K.S. Hello and welcome to the blog. I am very excited to have you here. Why don’t we start off with a small introduction? Tell us a little about yourself.
K.K. I’m known as The Word Queen because I work with writers to bring their books to life via editing, critiquing, publishing and marketing support. I’ve lived in Malaga, Spain, for the last six years, where I started my own magazine aimed at British expats. Now my sister runs the magazine while I concentrate on The Word Queen writing and publishing business. I’m also a developing psychic!
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?
K.K. The most embarrassing thing that has even happened to me is when I fell all the way down the steps of a double decker bus and straight out the door. Luckily, I had wanted to get off at that stop, but perhaps in a more ladylike manner!
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
K.K. I’ve known since the age of five. Even back then I’d sprawl myself on the kitchen floor daily, armed with a pen and a large notepad. I wrote tones of mini stories and I’ve kept most of them in my ‘Memory Box’. My favourite is called The Black Cat and when I read it back now I can’t help but laugh – most of it focuses around what food the characters ate that day!
My first novel, Sol Searching, is all about my move to the Costa del Sol, from a young female’s perspective. I’d kept a diary since moving here and as I read it back one day I found myself laughing and crying, so I decided to transform it into a book.
K.S. What genre do you write?
K.K. Sol Searching is chick-lit, but I’m writing a young adult fantasy book next, called The Path.
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
K.K. One of my favourite authors at the moment is Philip Pullman. I love his writing style and his ability to whisk the reader into new and exciting worlds. I’m hoping my YA book, The Path, is at least a patch on his books!
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
K.K. My parents have always encouraged me to follow my heart and write. My boyfriend likes reading my work too, but it takes him a little longer as he’s Spanish! Over all I feel very privileged to have a great support system around me.
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book/s?
K.K I learnt that writing a book is a real journey. It’s not just a case of churning something out and hoping people will read it. It needs careful thought, planning, tweaking, rewriting and a great deal of stress at times!
K.S. What inspires you?
K.K. Life inspires me! Emotions, feelings, colours, images, sounds, the way people are, what they say, how they say it, their appearance. All of this wrapped up in one big parcel, and more…
K.S. Can you tell us a little about any of your novels?
K.K. This is taken from the chapter entitled ‘Adios Old, Hola New’
I had left it all behind. Everything I had grown to hate, but there were also the parts I loved, and I had left those behind too. I had waved goodbye to it all to live a deep-rooted dream.
Life in England was never my cup of char. I hated having to pay sky-high council tax bills, while swerving around potholes in the road. I loathed inhaling BO-soaked armpits on the London Underground. I cringed at office politics, which involved leaving work thirty minutes after “going-home time” just to score brownie points with the boss. I even hated drinking like a fish on Saturday nights, just because there was nothing better to do. I detested seeing Anne Robinson’s wink every time I switched on the box. I despised grease-drenched fish & chips, and I couldn’t stand the way Mr Blair’s mug plagued the daily rags. One thing was for sure. I was certainly not a patriotic kind of girl.
Some may say I had an easy life, as I scraped my way on to the housing ladder at the tender age of 19, even if that did mean living in Dratford (oops, Dartford)!
“Isn’t that where there’s a tunnel?” was a frequent speculation.
Apart from the famous tunnel, all Dartford offered was a Co-op and an assortment of ‘Everything for a Pound’ stores.
I even had a boyfriend, who had an unhealthy liking for satirical American TV programmes I can’t stand. Despite this, he loved my wayward brown hair with a mind of its own; my dark eyes, which watered too much around onions; and my thin body, which I thought looked scrawny. He even loved my determined nature, my erratic moods and my dangerously high energy levels.
I was a writer for a corporate communications company in the West End of London. Sounds glamorous, but in reality it meant writing constant bullshit to make companies appear better than they really were. The words ‘strategy’, ‘initiative’ and ‘incentive’ had to feature in every story. Most of the staff of these companies (including management) would fold their free newsletters into aeroplanes before propelling them into the nearest bin.
I felt that life had gone stale. I felt that I had gone stale. I needed a change and I needed one pronto! Fortunately, the events that followed led to a fateful path of opportunity, adventure and insight.
“We’re flying to Spain to look for a property,” said my Dad out the blue. He had taken early retirement and was looking for an investment opportunity.
“You may as well move out there,” I said, without looking up from my book.
“At your ages you should be enjoying life, not stuck living in the same house for another four decades.”
K.S. Where can we buy your novel?
K.K. Sol Searching; A Fun-Filled Tale of a Modern Girl’s Move to the Costa del Sol, is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?
K.K. Yes my blog site is at www.sol-searching.com – you can also find out more about me at www.TheWordQueen.com
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?
K.K. Never give up on your dream and pay attention to your thoughts and your mind-set. I release energy blockages, such as fear of failure, writer’s block, etc, on a psychic level should you need it