Featured Interview With Judith A. Yates
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Texas-born, Irish/Native American/Kentucky – bred relocate to Tennessee, a left handed Taurus, who loves all animals except for alligators. On my days off you will find me with my horses, perusing flea markets, or playing video games. I am addicted to bottled Coca-colas and chocolate chip cookie dough. I have dogs, cats, horses, and snakes– all rescues.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother read to me every night since I was old enough to know what was going on. We didn’t have much money, so going to the library was a big trip for us. I started writing young; my first published piece was in first grade, the school newspaper. I was six!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
That is almost impossible to answer because I love so many different types and styles of writing. Yeates, Salinger, D. Parker, F. Scott – I love them! I love Gore Vidal, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou. I love history, classic fiction, true crime, and I love looking at old pictures, old newspapers and magazines. I don’t have a favorite genre. Everything except sic-fi and romance. I was inspired by all of the above, and I love Erik Larson and Lowell Cauffiel when it comes to true crime. I don’t have an eBook reader because I love the smell and feel of books.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“When Nashville Bled: the true stories of serial killer Paul Dennis Reid.” In the Spring of 1997, a serial killer held Nashville, Tennessee in an icy grip of terror. In February, he murdered two employees at a Captain D’s restaurant. In March, he struck a McDonalds just miles away, killing three people and maiming one. In April, he kidnapped and slaughtered two Baskin-Robbins employees.They called him “The Fast Food Killer” but his real name is Paul Dennis Reid, Jr. When he was caught and sentenced to seven death sentences, yet a new chapter began in the saga of one of the most heinous serial killers in our time, and the people whose lives he cut short.
The victims were reduced to being called “the victims of Paul Reid.” Until now. Here, for the first time, and with the approval of the family and friends, are the stories of those innocent people whose lives were ended far too soon. It is also the story of how a crime ripped a city apart.
A percentage of proceeds benefits the new Tennessee Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. I was assisted by the families, friends, coworkers, and fellow students of those murdered.
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