Our next spotlight is on K.D. Wood here is what she has to say and check out her new release Boys of Fall.
Thanks for having me over and I appreciate your support so much!
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I've always written in diaries and such. It wasn't until the characters
for Unwilling came to me fully formed and individual that I knew I
needed to tell their story A to Z.
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
An 100K word PNR novel in the vein of the Unwilling series will
take me six months to rough draft due to the level of world building
involved. It's different for every type of story. Boys of Fall took me
around 4 weeks to draft.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I'm in my office 7 to 3 Monday - Friday. Weekend work depends on
what I have going on or if I have a pressing deadline.
4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Something I call "descending into a draft". When it's a brand new
story, I tend to sink deeper and deeper into the story with every
page. So much so that there have been times that I will finish and
find I've been mentally absent from my life for the last whatever
months it took to write the draft. It's a lot like rising out of the draft to
just under the surface of a pool. I function, I get the kids to school,
help with homework, get dinner cooked, etc etc. But my brain is still
under the surface of that world. Waiting, churning over bits and
pieces and planning. Always planning. Lot of times I don't even know
it's happening until I finish and break the surface of that world. It's a
lot like walking into a party where everyone is too loud, over-dressed
and drunk. I'm left blinking and stumbling, senses assaulted, until I
catch my reality balance again.
5. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
All my stories start with the characters. They just start talking and I
listen. Everything develops from those conversations.
6. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
First short story, almost novelette was in high school, around 17. I
was 35 when I finished Unwilling in 2010.
7. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love to read, of course, go to the movies with my kids, veg out with
the Netflix, and visit my family in south Mississippi.
8. What does your family think of your writing?
The readers of my family are super supportive and excited. I think
the non-readers are convinced I have a screw loose.
9. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
That I could work this hard, literally become a husk of broken feels
and exhaustion. Grit-eyed and sobbing at my desk. And happily drag
myself to that chair again the very next day because there's
NOTHING I'd rather be doing.
10. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Eleven since 2010. I don't have a "favorite" in that sense of the word,
but I do love Unloved with a passion unlike any other. It's been the
book that broke me open and glued me back together several times to date.
11. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
Go stand in front of your mirror with the door locked. Look yourself in
the face and decide what you really want. Do I want to write until my
heart's content and never share my worlds with anyone else? You
can do that. And get great joy from only the writing.
If you want to publish though, that's a whole other animal and lots of
potential authors bite the dust from confusing the two things as
"same". The very much are not.
Writing is JOY. Writing is like breathing in a piece of the beginning of
the world and letting it soak into your cells. Only to have it change
into your story, your version of creation, and burst free at the tips of
your fingers on the keys.
Publishing. The industry. The world of the business. Is exactly that,
it's business. And it will eat you alive unless you have YOUR
personal goals and decisions nailed down. Worst of all, if you
haven't been straight with yourself, the business of publishing will
steal your JOY of writing.
So the best advice I might could pass along is this: Protect that bit of
yourself. That silent, personal, locked away place where your joy
lives. Treat it like a safe full of gold bars and don't let another
person, place, or thing touch it.
Protect your joy at all costs and everything else will get in line.
12. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
All the time and it still blows my mine. Mostly they share things about the books they liked or didn't, then they tell me to hurry up LOL!
13. Do you like to create books for adults?
Yes, I have BOYS OF FALL which is a contemporary erotic romance,
novella. And FROST which is part of a PNR holiday collection. Those
are both 18+ and not intended for younger readers.
The Unwilling books: Unwilling, Unloved, and Unboundless are all
New Adult PNR. Teens are safe to read those.
14. What do you think makes a good story?
When the author does their job of creating so well, you get
completely lost in the story and can't put it down. That's a job well
done.
15. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
So many things. And I was lucky to have parents who always told
me I could be anything I picked if I worked hard enough.
Best regards,
K.D. Wood
"Love stories deep fried in danger with a sprinkle of girl power."
@KDWoodauthor
2013 Duel on the Delta finalist
Unwilling
available now from Blue Tulip Publishing
Unloved
available now from Blue Tulip Publishing
Frost, a Rendezvous Collection
available now from Blue Tulip Publishing
Boys of Fall
coming from K.D. Wood Books January 12, 2016
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