get it published before I turn forty. I got it published in 2013, when I was 39 so mission accomplished. I made sure to dedicate the book to my college teacher once it was published. Once that first one was made real, well then, I was hooked.
When did you take a step to start writing?
I have always enjoyed writing from a young age. I started out in Journalism, at aged 14, for a county paper. That pursuit followed me into college, but then migrated to jobs, but I still wrote. I typically have worked in jobs that involved writing in some manner. I did some freelance work with newspapers occasionally, but once I found that long lost project from college, it was off to the races as far as my pursuit to be a published author.
So, my ‘professional’ writing career really started at age 14. By that time, I already had about two or three full black and white composition books and notepads full of random stories and poems yet unpublished. I have thought about publishing them one day, but for now, they reside at the top of my closet.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
The first book is hard to use as my publishing yard stick as it was pretty much workshopped all through my college tenure and then some years later. All in all, that first book, going by the Greco-Roman Calendar, would have taken twenty-one years from start to finish. Nothing to brag about, certainly. My second book, the one I went in intentionally to publish, well that one took a year to write and get to print.
The second book, Prodigal Son, was the continuation of a character from my first release, Between the Shades of Light and Dark. From the concept of turning the first book into a series to being able to put it on a bookshelf, it took a little less than a year and almost matched the same publication date one year after my first book.
How long did it take you to complete your latest book from the first idea to release?
My Psychological Thrillers, which is the genre of my next release, typically take about nine months on average. I write when I can, have set writing days, typically Sundays, but as life happens, it’s never a set in stone schedule. Once the draft is done, it is off to the editor and that cycle of refinement happens. So, the whole process I’d say is about a year in the making, give or take. I have been able to create a bit of a backlog of ideas and premises, so I can now hit the ground running and perhaps shorten that total year up to say about nine months from start to print, but again, life and the day job come into play every now and again.
Focusing on your latest release. What made you want to write Bad Things Come In Threes?
My latest is the next chapter as it were for my suffering Detective Crawford. I have in mind a series of trials and tribulations this man has yet to go through. There is more to his story that hasn’t been written. In this backlog I have yet to do, I have about three to five more books just around him, not counting this new one being released this July. I feel compelled to keep telling his story at this point. I feel that if I just stopped before I got out what I had planned for him, or before he cries uncle, then I would have done him a disservice.
What were your biggest challenges with writing Bad Things Come In Threes?
My Crawford Chronicles is my Psychological Thriller series. They are about serial killers. I find that my biggest challenge is not to repeat the same murder. I don’t want to reuse the same motives, the same scenes, the same weapons as previous books. While there are so many ways, apparently, to cause harm to someone, but coming up with the plausible motive and methods for each new story is the hard part. Making sure you don’t sound like a one-trick pony is the key I feel. That presents a challenge when writing multiple books, each with multiple murders. It also creates a very interesting Internet Search History.
I had said once in a book convention Q&A session that if something ever happened to me, my husband would be in serious trouble as the first thing the police do is come for the laptop. That answer actually prompted my first Psychological Thriller, book one of the Crawford Chronicles, The Calling Card Murders.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Protagonist?
Detective Crawford is more of an amalgamation of the typical hardline detective you’ve seen or had read about before. He is the no nonsense cop, married to the job kind of guy. He is not modeled after anyone in particular really. To me, he’s that oracle, the sage old detective who’s been there and seen it all. I crafted him to be the go-to guy for the tough cases.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Antagonist?
I usually try to create an Antagonist that will challenge something in Crawford. Their development is spurred on by Crawford and his developed nature. I find myself wanting to challenge him by creating someone that is just left of center, makes their own rules, isn’t the typical garden-variety serial killer to push Crawford to work harder to find the meaning behind it all. Each Antagonist has their own agenda, as they so often do. Mine typically have an internal manifesto they adhere to that is not readily determined. There is nothing straight forward about them, which I aim to be in direct contrast to Crawford.
What is the inciting incident of Bad Things Come In Threes?
