Meet Kathleen Donnelly

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathleen Donnelly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathleen, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have always been drawn to reading. I remember reading my first Mary Higgins Clark mystery and I was hooked. I feel like she also made me realize that women could have a career writing mysteries. As I started to pursue writing my own books, I discovered a community that I hadn’t found anywhere else. I don’t feel like there’s any competition, but rather collaboration with other writers.

I also love the life lessons I’ve learned through writing and publishing. During a book’s development, you make mistakes and learn from them, but the beautiful thing is, you can rewrite and work on your craft. Once a book is finished, the next hurdle is publication. There’s rejection and hearing the word no, but you also learn that if you work hard, there will eventually be a yes. I think through the pursuit of becoming a full-time author, I’ve become more confident, resilient and appreciative of the process.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I write the National Forest K-9 series where U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer Maya Thompson and her courageous K-9 Juniper solve crimes in the national forest. Coming up with Maya and Juniper was truly an interesting path—one that I never imagined. A few years after graduating from college, I had the opportunity to become a handler for a private narcotics dog business called Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines. I worked for Sherlock Hounds for nineteen years and even became co-owner in 2010. Through my job, I saw how dogs helped humans solve all sorts of mysteries every day.

While I worked during the day with the dogs, I continued to write during my free time in the early mornings and evenings. I developed the National Forest K-9 series from my imagination combined with my knowledge of working dogs. I loved writing the book and creating a fictional K-9. I was excited when Carina press published the first book, CHASING JUSTICE, and then decided to make it into a series. Since then, I have expanded my ideas with K-9 characters and my first Harlequin romantic suspense, COLORADO K-9 RESCUE, will be released September 30th.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Colorado is an amazing state with so many great places to visit! I am a mountain lover so I would probably take someone on a tour through different mountain towns. Over a week, I think you could do a fun state tour although it would include a lot of driving. I would start by visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and then heading to one of my favorite places, Steamboat Springs. The Strawberry Park Natural hot springs would be the first stop followed by dinner at Mazzola’s Italian Restaurant.

From there I would continue the tour going to Winter Park while keeping an eye out for moose. Other towns I’d map out and visit would include Gunnison, Crested Butte and Durango. There are so many amazing activities from hiking (so many trails!) to horseback riding to photography and enjoying the wildlife. A must-see for everyone in the Durango area is Mesa Verde National Park. I love Mesa Verde—it’s very spiritual.

I love small town locally owned restaurants and bookstores. Coffee shops and bookstores would definitely be on the tour. A couple of my favorites are Off the Beaten Path in Steamboat, The Book Worm in Gunnison, Townie Books in Crested Butte, Mountain Shire Books and Gifts in Winter Park and Maria’s Bookshop in Durango.

I’m ready to go on vacation now…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The writing world is an amazing community! There have been several organizations that have been tremendous help along the way. One of the first communities I joined was Sisters in Crime—both national and our local chapter. I also joined Mystery Writers of America—local and national—Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Northern Colorado Writers. These organizations had writers at all levels who encouraged and supported new authors. They provided education, friendships and many opportunities to network.

There are also many writers who’ve supported me, but I do want to give specific shoutouts to three of them—Margaret Mizushima, Grant Blackwood and Baron Birtcher. All three of these writers have been and continue to be mentors. They’ve given me so much encouragement and helped me believe in myself. I appreciate all they’ve done and continue to do!

My last shout out goes to my agent, Ella Marie Shupe. The path to publication wasn’t always easy but when Ella Marie offered to represent me, I was so excited. There are always challenges along the way in the publishing world, but having such a great agent has helped me navigate this career successfully.

Website: https://kathleendonnelly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkathleendonnelly/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-donnelly-84552545/

Twitter: https://x.com/KatK9writer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKathleenDonnelly/

Other: Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathleen-donnelly

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22280955.Kathleen_Donnelly

Substack: https://substack.com/@authorkathleendonnelly

Image Credits
For author photo only please credit: Piper Anne Worcester