Friday, January 29, 2016

Author Interview with
ALI B:
 
BOOK ONE:
Iris Brave isn’t as courageous as her name suggests. That’s about to change. Iris doesn’t take risks. Heights make her dizzy and she prefers to swim in the shallow end… with nose plugs. On a summer visit to her grandpa’s farm, a mysterious stranger shadows Iris, leaving her cryptic messages. When this outsider turns out be a phantom from her family’s past, Iris sheds her timid ways to uncover the truth and protect the family she loves. Along the way Iris discovers family secrets and enigmatic figures that lead her to question everything she’s ever thought was real.
BOOK TWO:
There are people out there who don’t die with their bodies. Their souls live on in the bodies of others. Some good, some bad—they are soul jumpers. Nothing in Iris Brave’s world make sense anymore. Her father, Micah, is still alive—his soul survives in the body of a teenage boy. It is up to Iris and a group of soul jumpers called the Sixteen to save Micah. To do so Iris must take on the unscrupulous leaders of the Council. Can she save her father? Will she survive?

I'm so excited to speak with the Author of  THE SOUL JUMPERS SERIES - Ali B. CHECK OUT HER INTERVIEW WITH ME....

HI ALI - TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BOOK. 
I am a primary grades teacher in San Diego. In addition to darling students, I share my life with my handsome husband, two beautiful children, and three spoiled dogs. I am lost without a good book to read. My other great passion is basketball.

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I’ve always been a writer. I loved writing stories when I was a kid. I’ve shared my writing with my students, but not until Iris Brave, my first novel, did I think about publishing.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
My first fan letter in response to Iris Brave.

 WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Finding time in a busy life to sit down and do it.

 WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I’m working on publicity and mapping out book three.

 WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE?
Middle Grade Fiction

DO YOU EVER SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?  IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT? 
Yes. Doesn’t everyone? If I can’t move forward in my story, I back up and edit for a while.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?
Anywhere that has limited distractions. Coffee houses are great. My bedroom with the door closed. In the car if my husband is driving. Anywhere.

 WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
Many of my readers have told me they identify with Iris, the main character in Iris Brave and The Sixteen. That’s what I wanted. Connection. Identification.

WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
My fans are honest, but they are also polite. I haven’t had my feelings hurt. I take their comments and suggestions as compliments. If they can critique, it means they were engaged.

THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT FOR OTHER WRITERS TO REMEMBER. HOW DID YOUR BOOK COVERS COME TO FRUITION?   
I had an idea, but no talent for explaining it. Luckily, I have the best book designer ever. Gregory Smith took my scribbles and made them into beautiful covers.

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
All of them. There’s a little part of me in each of my characters – good and bad.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
When my fans ask when the third book is coming out – that’s success. 

THAT'S THE BEST FEELING! DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Join a critique group. Hire an editor. Get beta-readers to critique and offer suggestions. Listen.

ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
What ever you attempt, do it with bravery!


Like it! And now for the Speed Round of Questions...

ALI's BLONDE” BASICS:

FAVORITE FOOD?  Papaya
FAVORITE MOVIE? The Princess Bride
FAVORITE BOOK? Just one? Okay. To Kill A Mockingbird
FAVORITE SUPERHERO?  Mr. Incredible
FAVORITE AUTHOR?   J.D. Salinger

PRINCESS BRIDE, YESSSSSSSS! :) ALI, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THE BLONDE BOOKIE BLOG TODAY!

NOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALI AND HER BOOKS:
@alibreidenstein
facebook.com/alibbooks

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Author Interview with
JONATHAN  BERNSTEIN:
Middle school meets Mission Impossible in this hilarious spy series for fans of Chris Rylander, Stuart Gibbs, and Ally Carter about a girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers her father is a superspy. Up until Bridget’s birthday the most exciting moment in her life was when Dale Tookey maybe, sort of, smiled at her one time. But that was before—before she found a mysterious present at her doorstep, before she was transported to a covert CIA agency called Section 23, and before she became Bridget Wilder: Spy-in-Training. Now Bridget’s busting boys out of detention, being chauffeured by a talking car, and infiltrating the popular girls’ clique to steal secret codes, all while undercover as a semi-awkward middle school girl. But will she be able to keep up with her new action-packed life?

It is no secret—Bridget Wilder: Spy-in-Training is the start of an explosive new series packed with gadgets, humor, and best of all: girl power.

I'm so excited to speak with the super cool Author of  BRIDGET WILDER: SPY-IN-TRAINING - Jonathan Bernstein CHECK OUT HIS AWESOME BOOK TRAILER TOO......

