Spotlight On...Kym Roberts
By Shelley Kaehr
Like most cops, I like to tell stories. So instead of answering Shelley’s questions in the normal format, I chose to address them in the following tale:
I wrote an autobiography for school when I was in the 6th grade naming three things I wanted to do when I grew up. The very first I listed was to become a Police Officer. This became my ambition and my dream. But at ninety-five pounds, I didn’t meet the weight requirements for most departments. I couldn’t gain weight no matter how I tried. So I taped rolls of pennies to my waist and went for my final weigh in. In two weeks I gained 15 pounds and lost all the skin on my stomach. I made it! Or so I thought.
The academy was grueling both physically and mentally. There were four women in my class of sixty-seven. We were divided into squads so that the women very seldom saw each other. The defensive tactics instructor was merciless and constantly on my case. I worked out during lunch while other recruits socialized and relaxed. I stayed every night and worked on defensive tactics. By the time the academy was over, I swore I’d never speak to that instructor again. We married three years later and have a fourteen-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter.
My second ambition in life was to become an Investigative Reporter. But my view became tainted in college. At a Rainmakers concert, I witnessed a biker pick on a minority fan, jump on the band’s speakers where a police officer had to physically remove him. The officer let him go with a warning. The biker then attempted to throw a steel clamp at the officer, but I warned the officer first.
As I watched the biker toss dope to the ground and swing at police officers, the crowd encircled them. It turned into a riot. The officers used only open-handed restraining techniques. I was in awe of their abilities and their professionalism. After taking my information for their reports, I was escorted to my car for my protection. The next day the headlines read: Police Brutality by KCPD.
No reporter contacted me. They spoke to the biker’s girlfriend who said an officer punched her. My testimony cleared that officer and my view of reporting was forever changed. Several years later, I discovered the police officer I cleared of any wrong doing that night was my future husband.
I became a detective and was promoted to Detective Sergeant. I began working in the forgery section and loved it. I had the opportunity to work a task force with the Secret Service in Kansas City (working out of their office). It was the highlight of my career. I really admire their dedication. I also saw President Clinton at the height of his ‘sexual relations’ scandal. I get a kick from the fact that he’s the only president I will ever ‘come’ close to.
I worked in the Special Victims Unit as a detective sergeant with cases involving homicides, rapes, and violations of orders of protection. It became my passion. My first sergeant in violent crimes told me, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” She said a good case file with well written reports will do more than a pair of handcuffs when it comes to putting a bad guy in jail. I hope I was able to pass that philosophy to the officers who replaced me.
My dream of publication has continued throughout the years. I wrote my first book in college. A romance inspired by professional golfer Severiano Ballesteros. It was a “bodice ripping” romance written by a naïve young girl. The things I could teach her today would have her turning ten shades of red!
I wrote short stories or unfinished manuscripts. Then five years ago I began writing more seriously. I worked nights while my son was in school and my husband was at work. Our efforts to adopt a child seemed to have died and I needed something to occupy my mind. I started writing Handled By Officer--a title I’d joked about for years with my female cop friends. I was a hundred pages into the book when I got the call. We had a baby girl. Needless to say, I didn’t touch the book again for two years. When I retired in 2007, my goal was to finish HBO by my mother’s birthday. On May 18th, 2008 I dedicated HBO to my late mother and my father.
Since HBO, I’ve written Killed In Action and I’m currently working on Dead On Arrival. DOA is a different beast for me, it’s my first novel written in first person. All my manuscripts involve strong female protagonists: police officers, military personnel, private investigators. They also involve the island of Kaua’i and Hawaiian folklore.
I continue with my faith and am fascinated with different religions, particularly the ancient Hawaiian beliefs. My books do not prescribe to one particular religion, they do however, have a sense of faith in a greater power.
I believe a person has to pursue her dreams in life. My mother died before reaching her one goal of returning to live in Florida. Since her death, I bought the convertible I always wanted, took another vacation to Hawai’i where I went surfing and took a helicopter flight around the islands. I’ve gone up in a hot air balloon over Albuquerque, flown around Mt. McKinley in Alaska and took a tour of Glacier Bay. I’ve gone whale watching off the coast of Maine and introduced my family to my childhood home of Boston. And I started my writing career.
My husband is a dreamer with too many near death experiences under his belt. It took my mother’s death for me to see life through his eyes and reach out for my dreams. He has supported every one of my goals throughout our relationship, even when I was in the academy and I believed him to be the spawn of the devil. When I doubted, he pushed me forward. He’s my rock. Together we believe you must pursue your dreams. Don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. If you don’t go for it now, you’ll regret it later. Grab life and face it with faith, strength and courage!
The last thing I listed for my autobiography was to become a nun. I really don’t foresee this happening in this lifetime. In a future one...who knows?
Shelley Kaehr writing romance as Leah Leonard, and murder, horror, and mystery as Annette Shelley
www.shelleykaehr.com
www.leahleonard.com
www.annetteshelley.com