Advice on reinventing yourself from Kate White... who ought to know

HALLIE EPHRON: Kate White is smart. She's gorgeous and gutsy (no coincidence, she wrote The Gutsy Girl's Handbook.) She writes fabulous suspense novels while doling out brilliant career advice.

Once upon a time, Kate was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. And yesterday her eighth Bailey Weggins suspense novel hit the shelves.

I am  thrilled to welcome Kate White to Jungle Reds to talk about transforming yourself.
KATE WHITE: Almost seven years ago, I left my job as the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine (yes, I’m the woman who used to write those crazy Cosmo coverlines, like “Mattress Moves So Hot His Thighs Will Go Up in Flames”) to become a full-time author of mysteries and psychological thrillers.

By this point I’d been writing suspense on the side for ten years, and though my magazine career had been enormously rewarding, I found myself longing for the opportunity to step away from corporate life and give my all to being an author. So, if you’ll forgive the mixing of metaphors, one day I got my ducks in a row and pulled the trigger.

I’ve loved my new life. It’s been great to be out of heels (and a bra) every day, to be my own boss and create my own schedule, to spend chunks of a given morning in my neighborhood Le Pain Quotidien, dreamily scribbling ideas in a notebook.

Perhaps you’ve been stirred lately by the idea of reimagining your own life. You may be where you once wanted to be, but it doesn’t feel like a good fit anymore. Or perhaps a need for change has been foisted upon you.

Regardless of your reason, let me start by saying “Congratulations.” Because on the other side of restlessness, dissatisfaction, an unexpected necessity for change, or even failure is opportunity, newness, excitement, and, very possibly, a freaking fabulous adventure.

I wish I had concrete advice to offer. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any easy hacks for reinvention, like those for tidying up or looking slimmer in clothes. And though starting over can be wonderful, there are bound to be scary moments. Even if it’s your choice.

That was certainly true for me. In the beginning I wasn’t sure how my new career would unfold or what the next steps should be. It was unsettling.

But there was one thing that ended up helping me, and it might be useful to you, book lover. It sounds crazy, but I started approaching my reinvention as if I was reading a mystery or psychological thriller.

When you start a mystery, you accept the fact that for much of the journey, you’re going to be in the dark. The plot, if it’s a good one, is going to be twisty and unexpected, and though you may guess who the killer is, you won’t know for sure until the end. And that’s what you actually LOVE, right?

It pays, I think, to have the same attitude to your reinvention. Try viewing all the “What ifs” and unknowns as part of the excitement and fun rather than something to be afraid of. Embrace the mystery. Know it will take time and effort, but eventually answers will emerge.

Reinvention actually gives you the chance to be the spunky, clever sleuth of your own life, though hopefully without anyone being bludgeoned or stabbed. As Sherlock Holmes said, “Watson, the game’s afoot.” Set out, be bold, ask plenty of probing questions, and relish the amazing discovery process. 

HALLIE: And, by the way, SUCH A PERFECT WIFE, Kate's brand new suspense novel featuring true-crime writer Bailey Weggins, is literally hot off the presses. (I know you won't be surprised to learn that Bailey reinvented herself: a one-time writer for a major women's magazine turned true-crime journalist.) I'm in the middle of reading it now and all I can say is, don't start it if you have get up early the next morning...

Here's the tag line:

Blonde. Beautiful. A loving mother. And missing since Monday.

I know the Reds and so many of our readers have reinvented (or are reinventing) themselves. Please, share!  What WERE you and what ARE you? Are you still chasing red herrings, or have you found the transformation satisfying, like the outcome of a really good mystery?

About SUCH A PERFECT WIFE by Kate White

    On a sunny morning in late September, Shannon Blaine sets off for a jog along the rural roads near her home in Lake George, New York. It's her usual routine, her "me time" after dropping the kids off at school...except on this day she never returns.
   Is her husband lying when he says he as no clue where she is? Could Shannon have split on her own, overwhelmed by the pressures of her life? Or is she the victim of a sexual predator who had been prowling the area and snatched her before she knew what was happening?
    True-crime writer Bailey Weggins, on assignment for the website Crime Beat, heads north from New York City to report on the mysterious disappearance. An anonymous tip soon leads Bailey to a grisly, bone-chilling discovery. Every town has its secrets, Bailey reminds herself, and nothing is ever as perfect as it seems. She keeps digging for answers until--when it's almost too late--she undearths the terrifying truth.

