Kimberley Shead: Interview of an AuthorIn 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?The ideal reader of Misty Magic needs to enjoy reading Urban Fantasy and not have a problem suspending reality. If you like Urban Fantasy with a generous helping of crime and a sprinkle of romance you should love the Worlds Collides series. Similar reading is Jaye Wells Prospero’s War Series or Patricia Briggs Mercedes Thompson Series. Q8. Where would you like to see yourself in five years from now?In five years from now I would love to be making a living from my writing. Between now and then I want to focus on writing at least five books in each series. Plus concentrate on building a healthy following in both Urban Fantasy and Crime. It is important that I work hard to learn how to write to the best of my ability. Building a website, marketing and publishing are part of my learning curve but ultimately writing books that readers love is my goal. I have made a business plan from March 2017 to March 2018 (I will send this to my website subscribers.) If all goes well I should have four books published within this period of time. Exciting times ahead! Q9. If you had the opportunity to invite four people of your choice to dinner who would you chose and why?I would enjoy an evening meal with Mark Billingham, David Lynch, Stacy Claflin and Tom Hardy and my extra setting would be for Emily Bronte (I was hoping you would let me sneak in an extra guest as well!) I would love to meet Mark Billingham in person, he can not only tell a gripping story but he can entertain the guests. Before becoming an author he was a stand up comedian, he’d bring the humour to the table. David Lynch would bring an interesting insight and different opinion to the evenings discussions. I would also contact him for dinner party theme suggestions. No doubt they’d be surreal! I have included Stacy Claflin as a guest because I am intrigued with her determination in her self publishing career. She seems to make her own rules. I love that she writes in different genre and markets them all on the same website. I am sure she would have some interesting experiences to share. Tom Hardy has to be invited just for his acting talent without his rhythmic reading voice. Tom Hardy would be my choice of actor to take on Albie Edwards. I write the series it is with him in mind. After some intellectual conversation we could retire to a room with an open fire, a glass of Cognac and Tom Hardy reading a ghost story. Why would Emily Bronte be on the guest list? She was such a heroine writing in a time of pen, ink and paper. Women were not taken seriously as writers and had to publish under a male pseudonym. Life was so different when she lived and it would be interesting to understand what it was like to be an author in 1800s. Q10. What piece of advice would you give someone who has just started tentatively gathering ideas for their first novel?How exciting it is when ideas start to evolve to a point when you must get them out of your head and onto to the page. You can find yourself on a rollercoaster of emotions. “My writing is inspired…No, what was I thinking?” “Tomorrow I will write at least 1000 words.” “Useless, I will never complete a chapter…How can I expect to write 80,000 words that make any sense?” We all struggle with self doubt once the initial excitement wears off. This is the time to call on writers who have trodden the path before us. As new authors we are fortunate to have a wealth of information to hand. Authors who are kind enough to share their journey and writing experiences, to give us an insight and discuss how succeed as an author. Joanna Penn has written a number of books about self publishing and marketing. However The Successful Author Mindset ‘A handbook for surviving the writer’s journey’ is my favourite because of Joanna’s openness about her struggles with self belief. She includes journal extracts and states that it was a difficult book to write because she admits her insecurities. There are many ‘How to…’ writing books on the market. If you are an outliner, you may enjoy K.M. Weiland Outlining Your Novel or Larry Brooks Story Engineering. If you prefer to write without a plan, Dean Wesley Smith Writing into the dark may be the book for you. All of the authors mentioned above blog for writers on their websites. Joanna Penn - The Creative Penn (also has a podcast) K.M. Weiland - Helping Writers Become Authors (short podcasts) Dean Wesley Smith (blog) Larry Brooks I would encourage you to immerse yourself in the writing process and learn your trade but above all have fun with your writing. Explore those ideas queuing up in your head, waiting to be shared with the world. Thank you for the interview Yvonne. ~Kimberley Shead I hope you enjoyed the second part of the two part interview with Kimberley! Click here for the first half of the interview. If you would like to have email notifications, please sign up for my newsletter. I hope you found this article interesting. Please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and where ever you think might be appropriate. Remember: Sharing Is Caring! About Kimberley Shead:Kimberley Shead is in the process of writing her first novel in the ‘Worlds Collide’ Urban Fantasy series. A wife and mother of six grown up children, she has been a native of South East London, England her whole life. As a child she was an avid listener of oral story telling shared by her Father, most evenings, when he returned from work. This led to a love of writing and performing plays with her childhood friend, to their long suffering families. Reading became an interest in her early teens. Firstly, through her obsession with teen magazines then tackling the classics. Later it was fantasy and crime novels that kept her awake half the night, in excitement and anticipation of a new world, fascinating characters or suspenseful plots. Finally, and with much rebellion, Kimberley had to grow up. She achieved a BA Hons in English Literature and now works in Education. Find Kimberley:On Twitter https://twitter.com/kimberleyshead On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kimberleyshead/ On Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/kimberleyshead/ On Goodreads Kimberley Shead Goodreads Or visit her website to explore and indulge your imagination at www.kimberleyshead.com Sign up for Yvonne's Newsletters here!Comments are closed.
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