411 on Books, Authors & Publishing

1. How do you come up with character names?

This can be fun and challenging at the same time. In many of my novels I write about real historical figures so that’s a no-brainer, but for fictional characters I look up names that were popular in the era and try to match a name with the personality of a character. I have one manuscript where I have changed the protagonist’s name three times. The names just weren’t jiving with my vision of her personality. But, I finally settled on one that is perfect!  

2. Talk about what you want to achieve as an author.

What is really important to me is connecting with other people through my books. Whether that connection serves to entertain, inspire, or educate, it’s all good to me. One of my favorite things to hear is when someone has read my books and it has inspired them to look into the history of that time period or that character to find out as much as they can about it or them. It’s great to have that particular interest in common with someone. I’d love to continue writing novels as long as I am able. I have so many different ideas, and writing novels allows me to transport to a different time period or reality, and it takes me out of myself. I plan to keep writing and being open to people and opportunities that come my way!

3) As an author – what do you enjoy most about writing process? What feels like a chore?

As an author it’s really fun for me to create a world and characters from my imagination. When I taught middle school I used to tell my students that when you write, you can be or do anything you want. It’s really so liberating. I also enjoy when I get into the zone and the words just tumble out. Characters will do and say things I never expected and then I find myself saying, “How interesting! Now, what am I going to do with that?” It’s always fun and always a challenge. The chore part, if you could call it that, is all of the publicity, promotion, and marketing that come along with the author’s life. That part alone could be a full-time job in itself, and it takes me away from what I really love which is living inside of my stories. However, it is a necessity and it can be fun in its own way. It gives me the opportunity to interact with readers and get to know people I never would have known if I wasn’t an author. So there’s definitely an upside to being a business person as well as an author.

4) How did you do research for your book? 

The research for this book started long ago. So long ago, I forgot where exactly I got some of the information. My late father, who was such an inspiration to me, told me about the Penitente Brotherhood, a lay confraternity of Spanish-American Roman Catholic men who are active in New Mexico and Colorado. Bones of the Redeemed is very loosely inspired by this brotherhood, but takes their practices quite a bit farther. My book poses the question of what might happen if leadership in one of these types of organizations went off the rails—which, as we know can happen in deeply religious communities.

I did a lot of reading on the Brotherhood, and I also interviewed a couple of Catholic priests, one whose father and some of his brothers were members of the Penitente Brotherhood here in New Mexico. 

For the archaeology aspect of the book, I actually took some graduate courses in anthropology and archaeology at Millsap’s College in Jackson, Mississippi when I lived there. I had a very early draft of the novel and I asked my professor to read it. He helped me tweak where necessary. More recently, I have a friend who is a retired archaeologist and she reviewed the book for me as well. 

5) What’s next? Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?  

I’ve started another series that has been so much fun to work on. The first book is called Grace in the Wings. Grace, the protagonist, is an aspiring costume designer working in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, 1920.  When her sister, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace has to step out from the wings of her backstage life and into the spotlight of stardom to find the killer. 

Right now, I am working on the second book in the series titled Grace in Hollywood. Grace has left Broadway behind and has moved to Hollywood to work in the silent films of 1924. In this book, a big-time director is murdered and a young woman she is mentoring is accused of the crime. Grace sets out to clear the girl’s name, and in doing so, inadvertently sets herself up to be the next victim. 

Book Description:

A pit of corpses. An ancient cult. A quest for redemption that could leave her dead… New Mexico, 1952. Archaeology grad student Ruby Delgado is plagued by guilt after losing her son. So when her latest excavation drops her down a sinkhole filled with suspiciously mutilated bodies, she’s driven to bring the murderer to justice. But when digging deeper brings her dangerously close to a sinister religious sect, she could be their next sacrifice… Discovering some of the victims were crucified, Ruby pushes hard to give the evidence to the authorities. But when her trail crosses the path of a beaten man left for dead in the desert, she realizes she may be the only person who can save the community. Can Ruby stop the sacrifices and slay her inner demons, or will hers be the next body laid to rest? Bones of the Redeemed is a hair-raising standalone Southwestern mystery. If you like complex heroines, cult conflict, and hard-won redemption, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s grisly tale.

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