My Daddy, the Serial Killer
by Cindy Kovacik

Katelyn Deason was young, naIve, and innocent at six years old.

That is, until she made the mistake of descending those cellar steps and viewing the first of many horrors down below.

You see, her father wasn’t who she thought he was. He wasn’t the loving and “normal” daddy that all the other kids had. He was very different.

She soon realizes how different as the years pass and unspeakable things begin to happen.

Will Katelyn be able to cling to her sanity after witnessing all of Daddy’s horrors?

4 out of 5 fairies

This book was a ride from start to finish, and makes you wonder – what would you do if you found out your dad was a serial killer? Katelyn is an interesting character, and we get to watch her grow from a troubled child to an even more troubled adult. (Which is understandable given her childhood). The book is really driven by Katelyn, although we get some peeks into what her father is up to, mostly seen through her eyes. Any horror fans who also love true-crime shows about serial killers are sure to enjoy this read. End note: this does get quite graphic and gory at times, so be warned before you dive in.

Lily:  Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview Cindy I enjoyed reading My Daddy, the Serial Killer. What inspired you to write this?

Cindy:  I’ve always wanted to write a horror novel and the title really came to me first.  After I had the title, the story came to mind pretty quickly.

Lily:  It’s a great title for an interesting story. What would you do if you accidentally found out a close family member was a serial killer?

Cindy:   Wow, that would be conflicting.  But my conscience would get the best of me so I would have to turn them in to the police.

Lily:  Probably the best course of action, I definitely wouldn’t want to be in that situation. Was Katelyn inspired by anyone?

Cindy:  I think there were certainly parts of me involved with the Katelyn character.  I tried to draw from any emotions I might have had during childhood.

Lily:  You definitely brought her to life. Did you have to do any research for this book?

Cindy:  Yes.  I researched a lot on serial killers.  I wanted my story to be unique but still true to the mindset of someone like that.

Lily:  I think you did a good job with that. Now we’d like to talk about you as a writer. What’s your favorite way to write your first draft: handwritten, typed, or dictated?

Cindy:  Definitely handwritten.  I’m a pen to paper kind of girl.

Lily:  I’m the same way, there’s something different about handwriting it all out. Can you describe your usual writing space?

Cindy:  I like to write at my dining room table usually at night after the kids are in bed.  It’s quiet and structured and I can focus at that time.

Lily:  Sounds like the perfect time and place for you. Is writing or editing the first draft the hardest?

Cindy:    I think editing is harder for me.  When I write the first draft I’m not always thinking, I’m just letting the words flow.  Going back and taking a closer look at the writing and making sure everything makes sense is a much harder task.

Lily:  Totally understandable, and sometimes editing takes more than one pass. Let’s finish up with some fun questions and get inside your mind. What’s the most useless (or strangest) talent you have?

Cindy:  I can find anything that is lost.   My husband is constantly losing his wallet, keys, phone, etc. and I just have a knack for locating objects.  One time he lost his wedding ring outside in the snow for three months and I eventually found it.  It’s a crazy ability.

Lily:  That’s an awesome ability! If you could know the absolute and total truth to one question, what question would you ask?

Cindy:  I would want to know what happens to us after we die.  Serious, I know, but the unknown is scary and that might help any fears of dying I might have.

Lily:  That’s a perfectly reasonable thing to want to know I think. How do you feel about putting pineapple on pizza? Do you have any odd pizzas or pizza toppings you really like?

Cindy:  I’m against pineapple, period.  I really don’t like anything on my pizza except sauce and cheese.

Lily:  I’m always down for extra cheese on my pizza. Toilet paper, over or under? How do you feel about it the other way?

Cindy:  Definitely over.  It just feels more difficult if it’s under.

Lily:  I’m an over person myself. What fictional character is amazing in their book/show/movie, but would be insufferable if you had to deal with them in mundane everyday situations?

Cindy:  Harry Potter came to mind at first.  Sweet guy, amazing wizard.  But who wants to be around someone that constantly has people trying to kill him and you?

Lily:  It would make life interesting, but I can absolutely see that getting old quickly. If every time you snapped your fingers, you would instantly be transported to a random point in humanity’s timeline, would you snap your fingers? If so, how often?

Cindy:  I might snap them once to see what happens but since it’s random that would be a scary thing.  There are some points in the timeline that I just would not want to go.

Lily:  I’d definitely be torn between curiosity and worrying about not being able to control when I went. Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?

Cindy:  No, but thank you for this interview.  I really enjoyed answering your questions.

Lily:  It was a pleasure to have you here! How can readers discover more about you and your work?

Cindy:  They can definitely find my work on websites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Readers also might be interested in my children’s book that I had published last year called, Chicken in the City.  It’s an early reader adventure book and it’s part of a series.  The second book will be published this year.  It’s completely opposite from my horror novel, obviously, but I thought some readers might have children and would be interested in taking a look at it.

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Words cannot express how much I love the horror genre. I have finally accomplished a lifelong goal of writing a horror novel and getting it published. It took a long time and a lot of hard work but was worth it in the end. I am a 41-year-old mother who likes to push herself to always do better and work harder. Now that I have a published book, I would like to start writing book #2. My biggest influences have been Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. I have been reading and writing since I was a little girl and I hope to continue as I get older and wiser.

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