Character Interview
Character Name: Chloe Collins
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself--both something we learn from [the story] and something that readers might not guess?
My name is Chloe Collins. My husband, Dan and I moved from London to Nanyuki at the end of March and wow what a change. Can you image what it’s like walking down the street in open-toed high-heeled shoes. Only a few roads are tarmacked, and have pavements, and they are full of potholes. Most are dirt tracks, which are hard and rough in the dry season and muddy when it rains.
Dan was in the British Army for over twenty years, but something happened in Afghanistan. He changed and became withdrawn and moody. He left the Army and found a job as a security consultant for a firm based in Kenya. Like a dutiful Army wife, I followed him.
I’m now living in Nanyuki and trying to cope with its idiosyncrasies, such as driving and sharing the road with donkey carts, herds of cattle and bicycle and pedestrians.
2) How did you first meet the writer?
I met the writer through Rose, who I was introduced to by Heather, Rose’s daughter. Heather and I attended a military event in the UK. She told me she was raised in Kenya and her parents still lived there. When we arrived in Kenya Dan went away with work almost immediately so I emailed Rose and we met up.
I was not sure about Rose to start with as she is much older than me and has little thought for her appearance. I soon appreciated her selflessness, kindness and sheer dogged determination. I can understand why someone wants to write about her.
3) Want to dish about him/her?
No
4) Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book?
Pure coincidence. I arrived in Kenya and met Rose just as she investigated her first murder. With Dan away I didn’t have much to do, so I applied for a job at The Laikipia Conservation Society conference and Giants Club summit. I was staying at the hotel after the conference and was there when the body was found. I agreed to help Rose, which was also investigating hotel thefts. These became part of Tusk Justice.
5) Who's your favorite character? Why?
Everyone has been so welcoming, particularly Rose. I also have a soft spot for Thabiti. He’s lost his mother, and his sister is ill and struggling to recover from all that’s happened, but he is still optimistic. He is able to get out and enjoy life and even joke about.
6) Who's your least favorite character? Why?
I suppose I should dislike the murderers but I don’t, in fact I tend to feel sorry for them. I haven’t meant any really mean characters yet.
7) What's next for you?
As Rose’s husband Craig is ill, I’ve agreed to join her at the Rhino Charge. Apparently it’s an off-road car event and this year it’s being held in the Maasai Mara. I’m looking forward to seeing some great wildlife.
About Tusk Justice
At a summit on poaching, the keynote is homicide. Can a veterinarian solve the case before she becomes an endangered species?
Kenya, 2016. Community vet and skilled sleuth ‘Mama’ Rose Hardie is passionate about saving elephants. As she runs her monthly clinic for the animals at the local resort, she plans to attend a conference on the issue with her ailing husband. But things turn sour when a world-renowned conservationist is found brutally stabbed to death.
With the authorities tied up in Nairobi, Rose sets out to bring the killer in herself. But with multiple suspects all hiding secrets and scandalous truths surrounding the victim, the culprit may be too slippery for the aged amateur detective to handle.
Can Rose trap the murderer before she ends up as the next target?
Tusk Justice is the second book in the thrilling Kenya Kanga Mysteries series. If you like quirky characters, lush African locales, and a love of animals, then you’ll adore Victoria Tait’s adventurous whodunit.
About Victoria Tait
Victoria Tait is the exciting new author of the Kenya Kanga Mystery series. She’s drawn on 8 years living in rural Kenya, with her family, to write vivid and evocative descriptions. Her readers feel the heat, taste the dryness, and smell the dust of Africa. Her elderly amateur sleuth, “Mama Rose” Hardie is Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple reincarnated and living in Kenya.
Like all good military wives, Victoria follows the beat of the drum and has recently moved to war-scarred Sarajevo in Bosnia. She has two, fast-growing nearly teenage boys. She enjoys horse riding and mountain biking but is apprehensive about learning to ski. Victoria is looking forward to the sun, sand, and seafood of neighbouring Croatia when the world returns to normal.
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nice cover. sounds like a good mystery. thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good, I love cozy mysteries.
ReplyDelete