DONNA DAYE KITCHTON
ALWAYS TIME TO START FRESH, HER STORY MIXES HISTORY, MYSTERY AND PETS
Author Donna Daye Kitchton of Bonita Springs made her mark in publishing in 2015 with
The Fountain Revived, a suspense novel about a woman, her dog and a move to St. Augustine. The story is inspired by a visit to the historic city as a child.
Kitchton has a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She used her training conducting seminars: “I’m Doing Well But I Could Do Better” and “I Want Clarity Not Therapy.” She has traveled extensively to historical cities in the United States and learned the love of country through these journeys. She was first introduced to a dog at the age of 2, when her father brought home a puppy in his pocket. She moved to Florida in 1995 and is currently writing her second history-mystery novel. Her book is available at local bookstores, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
I WAS BROUGHT UP in Broadalbin, New York, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains; my back yard was a reservoir 32 miles long and 7 miles wide. My father owned a grocery store, one of three in a little town of 2,000 people. It was a very rural community and still is today.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, our area was rich with American history, and my father was such an advocate of American history that every time he would see a historical marker on the side of the road, we would stop and read it. Plus, we took many trips to historical areas, one being St. Augustine.
WHEN I WRITE about an area, I like going to the actual place the mystery takes place and digging up some unusual things people don’t know or hear about from the Internet or library.
MY WRITING CAREER didn’t start until last year. However, I had different career choices, graduating with a degree in physical education and recreation from the University of Miami.
I FELT LONELY not writing something because I wrote so much in college that I didn’t want to stop. But I wanted to write something I was interested in, and that was history and animals merged together into a good mystery; however, I didn’t start by wanting to write a novel. The fact is, this book started as a one-page mystery for Woman’s Day magazine. By the time I got up to page 67, I knew I was in trouble. I put the manuscript away for a few years and wrote workshops for women, which was more in the field in which I graduated. Writing workshops was a tedious job; actually, it was like writing a book, but at that time I didn’t realize it.
MY WRITING SCHEDULE was sporadic. As I look back at it I believe it was a way to go into my dream world with my dog and my love for United States history. At first it was just a hobby that I would pull out now and then. It was fun to tell people I was writing a book. I don’t think I ever intended to finish my novel until my husband got ahold of the almost done manuscript and read it. I was a little disheveled because he said he really liked it, but I thought he was being kind to me. However, a few days later he was talking to our minister’s wife about the book and she asked him if I needed any book illustrations because she would love to do them. Well, that did it. I finished the book and handed her the manuscript, reluctantly, thinking she wouldn’t like it. Besides, she and her husband were going on vacation and