Title: The Mystery of David’s Bridge

Author: Pamela June Kimmel

ISBN: 1591330629

The following interview was conducted by:  E.Dian Moore &  To read more about Dian Moore’s reviews click HERE

To read Dian's Review of the book CLICK HERE

BP:   Why did you choose a private investigator in as your main character, and why did you choose a female to play the role?

Kimmell:  Honestly, I think it's because I've always thought that would be an exceedingly exciting career. I chose a female as my main character because in all honesty - it's ME living through Bailey! I wanted to bring the womanly point of view and way of looking at life into the way Bailey handles her business and the people she meets. Working so closely with people in crisis, as a private investigator is bound to do, has to be handled carefully. While I wanted to create a character who could do that, I still wanted her to be tough when the circumstances dictated. I guess it's just how I feel I myself would be if I were in Bailey's shoes (or high heels as the case may be).

BP:   How did you come up with the names of your characters in the town?

Kimmell:  Many of the characters are named after family and friends...it was fun to work them into my story, and they were all thrilled to be part of the book in that way. In fact, my husband's name is David, so I named the entire town after him!

BP:   Tell us about the moment when Bailey became real to you?

Kimmell:  I have to be totally honest here...Bailey was real to me the moment I began writing the book. I could almost feel her alive inside my head as I wrote. I saw through her eyes, felt with her heart and soul, and pursued answers along with her with my own natural curiosity and tenacity. The book really just flowed so well as I wrote it because I WAS Bailey for the moments in time that I was creating her world.

BP:   What is the latest news on David’s bridge? The book is selling fairly well and seems to be appealing to a broad audience, which is exactly what I had hoped. Older teens through retirees have communicated with me about the book. I get many comments about the book reminding people of the old Nancy Drew books, which makes me feel great since I, too, was a HUGE fan of that series. I'm told that with series, sometimes the big sales of the first book don't come until the second or even third book is out - so I'm hoping that happens with "Bridge." 

BP:   How did you come up with the mystery? 

Kimmell:  I'll readily admit that I am a "seat of my pants" writer - in other words, I have no plan when I sit down to write...I just let it happen. I truly had no idea what mystery Bailey would become involved in when I started the book. It just unfolded naturally. The only danger in writing that way, versus working with an outline, of course, is that the story can become disjointed and have a flavor of "haphazard" about it.  I've had people write to me and ask me how I set up my outline to make all the details come together, so I guess I managed to avoid that particular pitfall.

BP:   Did you do any investigating of your own in order to realize what the life of a private investigator might be like?

Kimmell:  That's a great question! I spent 15 years working in Hospital Administration where I did a LOT of investigating from patient and family complaints and problems, to finding lost contracts and correspondence. I also supervised the Medical Staff Office where physician backgrounds were investigated before they were allowed to practice at our hospital. I've also been an avid reader all my life and mysteries are my favorite. Having read so many different mystery writers' ways of attacking the solving of a mystery certainly contributed a lot to Bailey's way of approaching her job.

BP:   What type of sources did you consult to make your private investigator real to life?

Kimmell:  I just called on my own experience and surroundings to "paint" Bailey's world. The town of David's Bridge is patterned after the small Virginia "horse country" town in which I live. I know my town very well, and it was easy to pull those details into Bailey's story and make them come to life.

BP:   How did you decide from what point of view you would tell the story. Many private investigator stories are written in first person, and David’s Bridge is not.

Kimmell:  I really didn't think about POV when I began writing. It might be my love of telling a story - over the shoulder of the characters - that caused me to write it the way I did. I enjoy reading first person mysteries, but it was just more comfortable to write my story this way.

BP:   What do you have planned as Bailey’s the next mystery and when should we see that book in print?

Kimmell:  The next book, titled The Mystery of the Duplicate Key, involves another murder that actually happens at the very start of the book. I've also "featured" some of the original characters from the first book in the second one, because so many people wrote to tell me they had "favorite" characters and asked me to make sure and include them in the next book. I'm pulling a number of them into subplots and weaving them into the fabric of the murder that has occurred. I'm hoping to have the writing finished, get the editing done, and have the book in my publisher's hands in the next couple of months. If all goes well, the book just might be in the Spring 2006 line-up of Hilliard & Harris!

BP:   Please share with us some of your experiences, both good and bad, in promoting the sale of your book.

Kimmell:  Another great question. I'm finding that promoting my own book is 100 times tougher than writing it. I have two strikes against me in getting store placement, because my book is from a small press publisher and it's POD. What I have been able to do, though, is get local interest and find some independent bookstores - particularly those that feature mysteries - to buy small lots of my book to sell. Online sales just don't appeal to everyone. I know I personally prefer to touch, smell, feel, and explore a book before I buy it.  Another good way to get the word out is free press releases, writers newsletters/ezines, networking with other writers and exchanging web links, getting book club interest, and leaving piles of bookmarks and business cards everywhere I go. I'm hoping that as Bailey Ferrol's adventures expand with subsequent books, I can gain more attention for my work.

BP: Pamela, thank you for a delightful interview and a charming read.