Kate White Dishes on the Mystery Writers of America Cookbook #giveaway

LUCY BURDETTE: We are thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to host Kate White today--she's here to chat about her latest herding-cats project--editing the Mystery Writers of America cookbook. Kate, welcome! Please tell us about the book!

KATE WHITE: Because I was both a mystery author and have had experience as an editor—I ran Cosmopolitan magazine for 14 years, and four other magazines before that—MWA asked me to edit the cookbook for them. I loved doing it. True, at moments it was a bit like herding cats to get some of those successful authors to send me their recipes, but I enjoyed having contact with famous writers I’d never met and I also got a kick out of seeing what recipes they submitted. There are also some fun sidebars in the book, which I enjoyed researching and writing, like: What Exactly Is a Red Herring? And “Pretty Poisons Right in Your Garden.” The latter got me thinking about using poison again in a mystery. Only a few toxins are routinely tested for in autopsies, so poison can be a good way to kill someone and never be caught.


LUCY BURDETTE: Were you surprised at which writers chose what recipes? (Was there a pattern, like hard-boiled=appetizers, cozy=dessert?) What were some of your favorites?

KATE WHITE: Oh, that’s a great question about patterns. I didn’t see any. For instance, Joseph Finder, the author of such strong, gritty suspense novels, offered a yummy apple crumble recipe. And James Patterson gave me a delicious chocolate cake recipe. (Conclusion: many male suspense writers are real sweeties!)

      There were some wonderful surprises. Gillian Flynn writes such fabulously dark stuff so it took me aback to see her recipe for the very All American-seeming “Beef Skillet Fiesta.” And Nelson DeMille’s funny “Male Chauvinist Pigs in the Blanket” almost made me fall off my chair laughing. 

     Other recipes were like little gifts. For instance, I still remember reading my first J.A.Jance novel year ago (Edge of Evil) and practically smelling the Sugarloaf Café sweet rolls she describes, and lo and behold, she sent in the recipe for them. And thanks to Lorenzo Carcaterra, I finally have my go-to marinara sauce.

     I’ve actually added a few of the wonderful recipes to my regular repertoire, like Kathy Reich’s “Shrimp Scampi” and Hank Phillippi Ryan’s “Worth-the-Effort Turkey Tetrazzini” (I always wanted to know how to use leftover turkey!).

LUCY BURDETTE: Do you like to cook? What menu might you serve at a dinner party?

KATE WHITE: I do love to cook and I do it a lot for friends and family. I’m not imaginative but I’m a cookbook addict, and I’m decent at following recipes. I have all the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, for instance, as well as those by Nigella Lawson and Giada De Laurentiis. We live in Uruguay part of each winter, and my favorite chef is Francis Mallmann, who has a restaurant not far from us. His cookbooks—Seven Fires and On Fire—are fantastic. He believes that charring both meats and vegetables brings out unusual flavors. And he’s right! What I’ve also learned from him is that simple is so often best. Don’t overthink things, use just a handful of ingredients (but be sure they are the best you can find), and don’t fuss with food that’s grilling (let it char!!!). One of my favorite Mallmann dishes is a salad with thinly sliced raw zucchini, almonds, fresh mint, and parmesan cheese, dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. For a summer dinner party, I might serve that first and then do a main course of grilled chicken, which I’ve marinated to death in lemon and oregano for two days, fresh sliced tomatoes, and Tuscan beans.

LUCY BURDETTE: Your suspense novel, THE WRONG MAN, will hit bookshelves in June. Tell us a little about that. And is it true that part of the book is set in the Florida Keys? 

KATE WHITE: The Wrong Man comes out in June, and yes it’s about Islamorada, which I discovered after being invited to a wedding there. In the book, a woman named Kit Finn takes her vacation in Islamorada and ends up having a very brief but thrilling fling with a man who is staying at the same hotel. He’s from New York City, as she is, and he asks her to dinner at his apartment in the city the week they both get back. But when she arrives, the man who opens the door has the same name as the man she met in Florida, but it isn’t him. That begins a nightmare that doesn’t want to quit.

LUCY: Kate thanks so much for visiting. Reds, we have a giveaway today--a copy of the MWA cookbook! To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment with your email.

KateWhite, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, is the New York Times bestselling author of six Bailey Weggins mysteries and four stand-alone suspense novels, including Eyes on You, and the upcoming The Wrong Man (June). She is also the editor of The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connect with Kate at katewhite.com