Q&A With Bonnie Kistler 

I am delighted that Heather Drucker connected me with author Bonnie Kistler to do a Q&A with. Bonnie is the author of House On Fire, The Cage, Her Too & her new release Shell Games. Shell Games came out on November 19^th and is available to read now!  

Q: Bonnie, would you please give a brief description of each of your novels starting with your upcoming novel Shell Games? 

A: SHELL GAMES is a story of gaslighting, and mind games and mother-daughter issues set on the Gulf Coast of Florida, against a background of rampant development and climate change. A wealthy woman claims that her new husband confessed to a crime he couldn’t possibly have committed, leaving her daughter to worry that either her brilliant mother is sinking into dementia, or that her sweet stepfather is gaslighting her to get control of her fortune. Things only get murkier when her mother is found dead.

HER, TOO is the story of a woman lawyer who specializes in defending men accused of sex crimes––and who then becomes the next victim of her own client. Convinced that she can’t tell anyone what happened without destroying her reputation, she embarks on a vengeance quest––with the grudging aid of his other victims.

In THE CAGE, two women, co-workers in an international fashion company, are trapped in an elevator. When rescue finally arrives, one of the women has been shot dead. Was it suicide brought on by a panic attack as the survivor claims? Or was it murder? And why is her boss manipulating the evidence to frame it as murder?

HOUSE ON FIRE is the story of a happily blended family that comes apart at the seams when the wife’s daughter is killed in a car accident and the husband’s son is charged with vehicular homicide. But who was driving, and why won’t the single witness come forward?

Q: Bonnie, you used to be a trial lawyer. Would you say that being a trial lawyer has been an inspiration for each of your novels? Would any of your characters have some of your personality traits?

A: My career as a lawyer has informed my writing. It introduced me to a host of character types; it engaged me in real-world issues; and perhaps most important, taught me how to write to persuade. Some of my books were loosely based on actual cases, my own or ones I followed. But as far as sharing personality traits? I only wish I were as smart and strong as my protagonists.

Q: How long does it take you to write each of your novels?

A: Typically, about a year, with most of that time being spent on the first quarter or so of the novel. It takes me a long time to find the right voice, mood and vocabulary. Once I finally get all that down, I can write the rest of the story more quickly. 

Q: If there are any lessons you want readers to learn from your novels, what lessons would they be and why?

A: What I hope most is that my readers are entertained, engaged, and ultimately surprised. But I usually also try to work on current social issues that interest me. THE CAGE deals with the exploitation of labor from the factory floor all the way up to the executive suite. HER, TOO exposes the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence the victims of sex crimes. And in SHELL GAMES, I highlight the dangers of climate change in Florida, as shown in all the increased hurricane activity we’ve seen lately. I hope my books lead readers to give some thought to these issues.

Q: Can you reveal the plot details of your next novel? 

A: It’s still a work in progress––or perhaps I should say non-progress. It’s perhaps more ambitious and more complicated than any of my previous work. Now I have about a dozen balls in the air, and I’m not sure how I’m going to catch them all.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to your books?

A: THE CAGE is currently in development for adaptation as an eight-episode series on one of the streaming platforms.

Q: How does it feel knowing Publishers Weekly gave a great review of Shell Games? 

A: I got word of the PW starred review during the Summer Olympics, and I felt like I’d won a gold medal myself. Seeing my novel described as “masterful,” “rare,” and “unputdownable” was beyond gratifying.