Interview with Christine Gentes

My name is Denise Kainrath, and I sometimes dabble in blogging of my own at  deniseadelek.com, but mostly I wanted to interview my mom before she retired the blog. My mom has worked diligently on her blog for the last four years, and I am immensely proud of the hard work that she has put in. There have been many times that I've called her to rave about an amazing book I just finished, and she has chosen to slot the book into her never-ending queue or work it into a blog post to share with her readers. She has taken her work very seriously, and has stuck to her posting schedule infinitely better than I ever could have. Please join me in giving Map Your Mystery a celebratory send off with my mom's interview below!

Denise

Tell me about your blogging and reading process.

Christine Gentes &
Denise Kainrath

I am a voracious readers, but one thing I learned about blogging is to write the review as soon as I finish the book. Some weeks I was reading three or four books at a time and boy does that get confusing. Other times I was so far ahead in my reviews that I would read a book a couple of weeks before I wrote the review and then essentially have to page through it again to refresh my memory

What compelled you to start blogging?

Actually my husband suggested it. He was the mayor of our town for eight years and he wrote a blog aimed at his constituents for the entire time. His best one was written on April 1 when he said the village was going install heating wires under the roads to melt the snow. Everyone believed it and then he reminded them that it was April Fool's Day.

As for my motivation, I love to tell people what to do so it was logical to tell people what to read. Many of my friends would ask me for recommendations, so this was the perfect venue for me. 

What has been the coolest opportunity that being a blogger has afforded you?

The coolest opportunity was meeting many, many authors at Malice Domestic. The first year I went I had just started writing the blog so I had to introduce myself to everyone. The next time I went people were dragging other authors over to me to tell them about the blog. So fun. Plus of course, the books. I have so many books given to me by authors, publishers and NetGalley.

What are some of your favorite titles to recommend?

Oh boy I would hate to leave someone out in this list. I will tell you what I enjoy in a book. I like the female lead to be the owner of some kind of interesting business. I love a continuing series. I want the lead character to be smart and not do stupid things like go to a deserted place to meet the killer. I do not like the love triangle. That might work for a book or two but it doesn't appeal to me. And I don't need the gory murder details. Like with Agatha Christie books, I want the murder to be "off screen." 

How can blog readers stay in touch with you?

I hope to publish one review a week on Instagram so if you want to follow me I'm @the_comish or stay in touch through MapYourMystery@gmail.com. I also have a personal Facebook page under my name. You'll be able to see some of my paintings, too 

What will you do next Monday morning when you would have been blogging?

I will be attending YouTube University to catch up on the videos from some of the artists I follow. I hope I can stop dithering around early enough in the day to actually paint while the light is good in my studio. Now I will have no excuse. 

Thanks again to all more readers, authors, friends, and my husband and daughter for their support.