Kimberley Shead: Interview of an Author In this crazy process of becoming an author, I was very fortunate to have found someone to take the journey with. Kimberley Shead is a writer of urban fantasy who lives in South East London. Kimberley took some time out of her busy full time schedule to share with us about her own writing path. It is a very insightful look into why she's written her novels and how she's gotten to the place where she's sharing her stories with the world. This is the second part of this two part interview. I hope you enjoy!  Q6. Which character have you enjoyed writing about the most? For what reasons?I have enjoyed writing about the dynamics in the United Supernatural Crime Unit rather than an individual character. The pressures of the ongoing unsolved equinox murders hangs heavy over the team. With previously high success rates they have to rethink how to approach catching the killer at large or suffer closure. They are all victims of their own magical personalities. All interlinked in different ways, tensions often run high between members of the team. The relationship between Misty and her mentor Gabriella is strained and she fights magical bonds that tie her to a colleague Cain while fighting to gain control of her mixed emotions. Duke Upton is the puppeteer and runs the Unit with an egotistical use of magic over Gabriella. In truth, I have enjoyed writing many of the characters in the book. A friend who is an illustrator, Briony Dixon, has drawn some of my hybrid characters. A demonic angel with an internal struggle, a witch fae, and a voodoo wizard.  Q7. Who is your ideal reader?Kimberley Shead: Interview of an Author In this crazy process of becoming an author, I was very fortunate to have found someone to take the journey with. Kimberley Shead is a writer of urban fantasy who lives in South East London. Kimberley took some time out of her busy full time schedule to share with us about her own writing path. It is a very insightful look into why she's written her novels and how she's gotten to the place where she's sharing her stories with the world. This is the first part of a two part interview. I hope you enjoy!  Q1. How would you describe your writing journey so far to readers? If I had to describe my writing journey in one word I would choose fragmented. My first foray into writing was as a child, I wrote play scripts with a friend which we then performed to anyone who would indulge us. From my early teens I kept a journals intermittently, depending on how angst I felt at the time. I married young and spent my twenties bringing up my family, during this time I had an idea for a crime story and DS Albie Edwards jumped onto the page. Well, the first three chapters were born. I spent the next seven years working towards a degree in Literature and Art History with The Open University plus a PGCE, followed by a teaching career.  Over the next few years, my day job and family kept me busy but all the time while Albie Edward’s story gnawed away at me, begging to be told. The first draft was completed in August 2015 and was put away in a draw. I attempted a self edit but instead decided to continue writing the series as I had ideas for the next three books. I began the first draft of Isla’s Game, the second in the DS Albie Edwards series, in November 2015 which joined the first in the top draw. Can you see a pattern emerging? If you ask an author how they gather ideas for a story, they may well tell you that ideas come from many different sources and often bubble away in the back of their mind for many months or even years. The World’s Collide Series is a product of years of fermentation, of fragmented ideas that I started jotting down a few years ago. In fact I was so excited about the story I decided to write a first draft of the first book in the series as a project for NaNoWrMo and I was a winner. Over 50,000 words of the novel was completed in November 2016. I have a deadline to complete Misty Magic (draft) by Easter and have plans to publish all three books in 2017.  I would like to give my sister a mention at this point, she is my accountability partner and has supported me over the last few years. After a recent discussion in a quaint country pub, she suggested she read the two crime drafts that were stuck in the drawer. I am waiting to find out if she feels there is anything worth salvaging. So back to the word fragmented…How do I move forward from a fragmented writing history to a career in writing? I have a written a business plan and am immersing myself in learning the trade. It is apparent from information shared by established authors that to be a prominent self published author you have to work hard, learn as much as possible and write, write, write. Q2. What has influenced your choice of genre? |
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