Why do you write the genre you write?
I’ve always been a mystery reader, but I abhor violence and can’t stand the sight of blood—especially my own. I loved Agatha Christie and all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries when I was growing up. The cozy mystery genre seemed to fit nicely, but my cozies lean toward traditional mysteries. Other than some winter snowbird experiences in Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve always lived in small towns. My three cozy settings are fictional small towns in Illinois—Endurance, Sweet Iron, and soon, Apple Grove. I majored in history in undergrad, so I try to research and add some of that whenever I can.

Tell us how you got into writing.
One of my college students suggested I write a memoir about my teaching experiences. Frankly, I thought he was crazy, but I ended up writing fifteen short stories about hard-to-believe incidents from my thirty-four years of high school teaching. All were about students. The longest was about a book challenge to Breakfast of Champions, and I received a lovely thank you letter from Kurt Vonnegut after successfully defending his book. After I retired from college teaching in 2011, I took a year to study mystery writing. Since then, I’ve had six mysteries and a novella published, and the seventh will be out summer 2022. I love this retirement job.

Where do you write?
I write mainly in my home office, but occasionally I move to my dining room table or the top floor of the local college library (a great spot until the ugly virus began to make its appearance known.)

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Apple slices and chocolate. I need the apples to assuage my guilt over the chocolate.

What’s next for you?
My most recent Endurance mystery, The Witch’s Child, came out in October. Now a new series begins, the Art Center Mysteries, in June 2022. The first book is called Death in a Pale Hue, and it gives new meaning to the thought, “Don’t go down to the basement.” Regardless, it’s a cozy and begins a three-book run with Level Best Books.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading: Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in an English Village by Cooper and Johnson, Irene in Danger by Judy Alter, and A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz.

Where can we find you?
I can be found hanging out at the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime where I’m the Prez.
On my website at susanvankirk.com
Facebook at Susan Van Kirk Author
Twitter @susan_vankirk
Instagram @susanivankirk
Pinterest
Goodreads
Writers Who Kill, I post every first Thursday of the month. 

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or Chocolate
Definitely chocolate as I mentioned above.

Pizza or Burgers
Pizza

Broccoli or squash
I can force down either

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast, even for dinner

Mountain or beach
Mountain

Introvert of Extrovert
Used to be an extrovert, but since retiring,
I think I’ve become an introvert

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

I’m counting my best friends as one
Lots of laughter (see #1 above)
Chocolate (This seems to be a running theme.)

My bio:
Susan Van Kirk is the President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a writer of cozy mysteries. She lives at the center of the universe—the Midwest—and writes during the ridiculously cold and icy winters. Why leave the house and break something? Van Kirk taught forty-four years in high school and college and raised three children. Miraculously, she has low blood pressure. Her Endurance mysteries include Three May Keep a Secret, Marry in Haste, The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney (a novella), Death Takes No Bribes and The Witch’s Child. Her Sweet Iron mystery is A Death at Tippitt Pond. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.