K. D.
Groethe
Now retired, K. D. Groethe
taught for 35
years in the United States and
English school systems. Twice a participant in the Bay Area
Writer's Project, he currently lives in Mounds View, Minn.
With Rings on Their Fingers by K. D. Groethe is a
mesmerizing novel about a man who loves a woman he knows he
shouldn't, and because of this love, he becomes the prime
suspect in the murder of her husband.
PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part
of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?
KD Groethe: I grew up on a farm near the small town of Elk Point, South
Dakota and in the town itself. My first eleven years were spent on the
farm and the next eight years in the above-mentioned town, until I
joined the Air Force in January of 1951. Although I could read at the
age of five, we did little reading outside our one-room country school,
other than the Sioux City Journal and comic books. Food from the farm
was plentiful during the depression, but money was not. Town school, as
we, my siblings and I, called it, was a little better because they
required book reports, Robinson Crusoe, comes to mind. WWII was in full
swing, so much of my reading was about the war. Music was my main
interest during High School and while at the University of South
Dakota---I’m a retired music teacher---and reading became equally so
when I was assigned English classes to teach. They were happy times,
teaching English. I have an English minor. My interest in writing
evolved from there, over time.
PageOneLit.com: Why do you write?
KD Groethe: Because I found something creative besides writing
music that I really love to do.
Late in life, I know, but one’s never too old to learn---and it’s true.
PageOneLit.com: “With Rings on Their Fingers” is wonderfully written –
Where did the plot come from? Explain the title as it relates to the
plot.
KD Groethe: Much of the plot came from the mouth of Darcie Bell,
as I call her. The rest came from my imagination. The title comes from
the nursery rhyme Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, A Finne lady on a
white horse, With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She will
have music where ever she goes. I changed the fourth word in the third
line from her to their because the participants in the illicit
relationships were all married, bar one.
PageOneLit.com: Who is Darcie Bell?
KD Groethe: Darcie Bell is the inspiration for the story, and who
in real life is a lovely lady always searching for happiness, seldom
successfully.
PageOneLit.com: “With Rings on Their Fingers” is very visual and
original – Do you have any hopes of seeing this story on film? If
Hollywood called and asked you to cast “With Rings on Their Fingers” for
film, who would you cast and why?
KD Groethe: I think most authors can see their works of fiction or
semi-fiction, if you like, on film. I know I would, but being realistic,
I would like to see it on all bookstore shelves.
Robert Carlye as Clifford.
Brenda Blethyn as Iris.
Minnie Driver as Darcie.
Kevin Kline as Jonathan.
Djimon Hounsou as Tinashe.
Beyonce as Seki.
I chose these actors and actresses because they are excellent at their
craft, and some of my favorites.
PageOneLit.com: What did you learn from writing “With Rings on their
Fingers”?
KD Groethe: I think I learned that I am in the process of
developing a style of writing that I can be happy with.
PageOneLit.com: What’s next?
KD Groethe: A new musical---I’ve written three with one
produced---finishing a book of short stories, editing another book that
I wrote some time ago, and editing my daughter’s children’s book Haiku
and The Search for The Purple Emperor. It’s about butterflies.
PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?
KD Groethe: Atonement by Ian McEwan.
PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they
enhance your writing?
KD Groethe: I enjoy trying to play golf---the walk’s nice---table
tennis, playing my piano and writing.
Being retired
and happy makes life a hobby. And, yes, being happy does enhance my
writing. I Think? I doubt if I’d be very good at it if I were a
miserable old sod.
