Today we’d like to introduce you to K. Krombie

Hi K., so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

Before 2020 I was hitting various dead-ends writing fiction and journalism. Then came the pandemic. Time plus observation provided me with the opportunity to write a book, Death in New York, which was published by The History Press at the end of 2021. I turned the book—about 400-plus years of the municipal management and mismanagement of death in New York City (as well as many other death-related topics)—into a walking tour. While researching the book, I found that the smaller islands around NYC share a history of potter’s fields/paupers’ graves as well as psychiatric institutions. So the cogs in my brain started turning. The result is the book I’m working on. I now have guides and several other tours for my company, Purefinder New York. while I continue to write and edit for publications such as The Times of Central Asia.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Cash flow! The roads of NYC are far from smooth and the cost of living is notoriously expensive. There is always a very literal price to pay for living—and making a living—in popular cities. The rewards are worth it if you can somehow manage to play the game. I continue to learn through trial and error.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I’m interested in thematic, hidden histories, the kind of material that the tourism industry generally doesn’t focus on. The majority of the people who book Purefinder New York tours are New Yorkers, many of whom return for the other tours on offer. New York is a city of immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, so New Yorkers enjoy connecting with the history of their city in different ways than many of the city residents of Europe. As a European who moved to New York as an adult, I tend to look at the city from unusual angles. I love discovering patterns that provide in-roads to the subject matter I write about, e.g. Oppenheimer in New York; The Outlaws Who Built Manhattan; Hell Gate; and Central Park: Scandal & Vice, etc. I suppose I’m proud of the fact that I’ve found a niche, and because I’m genuinely interested in the research aspect of my work, others are too. My books, articles, and tours have led to lectures and podcasts and other opportunities that I didn’t foresee at the start of all this.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?

As opposed to having a mentor, I’ve found that people with similar niche interests and business practices tend to find one another through social media. There is a willingness to share and swap information that is mutually beneficial and feeds into in-person socializing, a handy bonus with respect to living in New York.

Pricing:

• Death in New York: $42
• The Psychiatric History of New York: $39
• The Outlaws Who Built Manhattan: $36
• Oppenheimer in New York: $42
• Central Park: Scandal & Vice: $36

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.purefindernewyork.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purefinderny/
• Twitter: https://x.com/KKrombie
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/purefinder-new-york-new-york
• Other: https://muckrack.com/k-krombie-1