Author Bio:
Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. Get a free 10,000-word story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter.
Kris also writes romantic suspense set in the Southwestern U.S. If you love Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels, try Kris Bock’s stories of treasure hunting, archaeology, and intrigue in the Southwest.
What inspires you to write?
Twenty years ago, I started writing for children, using the name Chris Eboch. I have eight middle grade novels (for ages 9 to 12) published under that name. I also write a lot of educational nonfiction and fiction under the name M.M. Eboch.
Around 2008, I was starting to feel restless and wanted a change. I realized I had mostly been reading adult romantic suspense novels, so I started writing those under the name Kris Bock. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. More recently, I started a sweet romance series set in and around a cat café.
So I have over 60 published books now, but that includes fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. The variety keeps me interested!
Tell us about your writing process.
Most of my novels include real places in the Southwestern United States, although I might fictionalize the names. For example, in my treasure hunting adventure, The Mad Monk’s Treasure, the heroine and her best friend live in a fictionalized version of Socorro, New Mexico. They hunt for the lost Victorio Peak treasure, a real Southwest legend about a heretic Spanish priest’s gold mine, made richer by the spoils of bandits and an Apache raider. I drew on personal experiences hiking in the desert for Erin and Camie’s adventures – though fortunately I’ve never stumbled on a rattlesnake nest or gotten caught in a flash flood! Another book, What We Found, was inspired by finding the body of a murder victim while hiking in the woods.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Not exactly, but I see scenes in my mind. I get some of my best ideas while walking or jogging. I'll get moving and then start thinking about a story problem. Maybe the adrenaline is inspiring – or maybe the feeling of running is reminiscent of being chased, which encourages exciting plot ideas! As a bonus, it makes the jogging time go more quickly.
Who are your favorite authors?
I first fell in love with romantic suspense in Mary Stewart's books, and I model some of my adult books after hers.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I've been traditionally published in children's literature since 1999. When I began writing romance and mystery for adults, I chose to self publish. Neither path is better or easier, but self-publishing seemed to have more options, and it can certainly go faster.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Today, millions of books are published every year. That provides both challenges and opportunities for writers. For readers, it's a book bonanza! You can find pretty much anything you might want, and favorite authors can publish as quickly as they can write, without a publisher limiting them to one or two books per year.
What genres do you write?
romance, mystery, and romantic suspense for adults; writing guides; and children's adventure, fantasy, and ghost stories.
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
Website(s)
Kris Bock Home Page Link
Follow Kris Bock On Amazon
Author’s Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
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All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.
