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.
Thank you for hosting me on Written in Blood. Let’s see … hmmm … about me.
I love coffee! Owning a coffee shop would have never occurred to me. When my sister said I just had to meet the guy who owned the coffee shop in town. I had no idea what I was getting into. When we married a few years later I got a crash course in owning a small business. Let me just say I really appreciate my husband. He gets the headaches I get the fun. With the names of our specialty drinks it's easy to find amusement simply taking orders.
Customer: “I'd like a tall, hot, Sugar Daddy/ Dirty Blonde/ Other Guy.”
I can't help but think: Aw hell, wouldn't we all/ dip a Barbie in a mud puddle/ as opposed to the lazy remote control handler you married? Or other various internal dialog depending on who's placing the order. Course instead of saying the things in my mind, I simply smile and ask: “Would you like whip cream on that?” A tall, hot, Dirty Blonde is way better with whip cream … everyone knows that.
Whenever my writing flow gets bogged down I set up in the coffee shop. Interaction with customers and the amazing baristas is a perfect cure.
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?
Depending on what I’m writing I can be pretty moody. When I’m writing a fight scene I feel aggressive/defensive. In Immortal Becoming the heroine Jess battles a guard. Pinned on her back she throws her weight, which placed the males nether region where she could … (gulp) … bite it. (Oh yea I went there.) By the time I finished the scene my jaw ached from clenching it. When the characters are happy, I’m happy. When they’re hurting or scared, so am I. Then they're passionate... My IPOD's blasting Marvin Gaye's song, Let's Get it On. Such a timeless classic.
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
The US Post Office wasn't hiring, sooo what's an unmediated deluded schizophrenic to do … I know … find a creative outlet! TA-DA!
Okay seriously--
I think I realized I wanted to get serious about writing when circumstances loomed that could have made writing impossible. Before that it felt more like a hobby, something I just did rather than what I am. For me writing wasn’t something I wanted or really gave much thought to. Something would capture my muse and I would write. I’d see a face in a crowd and a character profile would be born. Name, childhood, favorite food/color or least favorite, career, hobbies, fears, hopes, dreams, first sexual experience, current relationship, etc. I would write it down and let the character play out as a way to amuse myself.
The desire to write a full novel came as a personal challenge. I wanted to see if I could, so I did. My first attempts will remain buried deep in the bowels of a locked drawer. I want to share the Enlightened Species world with other readers. I loved writing Immortal Becoming and I hope readers will love it too.
K.S. What genre do you write?
Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Romance.
Paranormal/Fantasy really means: Hello. Fiction. I can make sh** up if I want!
Romance is key. That connection with another person so powerful it feels like you're flying. Your love walks into the room and your mouth waters for a taste of them. The shiver down your spine at the sound of their voice. Their touch sends waves of anticipation rippling against your soul. The gentle kiss that turns demanding with a desperate need for more. Wanton cries of passion as you crest and float in the sensory abyss only achieved within the safe arms of the one you love.
Now add the paranormal/fantasy freedom where characters actually fly with wings, taste with fangs, two souls bound for eternity by love, destiny and blood.
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
If I had to narrow my favorite authors to just one it would have to be Suzanne Brockmann. There’s openness about her characters. They grow in her stories through mistakes and experiences. I often run simultaneous love stories and she is a master at that.
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
I’ve worked full time my entire life, often two jobs. When I started Immortal Becoming I was working about seventy hours a week. When that came to an end my husband encouraged me to focus on writing. Everything I’ve ever done has been for my family. At first I felt guilty for wanting to write. My children sat me down and told me I deserved to do this for myself.
I don't think they had any idea that giving me free rein to write meant that they had to share me with the characters that became my second family. Nor did they realize they would see their quirks depicted in the characters voices. In Immortal Becoming the interaction between the heroine Jess and her foster brother Eric bears an eerie resemblance to my son and daughter. In Shadow Revealed (coming in spring 2012) one of the character programs another characters phone to say 'Jorie is my favorite kid', my daughter actually did that to my phone.
