Bonney Lake Author Hits Big With Young Adults

When you think of mystery writer, you hardly imagine a charming, petite blond with a fun, comedic personality. That’s what you get with local author Kimberly Derting, who has just launched her second young adult fiction novel Desires of the Dead, the sequel to The Body Finder.

Her series, which is gaining momentum with young readers, was featured at a Saturday book signing at Barnes & Noble in Federal Way. Derting will also be included at the Sumner Library's For the Love of Reading event on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.

"The Body Finder" series tells the story of Violet Ambrose, a teenager who joins the hunt for a serial killer in her town because she can hear the echoes of dead bodies. It takes place in our backyard with setting locations around Bonney Lake, Buckley and Lake Tapps. Derting worked closely with personnel from East Pierce Fire and Rescue to fine tune her story details with accuracy.

While she started her writing career with the idea for an adult horror book, her styling evolved into the young adult genre. Inspired by her husband’s brainstorming sessions, she realized her story line for "The Body Finder" that was a better fit within the young adult market. She gives credit to Stephanie Meyer’s "Twilight" series for creating the shelf space in bookstores and “making reading cool again for teenage girls.”

When asked where her imagination comes from, Derting said, “I have no idea. I was that kid who probably daydreamed too much in school.”

She grew up reading her mother’s books, like Stephen King’s "The Shining" and Thomas Harris’ "The Silence of the Lambs." The horror genre served as her literary fuel and her passion evolved from there.

Derting admits that she enjoying writing from the killer’s point of view the most, though she originally included fewer details in her early drafts of "The Body Finder." She worried that the grisly subject would be too much for her younger audience. At her editor’s request, she later added more of the dark scenes that set the gritty, sometimes violent scenes that make a murder mystery book so desirable. “I was so excited that they [wanted me to include] that,” she said.

As the mother of three children, Derting’s oldest served as the fact-checker for all the teenage dialogue and high school scenes. To encourage her daughter to enjoy reading, and to hopefully inspire her to read more, Derting put a 50-page draft in her daughter’s hands and asked her to mark anything that was "dorky." Her daughter relished the project and asked her mom to print the remainder of the story; she stayed up all night finishing it.

Since it was released in March 2010, "The Body Finder" has become a hit with young adult readers nationwide. Derting has toured with other authors to reading events all over the U.S. and there was much anticipation from her readers for the sequel. After more than a year writing and jumping through editorial hoops and hurdles, Derting is excited to see how fans react to "Desires of the Dead," which hit stores on Feb. 15.

When asked about how it feels to see her finished product on the bookshelves, Derting reveals, “I might have screamed like a little girl!"

With a following of nearly 1,000 on her blog and more than 1,300 Facebook friends, Derting has an eager fan base. You can check out Derting’s books at our local library, on Amazon.com and at other major retailers. "The Body Finder" and "Desires of the Dead" are both published by HarperTeen.