New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 17 books, ranging from narrative non-fiction crime to thrillers and memoir. After writing a dozen books about high-profile true crime cases, Caitlin is expanding into crime fiction with her new “Katrina & Goode” thriller series, which so far includes HOOKED and the sequel, STAGED. Her other recent titles are DOWN TO THE BONE, about the murder of the McStay family, and an updated edition of BODY PARTS, which was prompted by the identification of the first victim of serial killer Wayne Adam Ford via genetic genealogy. An award-winning investigative reporter for 19 years, Rother’s stories have been published in magazines and newspapers across the country, including Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The San Diego Union Tribune. Her more than 250 TV, radio and podcast appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia’s World News, and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery and Lifetime. Rother earned a bachelor’s in psychology from UC Berkeley and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She also works as a writing-research coach, enjoys ocean swimming, and plays keyboards and sings in a jazzy bluesy trio with her partner. For more information and Caitlin’s blog, please visit https://caitlinrother.com.
To purchase STAGED, visit Amazon at:
To find Caitlin on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caitlinrother
Instagram: @the_real_caitlin_rother
Bluesky: @caitlinrother.bsky.social
Threads: @the_real_caitlin_rother
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-rother-8992455/
When did you begin writing?
I started keeping a journal as a teenager, but I didn’t start doing any creative writing until college.
Do you write every day or when you can sneak in time?
After typing at a computer for nearly 35 years, my body has taken a beating and doesn’t let me write as much as my brain would like, so I have to pace myself. Some days I write as much as 6,000 words, other days I don’t write at all so that my body can rest. But I am a full-time author, so even when I can’t type, I am always thinking and plotting and planning. A lot of the work I have to do to remain relevant and to be successful as an author—marketing, promotions, public speaking, podcasts, book signings--have nothing to do with writing, but they are part of the job as well.
What is this book about?
STAGED is Book 2 in the “Katrina & Goode” thriller series, which started with HOOKED. The series features surfing detective Ken Goode and investigative reporter Katrina Chopin, who work together and independently to investigate a series of murders in the beautiful, wealthy coastal community of La Jolla, starting with the deaths of two biotech executives who are developing a groundbreaking sexual enhancement drug. In this book, the investigative duo battle the romantic tensions between them as they dig into the cold-case murders of Katrina’s parents, two federal judges who were gunned down in their driveway, as well as her brother’s fatal overdose. The deeper they get into the investigation, they realize that the current string of suspicious deaths is related to the murders of Katrina’s family, and a cabal of rich white men who are up to no good.
What inspired you to write it?
I’ve been working on this series for half of my life, rewriting Book 1 countless times, although Books 2, 3, and 4 (the latter two are still under submission) came must faster. The plots are pulled from stories, people, and cases I’ve covered my 20 years as an investigative reporter and the next 20 years as a true crime author, during which I’ve been drawn to stories involving suicide, addiction, and staged murder scenes, thus the title.
Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a
bumpy ride?
The road to publication was extremely bumpy and involved a LOT of rewriting, approaching new agents and new publishers until I finally found the right fit. During all the years that I was rewriting my novels, I wrote a dozen true crime books, which have helped inform my thrillers.
If you knew then what you know now, is there
anything you would have done differently?
You don’t know what you don’t know until you learn what you don’t know. And because I don’t live with regrets, I wouldn’t have done anything differently because then I wouldn’t have learned what I needed to learn and I wouldn’t be who I am today. But after writing all of those true crime books, I now know my material, so the writing is coming much easier. I just hope the publishing will come easier and faster too. Time will tell.
What is up next for you?
While I wait for my
publisher to decide if it is going to publish Books 3 and 4, I’ve been working
on a new suspense novel that is also set in La Jolla.
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