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: https://amzn.to/4vOUjHw
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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