PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2022

inquiry that historically has not been subjected to the same scientific rigor of other disciplines. Particularly given the rise of cases solved with trace DNA and genealogical profiling, wemust invest in better, more rigorous science while also preserving more traditional methods of investigation. I also learned a lot about access to wilderness and nature. Toomany people still don’t feel welcome or safe there, whether it’s because of the color of their skin, the shape of their bodies, their sexual and religious orientation, or their past experiences. As a nation, we have a long way to go to create truly equal access to our most beautiful places. PM: You started down this path in 2016, so this book has been six years in the making. What was it about this one that posed such a challenge? KM: This book was definitely the most involved and lengthy process of any book I’ve written. I think that’s true for several reasons. First, the learning curve for the really heady science, like DNA analysis, was a steep one. Secondly, because of the gravity of the subject matter, it was really important to me that I get everything absolutely right … Finally, because somuch of the research was so grim, I had to set very strict boundaries with myself just to make sure I could sleep at night. One rule I made was to never work on the project after dark, which made for short days during the winters here in Maine! PM: I see that you got best-selling author John Grisham to comment on Trailed , which is quite the catch. How’d you manage that? KM: John has been a huge and selfless supporter of both the UVA Innocence Project and their new Justice Center. A mutual friend introduced us when she learnedwe were bothworking on books about a serial killer in Virginia. I’ve been so grateful for his encouragement. PM: Trailed won’t be released until May, but you’ve already sold the film rights to it. Tell us about that. KM: I ’m current ly working with a product ion company (Muse Entertainment) to develop a limited-run

“NO MATTER HOW LONG I LIVE IN THE LAND OF YANKEE RESERVE, I WILL ALWAYS MAINTAIN MY SENSE OF MIDWESTERNER HOSPITALITY ”

Author Kathryn Miles

streaming series about the crime and investigation. It’s been very gratifying to work in a newmediumand to learn how to adapt thewrittenword for the screen. PM: This is your fifth full-length book. Tell us briefly about the others, and if there’s a common theme among them in terms of the subjects you like to tackle. KM: If there’s something that unites all of my work, it’s my interest in the relationships we form with both the built and natural environment and how we develop a sense of place there. My first book, Adventures with Ari , was a combination of memoir and backyard naturalism and details a year my dog and I spent in the wilderness around my house. I’ve written about the Irish famine and subsequent pandemic, Superstorm Sandy and, most recently, earthquakes and disaster preparedness in Quakeland: On the Road to America’s Next Devastating Earthquake . I love any excuse to explore the intersection of science and narrative and howwemake sense of the world in which we live. PM: Is there a fiction book in your future? KM: I’ve kicked around a few ideas for a novel, including one actually set in Peoria during the 1940s — the height of the Shelton Gang’s reign there — but for now I’m far too entranced by all the fascinating true stories yet to tell. PM: The theme for this issue of Peoria Magazine is Innovation. I’m curious about your approach, how you go about your craft. KM: I think my job is primarily about being a good listener. It’s about finding the actual innovators and sitting at their knee for a day or a week so that I can understand their world. Sometimes that means going down into a silver mine or up in a Coast Guard rescue helicopter; other times it’s spending hours in a

seismology lab or a night on patrol with a ranger or game warden. They’re the experts and visionaries; my job is just to bring their stories to readers in an entertaining and comprehensive way. PM: Maine is home for you now, but I shouldmention thatwegowayback, that we first met when you were a teenager working part-time at the Journal Star, that you were raised in the Metamora area. How did your experience growing up in central Illinois shape you as a person and as an author? KM: Both sides of my family have long roots in central Illinois (my parents were high school sweethearts at Richwoods High School). My commitment to environmental issues was born out of growing up in the Midwest and seeing the impact of industrial agriculture on both the landscape and human health (Pekin native Sandra Steingraber’s book about her experience with environmentally induced cancer in her book, Living Downstream , was a formative text for me). Working at the Journal Star as a high school student was a dream come true for a precocious teenager who wanted to save the world. I was enraptured by the bustling newsroom and the beat reporters who went after stories day after day. That experience engrained in me the idea of the fourth estate and both the power and responsibility journalists have. No matter how long I live in the land of Yankee reserve, I will always maintain my sense of Midwesterner hospitality. Give me even the slightest excuse, and I will show up at your house with a casserole, some freshly baked banana bread, or a dozen snickerdoodles — and maybe all three.

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

62 APRIL 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE