Interview with "Young Adult Mystery" Writer, Author Iain Reading

Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations. He has published four books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of theYukon Gold, Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost, Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue, Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic.
For more information, visit Kitty Hawk World. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kittyhawkworld

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7276101.Iain_Reading

Welcome to my blog, Iain. This book is the first in a young adult adventure/mystery series. Please tell us about your novel.

This first book in The Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series lays the groundwork of the main character, a teenage pilot with her own seaplane from Vancouver Island, Canada. Her (apt) name is Kitty Hawk and being the somewhat optimistically ambitious girl that she is, she decides that she wants to go to Alaska and study humpback whales for the summer. She’s the perfect person to do it, she figures, because with her own plane outfitted with an array of video and photographic equipment she can cover a lot of area on a daily basis, recording and documenting the day-to-day lives of the hundreds of whales who spend their summers in the bountiful waters of south-east Alaska. But as the long and productive summer draws to a close she happens to notice a small boat that, for some reason, she can’t quite get out of her head. Something nags at her about it and she won’t be satisfied until she figures out what it is. And that is where her new adventure begins, leading her on an exciting rollercoaster ride across the beautiful landscape of the far north, through history and mystery, until she finally solves the case.

There are currently 4 books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series. Where did you get your inspiration for this series?

The ultimate inspiration for the entire series comes directly from the main character herself – Kitty Hawk. She is such a strong and determined character, complete with human flaws and uncertainties, that her stories just seem to write themselves.

What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

In addition to having visited each of the locations in the book, I also had to do a bit of digging around in my brain and books to find a way to weave together a story that contained the elements of geography and history that I was already interested in.

Tell us about Kitty Hawk. What is she like?

Kitty Hawk is an amazing girl. As you know already she is a pilot (with a name like hers, how could she be anything else?) and she flies her own seaplane. But what you might not yet know is what a spark she has for seeing the world. She is the kind of person with all the normal human self-doubts and fears but her ambition and curiosity forces her to push past those and get out and experience things for herself. Whether it’s picking up the phone and calling the handsome stranger she just met for a date, or sneaking around the wilderness in the dead of night on the trail of some gold thieves, she has a way of getting herself into some amazing situations. But fortunately she’s smart enough to always figure her way out of them again.

She does sound amazing. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

Not many people are aware that I am NOT a pilot. While I am familiar enough with the various operations and procedures of flying that I describe in my books, I am actually not licensed to fly. I am just an enthusiastic passenger sitting over in the co-pilot’s seat.

Hahaha. That is so funny. Hey, authors do tend to write about things they desire to do. Maybe that’s why you made Kitty a pilot. I hope my followers will give this book a chance and get it for their kids and themselves. Happy writing, Iain!