Clara McKenna
What’s your genre?
Historical mystery
Are you published?
Traditional publisher
What inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve been writing, be it poetry, short stories, greeting cards, plays, or novels, since I can remember. Driven by an active imagination, and finding inspiration everywhere, (talking toothbrushes, wind with personality, books that moved by themselves), I created stories in my head. By the time I was five or six, I was writing them down.
What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Agatha Christie. Need I say more?
Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Medicus by Ruth Downie
Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
(Do you see a pattern here? British historical mysteries are the best!)
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I have a passion for details. As reading historical fiction is as close to time travel as we’ll get, colorful, factual details are what draws a reader in and lets them experience both a time and a place. As a former biologist and librarian, I take research seriously and diligently apply my skills to lend that level of authenticity to my historical mysteries.
What’s one piece of advice you would give a budding writer?
My advice to any budding writer comes down to one word—persistence, persistence, persistence. Don’t give up! It was advice I was once given. Taking it to heart, I’ve since published nine books and working on number ten!
Author Bio
Clara McKenna writes the acclaimed Stella & Lyndy Mystery series, about an unlikely couple who mix love, murder and horse racing in Edwardian England. Her MURDER AT KEYHAVEN CASTLE was a Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice and voted one of a Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2021. MURDER AT THE MAJESTIC HOTEL (book #4) releases in October 2022.
Clara is the founding member of Sleuths in Time, a cooperative group of mystery writers who encourage and promote each other’s work, as well as a member of Sisters in Crime. With an incurable case of wanderlust, she travels every chance she gets, England being a favorite destination. When she can’t get to the UK, she’s happy to write about it about it from her Victorian farmhouse outside Ames, IA. Visit her here.
