2.14 Author Interview: K.M.Pohlkamp




Today I’m going to be interviewing the fabulous K.M. Pohlkamp, author of Apricots and Wolfsbane. Her debut novel released in October and it is chock full of girl power and intricate details.
Please check it out and support her by leaving a review if you do!

Summary of Apricots and Wolfsbane

Lavinia Maud craves the moment the last wisps of life leave her victim’s bodies—to behold the effects of her own poison creations. Believing confession erases the sin of murder, her morbid desires are in unity with faith, though she could never justify her skill to the magistrate she loves.

At the start of the 16th century in Tudor England, Lavinia’s marks grow from tavern drunks to nobility, but rising prestige brings increased risk. When the magistrate suspects her ruse, he pressures the priest into breaking her confessional seal, pitting Lavinia’s instincts as an assassin against the tenets of love and faith. She balances revenge with her struggle to develop a tasteless poison and avoid the wrath of her ruthless patron.

With her ideals in conflict, Lavinia must decide which will satisfy her heart: love, faith, or murder—but the betrayals are just beginning.
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36194389


What made you pick what history recalls as a villain to be your main character? Did you have worries about this?
KM: Lavinia’s character is inspired by Locusta, the world’s first serial killer who was a female poison master from Gaul. (You can read more about her from my guest post on the blog Dirty, Sexy History) Little is known about Locusta, which left a lot of holes for my imagination to fill. I also lifted her inspiration out of Ancient Rome and placed my story in Tudor England.
The best aspect of writing from the point of view of murderer is the automatic tension in the plot. There is immediate conflict and a mechanism to keep the pages turning. My biggest challenge, however, was to provide a reason the reader would want to root for a serial murderer. Lavinia’s love interest in the Magistrate, care for her apprentice, and conflict with religion help to develop her and provide mechanisms for the reader to relate.

What was the weirdest thing you searched for research while writing this book?
google images
KM: By its nature, historical fiction requires a lot of research to get the little details accurate, from clothing and word choice, to food and culture. Apricots and Wolfsbane is also packed with research regarding poisons including their brewing and effects. As a result, my Google search history took quite the attack! It was important for me to get the poison details correct without providing an instruction guide. To know that when Lavinia reached for a piece of equipment on her workbench she was using the instruments correctly and that they were period accurate.
The weirdest thing I researched was “what does a beheading sound like.” The best answer I found? A quick thud and cracking like bending a thick, wet branch.


What was the most important lesson you learned while writing this book?
KM: A book cannot please everyone, so it better please the author.
I knew the ending of my novel would be polarizing. Some have told me it is unexpected and brilliant, others have said they wanted to throw the Kindle against the wall. Honestly, both reactions are fantastic because they prove I evoked an emotional connection.
After conversations with my editor regarding such potential reactions, I decided to go to with my original intent. I wanted to do something original, something I had never seen before in fiction, and contribute something new. I do not regret the decision at all.
My advice to authors is to write the book you want to read and the one you want to put out there. You will never regret following your gut.

What was the hardest scene to write in the book? Emotionally or just due to outside forces.
KM: This book has a lot of murder, but each scene is poetically described which helps provide a bit of safe distance for the reader. However, there is a scene where Lavinia is beaten later in the book. Getting the right balance of description and tension without crossing the line into disturbing was a challenge. I rewrote that scene more than any others and love how it came together.

What was the hardest hurdle to overcome in chasing traditional publishing?
KM: Many authors told me the first book you write is a throw a way. That is very hard to hear after you have spent a year or more pouring your soul into a manuscript. At least for me, that proved true.
I learned a lot from querying my first novel and put every lesson into Apricots and Wolfsbane. I came through the experience scathed but stronger and so proud of my own perseverance.

Will there be more historical fiction from you in the future?
KM: Yes! I’m thrilled to have a short story about a female physicist at Harvard in 1906 publishing at the end of May as part of an anthology. The story pulled upon my own experiences as a female engineer and proved therapeutic to write. I am also working on the sequel to Apricots and Wolfsbane.

Apricots and Wolfsbane is a Readers’ Favorite 5-Star historical fiction thriller. The adult novel was shortlisted for the 2018 Chaucer historical Fiction Awards and won a Texas Association of Authors 2018 book award. K.M. Pohlkamp would love to skype with your book club and the novel contains a book club discussion guide.
Dare to dance with Lavinia? Check out Apricots and Wolfsbane at the following links:
GoodReads
Listen to the opening read by a British actress
Read an Excerpt
Watch the Book Trailer
Amazon/Kindle
Direct from the Publisher (Helps out the author at no additional cost to you!):
Google Play

About K.M. Pohlkamp

K.M. Pohlkamp is a blessed wife, proud mother of two young children, and an aerospace engineer who works in Mission Control. She operated guidance, navigation and control systems on the Space Shuttle and is currently involved in development of upcoming manned-space vehicles. A Cheesehead by birth, she now resides in Texas for her day job and writes to maintain her sanity. Her other hobbies include ballet and piano. K.M. has come a long way from the wallpaper and cardboard books she created as a child. Her historical fiction thriller, Apricots and Wolfsbane, is published by Filles Vertes Publishing.
Website: www.kmpohlkamp.com
Twitter: @KMPohlkamp

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