Kay DiBianca Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I spent many hours reading Nancy Drew novels as a child, and I developed a love for the mystery genre. I always assumed I would write creatively, but my professional career in computer science had me writing technical documentation rather than fiction. After I retired, though, I turned to my second love and began to write novels.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release The Watch on the Fencepost?
A: 27-year-old Kathryn Frasier was orphaned when her parents died in an automobile accident. In an effort to deal with her sorrow, she follows her minister’s advice and begins training for a marathon.
Out for a run in a deserted park one afternoon, Kathryn discovers a gold watch on a fencepost, and she has an uneasy sense that it was left deliberately for her to find. When she solves the mystery behind the watch, she uncovers a dark family secret and a suspicion that her parents’ deaths were not an accident.
As Kathryn tries to get to the truth, she stumbles onto a trail of cryptic clues that lead her to a remarkable cast of characters, all of whom had a connection with her parents, including an actress with a talent for disguises, a politician with a secret of his own, and a handsome businessman who shows a sudden romantic interest in Kathryn.
But her search for the truth puts her own life in danger.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for The Watch on the Fencepost?
A: I’m a runner, and I spend a lot of time outdoors running while listening to podcasts or audiobooks. I often find myself making up stories in my head while I’m running. Several years ago, I was listening to a mystery novel and decided I could write a story as interesting as the one I was listening to, and that got the literary ball rolling.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: I hope readers will realize that God is active in our lives, even in times of trouble.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. I think my inspiration comes from a deep-seated desire to create a world and populate it with characters who are interesting and whose life lessons will be fun and educational for readers. I’m also something of a perfectionist, so I want to make the next book better than the last one.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I just completed the second book in the series. This one is entitled Dead Man’s Watch and follows Kathryn through another set of adventures. The theme of the book comes from the Jerusalem Talmud: “Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A. As I mentioned above, I’m an avid runner, and I spend a lot of time at a park near my home or on the treadmill. Of course, I love to read, especially in the mystery genre. My husband and I are active in our congregation, and we are U.S. representatives for Bridges for Peace, an international Christian organization whose mission is to serve the people of Israel and to create relationships between Christians and Jews all over the world.