LOST TO DUNE ROAD By KARA THOMAS
Welcome Kara, we’re excited to have you on Reader’s Entertainment, and talking about your latest release Lost To Dune Road. Let’s begin with where you’re from, where you live, and is writing your full-time job?
I was born and raised on Long Island, and currently I still live here on the south shore with my husband and kindergartener. I have been writing full-time for the past eleven years, but recently I started working as a librarian part-time at a public library.
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing since I knew how to read, pretty much. Some of my earliest memories involve getting in trouble during math lessons in third grade for writing Nancy Drew knock-off mysteries.
What does your typical writing day look like?
I start writing as soon as I drop my son off at school and generally keep at it for about 5-6 hours, including breaks. Now that I have another job outside the house, I have to do more with less writing time, and can’t slack off as much on my writing days.
Tell us about Lost To Dune Road. Where did the idea came from? Perhaps some fun moments, or not so fun moments?
One of the main characters of LOST TO DUNE ROAD actually came to me in a dream. I took a nap and had a very vivid dream about a woman being in a coma, unable to communicate with her family and tell them how she had gotten there. The idea snowballed into the idea of a disgraced journalist turned private investigator trying to unlock the mystery of the woman in the coma– in the book, Lee, the main character, must find out how a pregnant college woman wound up in a coma, and how the young woman is connected to an unsolved homicide in Lee’s past.
Could you share one detail from your current release with readers that they might not find in the book?
The original title of the book was called THE CALL, since Lee gets a phone call from a missing woman’s killer five years before the events of the novel.
Who has been the most difficult character for you to write? Why?
The villain in this book was a bit difficult to write, simply because they are so devoid of any human empathy. Getting into their head required me to go to a dark and uncomfortable place.
If you could be one of your characters for a day which character would it be?
I don’t know if I would want to be any of them! Everyone in this book is not really having a good time.
If you could spend the day with your character, what would you do? What would that day look like?
I would probably pick Lee’s brain about investigative journalism, or maybe just talk about cold cases for hours.
What’s your take on research and how do you do it?
Getting details right requires research– I read up on things like police procedure, law, crime scenes, etc, to make sure I’m getting the specifics right.
Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write?
Dennis Lehane is a big influence of mine, as well as Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott.
Do you have a secret talent readers would be surprised by?
I’m actually very crafty! I run a small side business making bath bombs and soaps.
Your favorite go to drink or food when the world goes crazy!
Buffalo wings and pizza. Together, of course.
What is your writing kryptonite?
Caffeine.
What is the one question you never get ask at interviews, but wish you did?
Who is my writing sidekick? My rescue cat, Felix, is always there for an emergency snuggle when I get stuck in a plot hole.
Kara, thank you so much for joining us today. Readers, here’s a look at Kara’s Lost To Dune Road — which releases today!!
Here’s a look at LOST TO DUNE ROAD
For a disgraced reporter, unraveling a conspiracy of murder could mean redemption in a powerful novel of suspense by the bestselling author of Out of the Ashes.
Reporter Lee Ellerin’s investigation into a young woman’s unsolved murder gained national attention―only for her to lose everything due to a tragic mistake. After being publicly ridiculed for causing a suspect’s death, Lee is forced to leave her career behind.
Five years later, pregnant college student Amanda Hartley lies in a coma. The police say she attempted suicide, but the details don’t add up. Where is the father? Who was paying for Amanda’s Manhattan penthouse? Why did Amanda have a note with Lee’s name in her backpack? There’s also one alarming coincidence: Amanda was last seen on Dune Road in the Hamptons―where the murder victim in Lee’s previous investigation disappeared.
As she’s pulled back into the still-unsolved case that destroyed her career, Lee sees the chance to amend the mistakes of her past. But finding a killer and unearthing Amanda’s secrets sends her down a darker path than she has ever walked before.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kara Thomas is a true crime addict who writes twisty and compulsive thrillers. She’s the author of Out of the Ashes, which was her adult thriller debut, as well as the YA novels The Darkest Corners, Little Monsters, The Cheerleaders, and That Weekend, which was Barnes and Noble’s YA Book Club Pick for July 2021. Her books have been sold in multiple languages and have been nominated for the International Thriller Writers Award.
Her latest novel, LOST TO DUNE ROAD, will be published by Thomas & Mercer on April 16, 2024.
Kara Thomas lives on Long Island with her husband, son, and rescue cat, where she spends way too much time on Reddit Unresolved Mysteries trying to solve cold cases.
Website: kara-thomas.com
Instagram: @karathomaswrites