For the Crawford series, the first book started off with the typical body being discovered that led to the bigger case. However, as the series progresses, the notoriety that Crawford has gained through publicity being known to make the evening news over the course of the story, he has become the target for killers seeking their fifteen minutes of fame as well.
Since the second book in the series, Crawford receives something from the killer to kick things off. In book two, The Symbolist, it starts with a letter taunting him. In book three, Bad Things Come in Threes, while there is a letter that arrives at the station for him, along with it comes a disturbing gift as the killer already tries to establish he is not like the others in his own little way.
What is the main conflict of Bad Things Come In Threes?
My main conflict is usually testing the resolve of my detective. I seem to aim to challenge him, and his skill set with each case. I try to come up with an avenue where he has to bear down and really sort through to find the hidden meaning, even if it doesn’t make sense to him.
These serial killers in this series all want to be heard as they want to be perceived as answering a higher calling of some sort. They don’t just randomly kill. There is a methodology, a purpose to it all, if only in their minds. They all firmly believe that what they are doing is what needs to be done. I like the juxtaposition of their reality to Crawford’s grounded sense of self.
Did you plot Bad Things Come In Threes in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
My characters ‘talk to me’ so it can be difficult to plot exactly the entirety of the book. I do have an outline where I note major milestones or events that I would like to take place, but my characters sometimes have other ideas. I have known to rework my outline to satisfy the left turn they took on me. For the most part, they stay true to what I would like to portray. There is a lot of research done for certain aspects of the story that they don’t typically mess with so there’s that.
I consider my writing more organic in nature given they like to provide their input from time to time. I write to the theme of the chapter until they throw me a curve ball. I had a character in one of my Romance books, under my pen name Sydney Shaw, that suddenly decided he wanted me to shift the story in a whole new direction. HE decided this more than two-thirds into the book. It was quite upsetting, and to resolve it, I had to rework the ending of the book. He got his in the end, but my end had to change in order for that to happen.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did Bad Things Come In Threes need?
I have an editor that I use and have used for most of my books now. She is my go-to for my Murder-Mysteries, Psychological Thrillers, and Romance series. She has helped out a great deal in not just proofreading but making sure I keep my continuity if I ever go off the rails. There is no way I could edit my own work. I would read the words that I meant to say instead of what were on the page as I knew what I meant write, whether I did actually type it or not. I’m glad I have Tawdra to let me know when I stray.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?
Don’t worry so much about reality. Create your own world if you have to in order to explain your story. You can research and add in more grounding details later. Capture your story. Write purely. Don’t let what you don’t know stop you.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?
I have had some of my readers want a cross over between my Romance and my Thrillers. It has been something that has been a question by them for a while. I may have actually sorted that out rather recently and there may indeed be that crossover between Romance and Crawford’s world. But my readers need to bear in mind, if Crawford is there, the story may not be one of those happily ever-afters.
And, finally, are your proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
I am surprised that I do this at all! I have evolved from just writing my stories to self-publishing, helping publish other indies’ work, and creating my own cover work. When I look back at my first book, I was just thrilled I got it done. Where I am now is a far cry from where I was back then. I have found an excellent community of Indie Authors and promoters in this field that has made the journey so fantastic. It is almost surreal to me when I step back and look at all the marketing and preparation that goes into my releases from start to finish. Knowing what all it takes to be an Indie Author today, I am positive it would have freaked me out completely twelve years ago when I was just looking to get my first publication printed. I was winging it back then to be honest. If you asked me then, my answer may have been totally different, but since that question is posed to me today, I’d say it so totally worth the effort!
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
Apple Books: https://apple.co/4kfU029
Kindle: https://amzn.to/44uSyTX
www.wordsmithpublishingllc.com
www.facebook.com/imkathleenlopez
www.instagram.com/imkathleenlopez
www.tiktok.com/imkathleenlopez
www.goodreads.com/author/show/7366764.Kathleen_Lopez
www.goodreads.com/user/show/153181506-sydney-shaw
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Thank you for offering such practical guidance.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. This added a lot of value to my day.
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