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book/s?
I learn that no matter what I plan to happen the story can take a direction totally different than I envisioned and that direction invariably turns out to be the right one. I learn that the characters reveal a depth far beyond my capacity to create them and 'putting baby in a corner' is a bad thing. I learned that delving deep into the sick twisted mind of an antagonist brought a dark side out of me too. Before I thought it was only road rage that did it. Releasing my inner capacity for … well, evil was startling and in a way liberating. Not like I’m suddenly a mass murderer but I can relate and write one now.
K.S. What inspires you?
Passion. Passion for life, love, anything and everything. I want to know what others are passionate about. Their passion is riveting though the subject matter might not be something I’m personally interested in. I see passion all around me. A doctor talking about a cure or a conspiracy theorist berating the government, my husband love for our coffee shop, even a mother talking about her kids, everyone has something they are passionate about.
K.S. Can you tell us a little about any of your novels?
Since I already gave away the ‘how to bite dirty and WIN’ moment in Immortal Becoming, I’d like to share that snippet.
She passed where he stood; the male fell in line to walk behind her. Jess feigned a trip, and super-stud reached out to catch her. Jess used the distraction to drop into a low spin-kick, plowing the heel of her foot into his kneecap. Lightening fast, the male caught her ankle. Jess braced for the impact and landed hard on her shoulder. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she got some satisfaction when super stud timbered over like a sawed off tree, his knee giving out. Still holding the element of surprise, she dove at him rather than trying to get away, bringing her elbow down across the bridge of his nose. The bones crunched and he released her foot. His fist caught her squarely in her jaw, blurring her vision.
The bastard was fast, she’d give him that, and he hit hard. Her mind raced to formulate a new strategy. Predictable, super-stud used his advantage to roll her on her back and straddle her, probably still thinking with his overblown ego, or his dick. Moaning, Jess rolled limply, allowing him to straddle her ribcage with her arms pinned to her sides. She waited till he swung his arm back in the beginning of a slapping motion.
Lurching her lower body upward, using her heels in the dirt for leverage, she pushed her pinned arms outward against the stud’s thighs. Super-stud plunged forward, his hands catching his weight in the dirt above her head. The crotch of his jeans was suspended directly above her. Rising up, she bit, clamped down onto the tender flesh of his testicles. Super-stud let out a long, drawn-out, high-pitched scream. He tried to lift off her clamped jaw, but she gave him another grind of her teeth, forcing him to drop his weight back onto his hands above her head or surrender his balls altogether.
Jess raised her legs, balanced on her upper back and shoulders, locking her feet at the male’s armpits. She ground her teeth one last time, and Super-stud let loose another scream. Releasing her jaw, she used all her leg strength to propel him backward to the hard ground, his body weight aiding her. Halfway down, her arms were freed from beneath him. She open-palm punched his already wounded manhood an instant before his head made contact with an exploding melon sound.
Kicking free of his limp form, Jess stood, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. The propulsion she put into slamming Super-stud to the ground had knocked the wind out of her, and her jaw throbbed. She spit out the blood that had pooled in her mouth. A shadow passed over her and she looked up, steeling herself for the next attack. Instead of an enemy hovering over her, she was greeted with a worried look on Shane’s face. Next to him Gil hovered, sporting an enormous shit-eating grin.
“He’s lucky you ain’t got dentes yet.” Pointing the index fingers of both hands at her, Gil exclaimed, “Lil Jess. You. Are. The. Shit!”
K.S. Where can we buy your novel?
The Ebook is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords and the Paperback will be released the first week in March.
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?
I do my Blog is a part of my Website
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?
Yes. Always remember writing and becoming a writer is a journey not a destination just keep moving forward and look at the scenery instead of straight ahead chasing the mirage of a finish line. Writers write because we are compelled to write, and driven to tell a story. Give your muse a chance to grow, you might surprise yourself. The wild ride is worth taking.