A Wicked Welcome to Maria Kelson!

by Julie, packing for Bouchercon in Somerville

I met Maria Kelson last year in Chicago at the Midwest Mystery Conference. She was an attendee last year. This year she’ll be on a panel, celebrating the release of her debut thriller, Not The Killing Time. Welcome to the Wickeds, Maria!

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My Favorite Interviews

Ever wish you had a few more fun questions you could ask authors at book events? How about this: did you do any interviewing as part of your research process, and if so, which conversations were your favorites?

When I was writing Not the Killing Kind, my debut thriller coming out next month, a number of people were kind enough to share their thoughts with me on life in Humboldt County, CA, where the story is set. However, four special interviews became standouts in my mind and heart:

Bilingual (English/Spanish) court interpreter and her Spanish-speaking mother

We met at a down-home family diner in Eureka, California, and there’s just something about breaking bread together that naturally builds trust and rapport between people. There must’ve been pie served, at some point. We talked for over an hour.

My novel deals with the complexities of life for undocumented people and those who advocate for them in Humboldt County, an area on the far north coast of California known for redwood forests, stunning coasts, and drug-related crime. Although Spanish-speaking is not synonymous with “undocumented,” this interview source was well versed in the strengths and heartaches of people who, whether it be by language or other circumstances, find themselves on the outside of what’s considered “normal” on the rural north coast. Furthermore, talking to her mother gave me a much-needed chance to practice my Spanish, which I speak at about a third-grade level, with the zeal of a PhD student. Lots of flubs and good intentions, on my part, rewarded with accounts of daily life in an elder generation’s lengua madre.

Operations Manager for a local food bank

This young woman helped me understand that not everyone is excited to talk, talk, talk right away. When we first sat down together at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates in Eureka, she admitted she’d had her partner “stalk me a little” online to make sure I wasn’t a creeper. Well. I know I’m not a creeper. But she had no way to be sure!

I tried to ease into meatier questions about her perceptions of life as a younger professional, a Latina serving the undocumented Latinx population, by starting off with basic questions about the food bank. What was their warehouse like, what was a typical week for her, etc. As we got to talking, I eventually learned that because the cost of living was so high there in scenic northern California, she knew many professionals who had to supplement their salaries with mini marijuana “grows” in their homes to attain a middle-class lifestyle.

This was prior to legalization in the state, and it reminded me that there are many ways to find oneself outside the law in late capitalism beyond being undocumented. It prompted me to think further about how the rails of our legal system are greased for some and hazardous for others, depending not only on citizenship status, but also on economic circumstance.

Founder/owner of an organic/fair trade coffee roastery

I love talking to strong women! This entrepreneurial leader exuded a wonderful combination of energy, curiosity, and cleverness. In fact, I made my lead character an energetic, curious, and clever education leader because I find mover-and-shaker women heroic.

In the case of this source, I wanted her perspective on trying to do the right thing, ecologically, while thriving as a business. The natural world in the redwood country is so threaded into daily life, and this woman talked passionately about the social elements of land and water conservation.

Look for Signature Coffee Co.’s Costa Rica medium roast in the novel, a favorite fuel of the protagonist!

The county sheriff’s immigration liaison

This gentleman thought he’d left the stresses of law enforcement behind when he’d moved from CA to rural Oregon for calmer pastures. Then, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office recruited him to this position, saying, “We’re trying to do something different here.”

For this source, “something different” meant the county not spending excessive law enforcement resources on someone who drank too much and threw a punch at a bar, for example, instead working with social services and community partners to keep “ghost people” (his term for immigrants in the county, based on their near-invisibility from the mainstream) well-served and away from trouble. His role was to talk to Spanish speakers newly incarcerated in the county jail and try to get their stories and understand how they had ended up in there.

He shared a glimpse of the emotional side of the prosecutorial process, recalling how, at times, he feels so badly for the wives and children left behind when a head of household (typically a man) is sentenced.

His human concern for the people he encountered infused the hearts of several characters in my novel, and his inner conflicts about some of the situations he witnessed as a professional in the justice system reminded me that there is no one face of the law.

Reader question: what’s something you’ve always wanted to ask someone in a helping profession (medical, legal, etc.) but were afraid to ask?

About the Book:

Not the Killing Kind follows Boots Marez, a Latina single mother raising a headstrong and sly eighteen-year-old boy she adopted six years ago. She also runs a school that helps the undocumented people in her politically divided town in Northern California. When her son Jaral is jailed for the murder of one of her former students, her world is turned upside down as she decides how far she’s willing to go to bring her son home. Called “a stirring debut … with satisfying twists” by Publisher’s Weekly and described by Booklist as “fast-paced and propulsive . . . [A] thriller filled with culturally relevant and timely themes,” Not the Killing Kind is available for print, e-book, and audio pre-order today.

About the Author:

Maria Kelson published two collections of poetry as Maria Melendez. Her debut thriller, Not the Killing Kind, was twelve years in the making, won the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Crime Fiction Writers of Color from Sisters in Crime, and comes out September 10 with Crooked Lane Books. Connect at mariakelson.com. 

Facebook: facebook.com/mariamelendezkelson

Instagram: @mkelsonauthor