“Off the Page” with Hayden Kent by The Wren (Sarah E. Burr)

A Note from Sarah Burr: I’m handing the blogging reins to Winnie Lark, the main character in my Book Blogger Mysteries. Winnie runs a popular bookish website called What Spine is Yours (think Metacritic for the literary world). However, she manages it anonymously, and the online community only knows her as “The Wren.” She often interviews guest authors through their characters, and that’s the focus of today’s feature. Enjoy!

 

Greetings, bookish friends! The Wren, here. On this month’s “Off the Page” feature, I’m sitting down with the title character from the Hayden Kent Mysteries. I can’t wait for you to learn more about Hayden Kent, her incredible work, and her latest mystery, Death Dive.

Hi Wren, thank you for inviting me. I’m looking forward to this. Of course, I’d love to discover why you operate under a cover name. Has anyone peeked behind the scenes? Your interviewees are all sleuths. It’s an enticing conundrum.

Many have tried, Hayden. But we’re not here to talk about me—we’re here to talk about you! You’re a newly minted claims investigator and a paralegal. How did you end up pursuing this career?

I’d been a probate paralegal for ten years. My original plan was to become a lawyer, but when my parents were killed in a horrific car accident my senior year, I shelved that plan. In fact, it was all I could do to finish out my last year at the University of Miami. I’d taken a lot of pre-law courses, and when I returned to the Keys, my best friend Mallory turned me on to a job with Grant Huffman. The rest was history. I loved working for him and moonlighting as a scuba diving instructor, but things kind of fell apart and the firm closed. I recorded those events in Death by Sunken Treasure. I’d dish the deets, but it’s still painful. Anyway, the Florida Keys are really a giant small town and I’d heard Worldwide Insurance was on the hunt for a paralegal. Wouldn’t you know, my first case was scuba diving related. They offered to train me as an investigator if I’d cover the diving. In Belize. In the Blue Hole. Talk about a dream job.

I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I’m sure they would be proud of you and what you’ve been able to overcome. Given your career path, it’s easy to see how you might become tangled in murder or fraud investigations. Are you a reluctant sleuth, or is solving mysteries very much your passion?

Definitely a passion project. I’m all about justice and finding closure for people who are suffering. Yes, it’s my job, but it’s more. When I’m investigating a death, I’m seeing families on their worst day, and I’m working hard to make sure that honest claims get paid. I’m no soft touch though. If there’s the slightest question of fraud, I’m all over it.

Tell us about your home in the Florida Keys. What brought you there?

Ah, I’m a member of a dying breed. I’m a saltwater Conch (pronounced Konk). That means my family has been in the Keys for multiple generations. There are freshwater Conchs, too. They’ve made themselves a part of Keys life, but aren’t native.

I live in a hurricane house. They used to be fairly common, but not so much anymore. It’s two stories with a widow’s walk and made of polite, the limestone rock native to the Keys. Here’s the cool part. An anchor chain runs through the center of the house from the roof to an anchor deep in the bedrock. It’s meant to hold the roof in a hurricane. And so far, it has. It’s surrounded by a safe space. Kind of like a panic room where families gather during storms. The walls are stone and steps run around the circumference. There’s a platform at the very top, just below the widows' walk. The hope is the platform is above the flood height. There’s a trapdoor to the widows walk in the event a high escape is necessary. My great, great, grandfather built the place. If you come see it, I’ll show you where the waterline marks are for all the hurricanes from 1933 right up to Irma in 2017. I inherited the house from my parents. Marking Irma was my obligation.

What an incredible piece of history! You also have such an amazing skill set: you’re a scuba diver. What about scuba diving has prepared you for solving mysteries?

Be attentive to details, double-check everything and don’t take anything for granted. It will save your life. It’s the same with solving mysteries. Always sweat the small stuff. It usually holds the answers.

Those are valuable tips—not that I would know anything about solving mysteries. When you’re on a case, are you a solo investigator, or do you have a team to help you?

I’m so lucky to have a team. Mallory Corbett, my bff, is a fellow paralegal, runner, and outstanding diver. She’s a freshwater Conch. I’ve known her since we were in grade school together. There’s been some tension recently, because her boss is on the opposite side of the case in Death Dive, but we’re working it out. Two of my recent best friends are cops. Janice Kirby works with the Florida Wildlife Commission, they’re also known as Grouper Troupers, but don’t let on I told you that. Then there’s Daphne Barton. She’s a Monroe County Deputy. The three of us met on a case. Okay, it was a little more than that. We met when I was a murder suspect. It’s all in Death by Blue Water. I must say, without them, I might be behind bars today. Then there’s Kurt Milian. We just met in Belize. He’s been super helpful on my case. He’s a professional diver who makes scuba documentaries. Talk about someone who pays attention to detail.

It sounds like you’ve got a powerful team of crime-fighting companions. I hope you all have time for fun and relaxation, too. What’s the most beautiful place you’ve explored while scuba diving?

Wow, tough question. My favorite dive is the Humbolt. That’s a deep wreck located just past the reef line in Marathon, Florida. The most beautiful. Again, I’m going to call a Marathon dive. The Pillar Patch. It’s filled with pillar corals, sea fans, brain corals, and tons of tropical fish. The color is explosive. It’s like swimming in an aquarium.

I can’t even imagine how awe-inspiring it must have been to see the wonders of Mother Nature up close. Tell us, are there more adventures in store for you and your author, Kait Carson?

Oh, yes. We’re involved in one now. Someone murdered Mallory’s boyfriend, Pete Delaney. Mal and I found his boat drifting when we were diving for Florida lobster. Janice discovered Pete’s body on Barbara’s Reef. The strange thing? The man has no past. So far every clue is a dead end. Mallory is devastated.

Holy bookmarks! Poor Mallory. But with you on the case, I’m sure the culprit will be caught in no time. Hayden, thanks so much for taking the time to come “Off the Page” with me.

This has been so much fun. I hope I didn’t rattle on too much. You are so easy to talk with. Now, about the pseudonym….won’t you dish?

It’s been great having you here. And if you’re really curious about my origin story, you can always “dive” into Over My Dead Blog. Happy Sleuthing! ~ The Wren

 

The Hayden Kent Mysteries are available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Death Dive can be purchased here: https://mybook.to/aAUL.

Learn more about The Wren, Winnie, and the Book Blogger Mysteries at www.saraheburr.com.