Once upon a time, I knew who I was. Kathy Lynn Emerson wrote historical mysteries (The Face Down Series featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton, 16th century gentlewoman, herbalist, and sleuth, and the Diana Spaulding Mysteries set in 1888). As Kathy, I had previously written romances and, before that, a few children’s books. Every once in a while, I’d write non-fiction or a short story. Then I sold the idea of a mystery series with a modern setting. After ten years as a writer of historical mysteries, a pseudonym seemed the best way to avoid confusion. For booksellers and readers, I imagine it worked. For myself . . . not so much.

The Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage books, although they are also murder mysteries, are populated with quirky characters and written with a light touch. That the detective’s home town is tiny Moosetookalook, Maine, population 1007, should give readers their first clue that these stories are firmly in the “cozy” camp. No crafts or cooking are involved, but Liss MacCrimmon does work at Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium. The store sells everything Scottish, from kilts to haggis.

Since I needed a new name that would fit the new series, I worked with my agent to find just the right one and we came up with Kaitlyn Dunnett. Kaitlyn is the name I always wished my parents had given me instead of Kathy (which, by the way, is really Kathy and not short for Katherine or Kathleen). Dunnett is in honor of Dorothy Dunnett, one of the most talented writers I’ve ever read. She wrote both historical fiction and a contemporary mystery series. The surname also sparks a connection, in most people’s minds, to the whodunnit—the type of mystery these books represent.

In the first, KILT DEAD, Liss returns to her home town after an injury ends her career as a professional Scottish dancer. When she discovers a body in the stock room at Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium she ends up as the prime suspect in a murder investigation. In SCONE COLD DEAD, Liss is reunited with her old dance troupe when their tour brings them to Maine. What at first looks like an accident is soon revealed as murder and Liss involves herself to prevent one of her oldest friends from being arrested for the crime. And now, in A WEE CHRISTMAS HOMICIDE, a book released on September 29, 2009, Liss organizes the Twelve Shopping Days of Christmas when she discovers that she and two other Moosetookalook merchants have the only supply in all of New England of the hot toy of the holiday season. Her plan to make a killing on the sale of Tiny Teddies succeeds just a little better than she intended.

The idea for the Tiny Teddies came from the craze some years back to collect Beanie Babies. When supplies ran out in the U.S., people tried to smuggle them in from Canada. There were stories in the local papers here in Maine about trunk loads of the toys being confiscated at the border and destroyed. I thought there was potential there for all sorts of mayhem. Motive for murder, but opportunities for humor, too. I know I had fun writing the book.

But to return to the subject of this blog—Who Am I Today?—the story doesn’t end with Kathy Lynn Emerson and Kaitlyn Dunnett. Oh, no. No sooner had I started writing the Liss MacCrimmon series than an opportunity came along to return to one of my earliest story ideas—one that goes all the way back to 1976, and my fledgling efforts to become a published author. I was not an immediate success. I collected the requisite wall papered with rejection letters. Although I loved those early books, they simply would not sell. Part of the problem was that I was still learning how to write fiction. The other part was that the type of book I was writing wasn’t what publishers were buying back then. These things go in cycles. Big, non-mystery historical novels are back. Especially those that tell a real person’s life story. Especially those set at the Tudor court. And I’m a much better writer now than I was in 1976. But again, this genre was significantly different from what I’d been writing. And so, another pseudonym seemed called for. That’s how I became Kate Emerson, author of the Secrets of the Tudor Court series. The books do not use the same characters, but they all involve real sixteenth-century courtiers. The first, THE PLEASURE PALACE, the story of a young woman named Jane Popyncourt, came out earlier this year (2009) and the second, BETWEEN TWO QUEENS, the story of a maid of honor named Anne Bassett, who was in the household of four of Henry VIII’s queens and that of his daughter, Mary Tudor, will be out in January of 2010. I love doing all three sorts of writing. I hope to keep on being three people in one. But sometimes, if I’m not paying enough attention to what I’m doing, more than one of me ends up signing her autograph in a copy of one of my books. I have to remember to stop and think, at home when I sit down to write as well as at book signings—just who am I today? Comment on this blog and you could win a copy of A WEE CHRISTMAS HOMICIDE.

http://www.kathylynnemerson.com/
http://www.kaitlyndunnett.com/
www.KateEmersonHistoricals.com