Ehrman, Kit 1956–

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Ehrman, Kit 1956–

PERSONAL: Born 1956, in Baltimore, MD; children: Ray, Phil. Education: Catonsville Community College, MD, A.A.; attended Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. Politics: Republican. Hobbies and other interests: Horses.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—P.O. Box 1287, Columbus, IN 47202-1287. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Worked at a race track and as a groomer, barn manager, and veterinary technician on horse farms in MD and PA; farm owner in IN.

MEMBER: Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Inc.

AWARDS, HONORS: Book of the Year Bronze Winner, ForeWord Magazine, and Independent Publisher Book Award Finalist, both 2005, for Cold Burn

WRITINGS:

"STEVE CLINE" MYSTERY SERIES

At Risk, Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2002.

Dead Man's Touch, Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2003.

Cold Burn, Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Kit Ehrman spent two decades working with horses before she began writing about them. She first mucked out stalls, then became a groom, veterinary technician, and barn manager. She delivered foals on a breeding farm and also worked around a racetrack for a brief period. Ehrman bought small farms, upgraded them, and sold them and then bought herself a keeper in Indiana, where she cares for her family and her horses and writes.

At Risk is Ehrman's debut mystery featuring barn manager Steve Cline and is the first of a series. Steve is the twenty-one-year-old son of a successful surgeon who has disowned his son for dropping out of college. He works at Foxdale, a Maryland horse farm that boards and trains thoroughbred hunters and jumpers. While entering the barn during the night to tend a sick animal, he comes upon a group of ski-mask-hooded men who are stealing horses. Steve is beaten but escapes to track down the thieves with the help of Detective James Ralston of the Maryland State Police. Other characters include Steve's friend Marty and the motherly farm manager, Mrs. Hill. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the cast of At Risk "memorable" and the relationship between Steve and the boarder Rachel "one of the novel's highlights." The reviewer added: "With his youthful zeal and perseverance, Steve Cline makes a captivating hero and sleuth, one readers will be eager to see again."

Ehrman was drawn to writing mysteries because of her enthusiasm for the work of writer Dick Francis; in fact, the Publishers Weekly contributor, a Kirkus Reviews contributor, and the New York Times Book Review reviewer Marilyn Stasio all noted the similarities between Ehrman's character and the typical Dick Francis hero. The Kirkus Reviews contributor commented: "Ehrman's lively debut is not without its rough spots—mostly in the plotting—but the smart money could make the unusually likable protagonist a favorite in the Francis Stakes." Stasio commented that Ehrman needs "more practice jumping those writing hurdles," but wrote that the country setting of the horse farm "reeks of authenticity" and the horses themselves "have personality to burn."

Ehrman followed up her debut with Dead Man's Touch, once again featuring Steve Cline. Steve soon learns that not only has his father been killed in a car accident but that he is a bastard child resulting from an affair his mother once had. Steve learns that his real father is Christopher J. Kessler, a horse trainer. When the two meet, Christopher at first suspects that Steve is part of a gang that is trying to get him to throw races. After realizing that Steve is his son, Christopher hires him to find out who has been fixing races by drugging the horses, an investigation that leads Steve into a world of murder as he also seeks justice for the attempted rape of his newfound half-sister. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the author "creates an authentic and vivid picture of the reality behind the glamour of the races." Writing in Kirkus Reviews, a reviewer noted that the novel "finishes in the money."

Cold Burn features Steve investigating the disappearance of the former barn manager at a Virginia thoroughbred farm. Recruited for the investigation by the manager's sister, Steve hires on at the farm ostensibly to help out during foaling season. During his investigation, Steve comes across a stash of smuggled cocaine and a series of fires that may be copycat arsons from nearly two decades earlier. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the hero is "increasingly irresistible in Ehrman's best yet." Dennis Dodge, writing in Booklist, commented that "the detailed, apparently accurate account of what normally goes on … [at the horse farm] is among the book's chief attractions." Calling the novel "absorbing," a Publishers Weekly contributor also noted that the author's "knowledge and exposition of life on a horse farm is most impressive and enjoyable."

Ehrman told CA: "I grew up a mile from the Baltimore city line—not a likely place for a 'horse person' I suppose. I was working for the government and going to college part time when I happened to come across a copy of Dick Francis's In the Frame. Afterwards, I read every one of his mysteries I could get my hands on, quit the government job, and went to work on a horse farm in Howard County, Maryland.

"There's a lot of mental down time when you're mucking out stalls, even for me. I got into the habit of making up stories in my head, thinking about characters and plot lines, and bad guys. Today, I live on a horse farm in Indiana with my family. And even now, it's when I'm mucking stalls or mowing pastures that I find I'm most able to get into the story and think about what's going to happen next.

"When I started At Risk, I had the opening scene in mind (the horse theft) then I thoroughly developed the protagonist before I proceeded with plotting. I needed to decide what kind of person would be working as a barn manager at a horse farm. Then I developed the plot. I always know how the book will end; although the mechanics of the actual ending often changes. Then I get started writing. It's always a relief to get the first draft on paper, because I love revision. It's my favorite part of the job."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2005, Dennis Dodge, review of Cold Burn, p. 825.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of At Risk, p. 1267; October 1, 2003, review of Dead Man's Touch, p. 1202; December 15, 2004, review of Cold Burn, p. 1166.

Library Journal, December, 2003, Rex E. Klett, review of Dead Man's Touch, p. 172.

New York Times Book Review, November 3, 2002, Marilyn Stasio, review of At Risk, p. 22.

Publishers Weekly, September 23, 2002, review of At Risk, p. 54; October 13, 2003, review of Dead Man's Touch, p. 60; January 10, 2005, review of Cold Burn, p. 42.