Author Archives: Kim Hays

School’s Out!

Memory is unreliable—we all know that—but my childhood summer vacations seemed endless. I remember getting out of school at the end of June and not returning until the beginning of September: three months of pure fun. And, I now realize, three months of stress for parents who had to figure out what to do withContinue reading “School’s Out!”

Avoiding a Swiss Dystopia

I read predominantly mystery novels, and that’s fine, but sometimes I need a break from crime. So for the past couple of weeks, before and during my husband’s and my vacation in Uzbekistan (which was fabulous), I’ve been reading highly praised literary novels that I’d downloaded onto my Kindle but hadn’t yet gotten around to.Continue reading “Avoiding a Swiss Dystopia”

Living Next Door to Bern’s Bears

I was recently invited to join a tour of Bern’s bear park, and I learned so much about the city’s bears that I thought I’d share some of it with you. It’s a story with a happy ending for the bears but also a reminder of how cruel supposedly civilized people can be to animals. InContinue reading “Living Next Door to Bern’s Bears”

My Mother’s Library

Only two days past Mother’s Day, I just had a little piece about my mother Joy Hays published on Lesa’s Book Critiques, a blog about books—especially mysteries—that is run by library manager Lesa Holstine. Lesa has won all kinds of awards for her book reviews, and I’m very grateful to her for publishing the piece.Continue reading “My Mother’s Library”

Thrilling News

Much as I enjoy compliments to Pesticide or Sons and Brothers, I don’t think anyone would call my mysteries thrillers! So I was especially pleased to be interviewed by The Big Thrill: https://www.thebigthrill.org/?p=84188. The Big Thrill is the online monthly magazine put out by the International Thriller Writers Association (ITW). I suppose by now thereContinue reading “Thrilling News”

Stephen King Meets Georgette Heyer

I know someone who teaches classes on how to revise manuscripts. The example she gives her students of a writer who knows how to pace his novels brilliantly is Stephen King. She thinks his ability to create suspense is extraordinary. Stephen King is seventy-five years old; he was born and brought up in Maine andContinue reading “Stephen King Meets Georgette Heyer”

Little Known Facts about Paradise

My friend Clare O’Dea is a dual citizen like me, but Swiss-Irish instead of Swiss-American. She’s also a writer of fiction and non-fiction and (unlike me) a professional journalist. A few weeks ago, she interviewed me for Switzerland’s version of an English-language online newsletter called The Local, which she writes for regularly. The article isContinue reading “Little Known Facts about Paradise”

Some Useful Rat

When I was about thirty, I traveled around Germany with one of my uncles. A year or two before that, I’d taken beginner German classes for two or three months.  You’ve heard the saying, “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Well, my trip to Germany made that clear. At the places we were staying, thereContinue reading “Some Useful Rat”

The Cold Days of Carnival

Monday, February 27, at four in the morning, the city of Basel’s Fasnacht celebration began. Fasnacht is the German word for Carnival, and Basel’s lasts three days. Yesterday morning, despite darkness, icy cold, and the painfully early hour, thousands of people lined the streets of Switzerland’s third largest city to watch groups of men andContinue reading “The Cold Days of Carnival”