Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, so let’s meet Kit.

What is your name?
Kit Marshall

How old are you?
I’m in my early 30s.

What is your profession?
I’m a chief of staff for Congresswoman Maeve Dixon from the great state of North Carolina.

Do you have a significant other?
I’m married to Doug Hollingsworth, a history professor at Georgetown who is currently doing a fellowship at the Library of Congress.

Any children?
Not yet!

Do you have any sibling(s)?
Yes, and you’ll get to meet my younger brother in an upcoming installment of the Washington Whodunit series.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
We own a feisty beagle mutt named Clarence. He’s an amateur canine sleuth!

What town do you live in?
We live in Arlington, Virginia, only a few miles from Washington, D.C.

House or building complex?
We live in a condo building.

Do you rent or own?
Doug’s parents, who are quite wealthy, helped us buy the condo a few years ago.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
The breakfast area where we drink coffee from our impressive espresso machine.

Who is your best friend?
Meg Peters, who I work with on Capitol Hill.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Quite amateur! But I always manage to catch the bad guy or gal.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Meg, Doug, and our pesky friend Trevor, who is too smart for his own good.

Favorite meal?
Anything takeout. Clarence loves pepperoni pizza.

Favorite dessert?
Does wine count as dessert?

Favorite hobby?
I’m pretty busy with my job, but when I have a chance, I like to go on jogs with Clarence.

Favorite vacation spot?
I loved Paris. We went there for a brief honeymoon sojourn between catching murderers.

Favorite color?
I like black, mostly because it makes me look slimmer.

Favorite author?
I read mysteries all the time, and I think my favorite writer is Agatha Christie.

Favorite sports team?
Like all residents of Washington, D.C., I pretend to cheer for the local teams and forget about them when they don’t win.

Movies or Broadway?
Doug and I love the movies, although most of the time we are content to watch Netflix with Clarence.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Unfortunately, my job requires me to burn the midnight oil. I’m out and about in the evenings, much later than sometimes I would like.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
After spending some morning time with Clarence and Doug, I usually dash off to Capitol Hill, where the day might require me to advise my boss on legislation, meet with constituents, and negotiate with lobbyists. Of course, Congress is a nasty place these days. More often than not, there’s also a murder to solve!

Giveaway: Three readers (U.S. entries only, please) selected at random will receive a print copy of Stabbing in the Senate. Leave a comment below for your chance to win. The giveaway ends July 18, 2018. Good luck everyone!

You can read about Kit in K Street Killing, the fourth book in the “Washington Whodunit” mystery series. The first book in the series is Stabbing in the Senate.

It’s the height of campaign season, and instead of relishing newlywed bliss with her husband Doug Hollingsworth, Capitol Hill staffer Kit Marshall is busy with a tough reelection fight for her boss, member of Congress Maeve Dixon. Before Maeve and her staff–Kit included–leave Washington, D.C. to campaign full time in North Carolina, they have one last fundraising engagement.

On the iconic rooftop of a restaurant overlooking the Capitol and the Washington monument, Kit and her best pal Meg do their best to woo wealthy lobbyists for sizable campaign donations. Everyone’s enjoying the evening soiree until a powerful K Street tycoon mysteriously tumbles off the rooftop. Even with claims the fall must be suicide, Detective Maggie Glass and Kit aren’t so easily convinced foul play isn’t at work. While balancing Doug’s mid-life career crisis, Kit must spring into action to discover who killed the notorious Van Parker before Dixon’s candidacy sputters, even if it means investigating Meg’s handsome new beau, the victim’s conniving widow, and a bicycle advocate hell-bent on settling a long-standing grudge. When threatening note is left on Kit’s car, warning her to back off the investigation, she knows she’s closing in on the true story of what happened.

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About the author
Colleen J. Shogan writes the “Washington Whodunit” mystery series. A political scientist by training, Colleen previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as the Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service. She is currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress, who helps plan great initiatives such as the National Book Festival. Her first book, Stabbing in the Senate, won the Next Generation Indie award for best mystery. Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan.

All comments are welcomed.