Welcome to my first Spotlight of the year for the Coastal Magic Convention of 2025! Today I’m hosting an interview from the incredibly personable and entertaining author, Tonya Kappes. Stay tuned this week as I will also be highlighting two of her books on my blog.

You name it and Tonya writes it! The following interview will give you a glimpse into her world. Check out all her books here. Go to the end for your chance to enter to win some mystery goodies – Entries are via Rafflecopter or comments to this blog.

Jennie: Your main characters are memorable. What is your process for developing such rich and relatable characters?

Tonya: When thinking about the main sleuths and creating them, the readers are always first in my mind. Will the reader root for the sleuth to solve the murder? Will they relate to her in some way? Will they feel like they are beside her while she’s looking for red-herrings? Clues? Will the reader feel like they are in the mystery with the sleuth? All of things put the reader in the story and when they feel as if they are friends, then I feel like I’ve done my job.

Jennie: How has traveling in an RV influenced your writing?

Tonya: Of course! My family in the seventies and eighties had a Class C Winnebago. I drew very fond memories as a child and how it made me feel. As an adult I am able to pull from different views than a child. I put both of those feelings in the books.

Jennie: Do you find inspiration from the places you visit?

Tonya: Ummm…not really places but people. There’s no better salt of the earth people than ones sitting around a campfire late at night and just shootin’ the breeze, telling stories and sharing. It’s the people I’ve met along the way that have really been fun to meet.

Jennie: What challenges do you face while writing and how do you overcome them?

Tonya: Keeping the mysteries fresh. There’s only so many ways you can fictionally kill someone. I do not want to bore the readers or say ‘oh, she’s done that before.’

The way I like to overcome them is the why they were stabbed…or stabbed with what? Something different than a knife etc.. or even the poison…not the same old same old. I’ve used nicotine liquid in shampoo, cyanide in fingernail polish. You just have to be really creative.

Jennie: What is the easiest series for you to write, and why?

Tonya: Definitely A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery. Now I’m over 35 books in and I know the characters pretty darn well. That makes it so easy for me. Plus, I live the RV life which also helps.

Jennie: Do you have a favorite character among those you’ve created? If so, what makes them special to you?

Tonya: I have to say Kenni Lowry from the Kenni Lowry Mystery Series. Not only is Lowry my maiden name, if you took the town of Cottonwood and laid the town map on my small hometown of Nicholasville, Kentucky, you’d be there.

I love writing about small towns probably because I grew up in one and have such fond memories that I knew I wanted to put a series in my town. Plus she’s a sheriff with a ghost for a deputy (which is her deceased Poppa), so that’s fun to write too!

Jennie: Can you share any personal experiences or adventures during your RV travels that have made it directly into your books?

Tonya: I did go to a re-enactment and while I was there watching the “fighting” I couldn’t help but think…what if someone was really stabbing people with the bayonet? And what if four people had ended up dead at the end including the one doing the stabbing? But the whole time everyone was impressed at what good actors they were. — Oh my stars! That totally made it into a book and it’s by far my favorite in that series.

Jennie: With so many characters and storylines running wild in your brain, how do you decide what to write next?

Tonya: I have four active series, so I try to rotate them equally. I don’t even think about the story until it’s time to write it.

Jennie: With such an extensive bibliography, do you have any upcoming projects that you’re particularly excited about?

Tonya: I’m always excited for the book I’m currently writing. I have an active Patreon group of a few thousand readers and the fall months in there are so much fun- which makes me look forward to that!

We do a zoom Halloween party, Friendsgiving, annual Christmas sock exchange where we keep our presents and open them on zoom, plus we have a monthly zoom book club…so I would say getting with readers is really what I enjoy most!

Jennie: What is one thing you want all new readers to know about you?

Tonya: Oh…that’s a hard one! Mostly I only want to make readers escape. I am not a romance writer, but I certainly will make you laugh and enjoy a fun mystery.

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE AT MYSTERY GOODIES!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post. Tonya Kappes will be one of the amazing authors we’ll be hanging out with during the 13th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 20-23,2025.

 For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com. And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!”