Kathleen West: Be Curious
In this interview, author Kathleen West discusses the long journey to publication of her new cozy mystery, Making Friends Can Be Murder.
Kathleen West is a veteran school teacher. She graduated with a degree in English from Macalester College and holds a master’s degree in literacy education from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Minneapolis with her A+ human family and two B- dogs. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Kathleen discusses the long journey to publication of her new cozy mystery, Making Friends Can Be Murder, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Kathleen West
Literary agent: Joanna MacKenzie, Nelson Literary Agency
Book title: Making Friends Can Be Murder
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: June 10, 2025
Genre/category: Cozy Mystery
Previous titles: Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes, Are We There Yet?, Home or Away
Elevator pitch: Seven women with the same common name investigate the murder of one of their own with the help of a handsome FBI recruit and a cloistered nun with a complicated past.
What prompted you to write this book?
After writing three women’s fiction titles, I wanted to try my hand at a murder mystery. My brother had died when I started working on it, so it took much longer than I expected, and my grief leaked into every character. While it’s the funniest book I’ve written, it also explores sadness, regret, and culpability in ways that were cathartic for me.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Oh, man. This was a long journey. I first pitched a mystery to my publisher in the summer of 2021. I developed a few chapters and a loose outline, and then we decided not to move forward with what I called “Country Club Murder Book.” That story hinged on a dead matriarch found legs-up in the sixth-hole water hazard of a golf course. It was not to be!
Next, I decided to work on something I called “Nun Murder Fire Book.” I gave my publisher sample chapters and an outline in spring or summer of 2022. This was too dark, as it turns out, and the plot was a little bit on the wrong side of ridiculous (a murderous nun saved the blood of girls’ school student council presidents in her rosary beads).
I found my stride with the Sarah Joneses of Making Friends. “Light murder,” my editor encouraged. And we got there. (I moved the nun over and made her witty and empathetic.) I started writing this story in fall 2022, I think, and turned in a final draft in about May of 2024.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
So many. At first, I had no idea I was writing about grief. When I figured that out, the villain became more layered and whole. The rest of the characters did, too.
Other things I learned? How to plot a mystery. It was much harder and more intricate than I imagined, and I leaned heavily on my agent and editor. I also spent a lot of time learning about the FBI, and how they might investigate and close cases. I tried to learn about money laundering, but in the end, I failed at that and changed the scheme in my book to straight-up theft.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I’m surprised to have finished it. I wrote this during a hard time in my life, and I realized once again that what you have to do as a writer—if you want to write—is just sit down at your desk over and over again and hope for the best.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they’ll appreciate and think about true and multi-generational friendship. I hope they’ll laugh a lot. I hope they’ll feel the sense of peace that the characters do when they face and process grief. I hope they’ll really have fun reading it and wish for a sequel.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
This is hard, too. I always feel unqualified to give advice because it feels like I forget how to write a book all the time. I think the most important and sustaining thing I do is just to show up. Keep showing up and be curious about what might happen.
