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.
B.K. Thanks for having me!
I knew I was going to be a writer back when I was five years old. I have always thought of myself as a writer, even though I got my undergraduate degree in computer engineering, a masters in human computer interaction design, and am currently employed as a usability analyst for an insurance company. I am obsessed with tea, dancing the lindy hop, and laughing.
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?
B.K. I go through major dry spells where I feel like the world is ending because I’m not working on the Next Great American Novel. Not that the novels I’ve released are anywhere near the NGAM; I just feel much better about life when I’m working on something.
When I do start writing again, I’m a writing maniac. I’ll average 1k words in about an hour, be tapped for the day, and start all over again the next day.
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
B.K. Oh, I was about five years old. I wrote my first “novel” when I was nine years old, and it was inspired by the books I had been reading, such as Little Women, Little Men, Anne of Green Gables, A Lantern in Her Hand, etc. I wanted to live during that time, and the closest I could get to it, my nine-year-old brain decided, was to write about it.
K.S. What genre do you write?
B.K. I write quirky historical romance. The quirky part comes in via my writing style, and the fact that my latest book featured a snarky ghost of a father who obviously knew what was best for his very alive, very annoyed daughter.
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
B.K. My favorite author to collect is the lovely Miss Jane Austen, of course. She is my comfort food of the reading world. If I want to lose myself in a good book, I turn to Brandon Sanderson. He writes the best-realized plots, with strong female characters and immersive environments. Love him.
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
B.K. My immediate family just sees my writing as a part of who I am. Every time there is a book category on Jeopardy! I’m called over to answer the questions because they assume I’m well read enough to know all the answers. Or, they want to see how far I can go before I don’t know all the answers.
It’s hilarious and weird.
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book/s?
B.K. I was very surprised how much pressure I put on myself about marketing my books. The writing, editing, production, those were all things I have experience with in other fields. Marketing, however, is an ugly beast that I’m starting to feel like I just don’t want to be a part of. If you enjoy my book, I love you and I hope you’ll talk about it to your friends and family. If you don’t, that’s cool too. Just uh… don’t bad mouth me, if you can help it. I’m super nice!
K.S. What inspires you?
B.K. Oof. Tough question. Remember those dry spells I mentioned earlier? That’s usually when I’m absorbing experiences, stories, people I meet, anything and everything that seems interesting. I love exploring the relationship between fathers and daughters, though. If my books had a theme, it might be that.
K.S. Can you tell us a little about any of your novels?
B.K. Haunting Miss Trentwood is my latest book; the tagline is "Father knows best, even after death..." Intrigued? Read on, friend!
Resigned to a lonely life in her quiet manor house in the English countryside, Mary Trentwood is horrified when she watches her father crawl from his grave the day of his funeral. Mary clings to her routine, finding it increasingly difficult to avoid her father's ghost as she questions her sanity.
Mistaking the newly-arrived Alexander Hartwell to be her father's solicitor—for who else would interrupt her time of mourning?—Mary welcomes him into her home reluctantly, not realizing Hartwell is on the hunt for a blackmailer.
Caught in a tangle of secrets, Mary fights a series of events that threaten to bring Death to her door once more.
Belinda Kroll weaves a tale of loyalty and betrayal set in the deceptively serene Victorian English countryside.
K.S. Where can we buy your novel?
B.K. The easiest way to find all the locations where my books are sold is to visit Bright Bird Press (http://brightbirdpress.com).
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?
B.K. Yes! My blog is available at my website (http://worderella.com). I also have a Facebook Fanpage (http://facebook.com/BelindaKrollFans) and a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/worderella).
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?
B.K. Read your favorite authors first for pleasure, and then go back and read their books as a manual. How are they crafting the plot, characters, and setting? How are they pacing the story? Why are they your favorite author? Learn from the best, mimic them for a little while, and then branch out and do your own thing.
Haunting Miss Trentwood book trailer