Interview with Iain Reading, Author of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series

Iain Reading is the author of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series, a young adult series of adventure mystery stories. The series follows Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations. There are currently four books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold (book 1), Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost (book 2), Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue (book 3), and Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic (book 4).

Your novels, what are some hopes or goals you have for them? 

If I may be a bit ambitious, I would actually think that the first book of the Kitty Hawk series would make a pretty good Disney-type movie.  All the elements are there, plus it would have some amazing outdoor scenery.  I won't be waiting by the phone for that one, however.

On a more realistic note, I suppose that my goals are much the same as anyone who writes books.  I'd like people to read and enjoy them.  They are meant to be fun, so I would hope that people would have fun reading them.  And last of all, since my books are full of all sorts of interesting locations and events and history, I always hope that in the process of reading my books that people would find that kind of stuff interesting.  If they go to Google and search something from one of my books, then that's a great success, I think.

How did you come up with the concept for the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series?

It all started with just one simple thing.  The main character.  Once I thought of her, this teenaged pilot with her own seaplane, everything else just fell into place.  In fact, with the idea hanging out there in the universe and not being written was enough of a kick in the butt for me to get going and actually write the first book.

What three words would you say describe Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold? 

Mysterious Fun Adventure

What is something readers would be surprised to learn about Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold?

Without giving too much away, I think people might be surprised to learn exactly how much of the smaller details and background history in the story is actually real and based on people, places and events that actually really happened.  (I don't mean the Yukon Gold Rush, of course.  Obviously that happened, but many of the much smaller details that weave their way through the whole story.)  This is something that surprises me, to be honest, when I sit back and really think about it.

Who is your favorite character in Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold and why?

My favourite character is Kitty Hawk.  How could it be anyone else, I guess.  This is her story and her adventure that she calls her life.  I look up to her a lot and often find myself wishing I could be flying around the world right alongside her.  But I suppose in a way that's exactly what myself and anyone who reads the books is doing.

What are some of your other interests besides writing?

I have always wanted to be a musician.  I write songs and record them.  So if anyone is interested in that they can have a listen for free at www.SecretWorldOnline.com

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

Wherever it would be you can be sure that a Kitty Hawk adventure based in that place would soon follow.

If you could spend the day with someone (Dead or Alive) who would it be?

That's a tie between Roger Waters and Taylor Swift (and yes, I just put those two names together in the same sentence).

Do you have any other books in the works? 

I am currently working on the fifth book in the Kitty Hawk series, which should be released soon.

What advice would you give to other people who want to become writers?

I don't think there can be any better advice than to say to "just do it".  Go out and write the book that you are able to write and not try to write anything else.  If you're like me and try to do differently you'll procrastinate endlessly and never write anything.

To learn more about Iain Reading and the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series, go to http://www.KittyHawkWorld.com/