A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH was the 2nd place overall winner for fiction in the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Kim Hays.
“I’m delighted to have won second place for fiction in the Indie Reader Discovery Awards contest. The recognition means a great deal to me, and I’m grateful for the publicity the award brings. Many thanks to everyone who judged my book, A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH, and to the friends and professionals who helped me get it written and published.”
What is the name of the book, and when was it published?
It’s called A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH and was published in April 2024.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Andi Eberhart biked away from the brightly lit curling hall, pedaling hard.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Andi Eberhart is biking home on an icy winter night when she is killed in a hit-and-run. Her devastated partner, Nisha, is convinced the death was no accident since Andi had been receiving homophobic hate mail for years. Bern homicide detective Giuliana Linder pieces together the details of Andi and Nisha’s lives, looking for suspects, while her assistant Renzo Donatelli looks into Andi’s job—she advises young men who’ve been drafted into Switzerland’s civilian service. As both detectives dig into Andi’s life, one thing becomes clear: Andi’s friends and family may have loved her for her honesty, but her outspokenness threatened many people, including, perhaps, her killer.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH is the third book in my quartet of detective novels, the Linder and Donatelli series. I began writing the first book in the series shortly after my mother died, and I was inspired by her love of reading crime fiction, which she had passed on to me. Mama sat over her hot tea after every lunch, reading a chapter or two in her latest mystery before getting back to work.
Young Swiss men can choose to serve thirteen months in a job that benefits society as an alternative to becoming a soldier in the Swiss Army. My son chose this civilian service instead of the military, and A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH was encouraged by his experiences.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who–real or fictional–would you say the character reminds you of?
My four police procedurals have two main characters, police detectives Giuliana Linder and Renzo Donatelli. Giuliana is 46, married to a freelance journalist, and has an eleven-year-old son and a fifteen-year-old daughter; she struggles to balance the demands of her job and her family. Thirty-five-year-old Renzo has two children under six and an increasingly unhappy marriage. What makes these two distinctive is how well they work together, with a lot of consultation, humor, and respect for each other’s opinions, along with a similar commitment to justice. They quickly develop an affection for and attraction to each other, which complicates their lives.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It has an exciting plot, very appealing characters, and raises thought-provoking questions. But the main reason to read it is that by the time you finish it, you’ll be so fond of the Swiss city of Bern that you’ll want to move there!
When did you first decide to become an author?
I’ve had jobs that involved writing articles, funding proposals, and speeches. Still, I didn’t decide to try writing crime fiction until my son went off to college on another continent, when I needed something demanding to avoid falling into the empty-nest blues.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, the fourth. I wrote a nonfiction book about adolescents at Quaker and military boarding schools, followed by two mysteries that predate this one. Since I finished A FONDNESS FOR TRUTH, I’ve written a fourth in my series, SPLINTERED JUSTICE.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m now retired, but when I began writing crime fiction, I was working as a cross-cultural coach, helping expatriate employees at multinational companies feel comfortable living and working in Switzerland.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I try to be at my desk writing by 9 a.m. and write until noon, then take a break until 1:30 p.m. and work again from 1:30 until 5 p.m. In the evening from 8-9 p.m. I often spend an hour doing research or revising. But I never work past 9—I have to have time to read novels and hang out with my husband!
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is not having anyone telling you what to write and how to do it. The hardest part is not having a professional with your best interests at heart to advise you.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I would be delighted to have a big, prestigious publisher, even though it would give me less freedom.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Since I was a child, reading books by my favorite authors has given me immense pleasure. I like the idea that one of my books could make a reader that happy.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I admire J.K. Rowling because she was able to write extraordinarily clever fantasy books with wonderful plots and characters for children, and then, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, produce a series of brilliant mysteries featuring a terrific pair of detectives.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, by Ursula LeGuin