THANKS FOR BEING HERE JONATHAN. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BOOK. 
My name is Jonathan Bernstein. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland and now reside in Los Angeles. My book, Bridget Wilder: Spy-In-Training, is the first in a trilogy aimed at middle grade audiences. Its a fun and action-packed story about an adopted girl who sees herself as an unremarkable daughter, a mediocre student, and a not-great friend. Then she discovers her real father is a legendary spy who wants to recruit her into the family business. Many twists follow.

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I began writing for music magazines in the late Eighties. I moved to New York the following decade and wrote about film and TV for various publications. My first non-fiction book, Pretty In Pink: The Golden Age of the Teen Movie, was published in the mid-Nineties. I relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a screenwriting career with, shall we say, middling success. I wrote my first fictional book the YA superhero comedy, Hottie, in 2009, and have been a book-writing machine ever since. Machine might be a bit strong.

WOW! THAT'S QUITE A CAREER. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT? 
That, at my advanced age, Im able to write for a young audience, and not be denounced, jeered and run out of town as a fake and a phony. Not yet, anyway.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Starting. That blank screen is unforgiving and the distractions are many.

TOTALLY AGREED. SO WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
Just finished the edit notes of Bridget Wilder: Live Free, Spy Hard, #3 in the trilogy, which will be out early next year. I have also finished a first draft of a new book. Lets wait and see what happens to that one.

YOU ARE A WRITING MACHINE! WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE OR WISH TO WRITE IN THE FUTURE?
Ive done superhero and spy. I think horrors probably next on the list.

DO YOU EVER SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?  IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT? 
I come from a magazine background which means that a looming deadline is a great cure for writers block. When I dont have to deliver a piece by an arranged date, thats when my mind can start to wander and I go down a You Tube hole for hours on end.

MINE IS A TELEVISION HOLE. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?
Anywhere that isnt around people works for me.

WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
A parent said her child wouldnt go to sleep because she was so riveted reading Bridget Wilder: Spy-In-Training

 WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
I have been nailed several times, correctly, for my over-reliance on pop-culture references. Im trying to quit!

OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
Im a big TV watcher, a voracious podcast listener, and I like to eat.

DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Yes.

YOUR BOOK TRAILER GOT ME VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE TRILOGY. AND YOUR COVER IS AWESOME! HOW DID THEY COME TO FRUITION?    
My editor kept me up to speed with both at various stages of production, and listened to any suggestions I had, ignoring the stupider ones (More explosions!)

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Yes, I see myself in Bridgets dad. Not the spy, her adopted father who sits in a chair and watches TV. He seems mostly oblivious but is actually funny and supportive. For an old dude. Also, theres an obnoxious class clown who torments Bridget at school. Theres a bit of me in that guy, too, sadly.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER SELF PUBLISHING OR TRADITIONAL?
I only know traditional at this point, so that would be my choice.

DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
I have had frustrations in the past but Im quite happy with the support shown by my current publisher.

DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Quitting is my favorite thing in the world. I always want to quit everything. But then I remember I like eating.

HILARIOUS! HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
Being able to continue to do it. To get better each time you do it. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Try and finish anything you start. Try to find your own voice. Try not to take rejection personally. (I have failed at all three of these at one time or another.)

GREAT ADVICE, TRULY :) ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?
Thanks for having me.

Thanks for being here! Alrighty, now for the Speed Round of Questions...

JONATHAN's BLONDE” BASICS:

FAVORITE FOOD?  Potato kugel. Its comfort food for a cold day. Not healthy in any way, but a current go-to in my fridge.
FAVORITE MOVIE? WAY too many to mention, so Ill go with last years bests: Fury Road, Creed, Sicario.
FAVORITE BOOK? Again way too many, so Ill go with the one Im currently reading; The Comedians, by Kliph Nesteroff, which is fantastic.
FAVORITE SUPERHERO?  Jessica Jones, The Flash.
FAVORITE AUTHOR?  I read everything Megan Abbott writes.

FURY ROAD IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES! :)  JONATHAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THE BLONDE BOOKIE BLOG TODAY!

NOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND HIM AND HIS BOOKS:


Im on twitter @jbpeevish

Instagram:peevishjb

Facebook: Jonathan Bernstein.

AS A BONUS, HERE'S A SNEAK PEEK AT THE 2ND BOOK IN THE BRIDGET WILDER TRILOGY - Bridget Wilder: Spy to the Rescue - due out May 31, 2016. 

Click on the cover or the Link below to Pre-Order.......

FOR PRE-ORDER CLICK HERE: 
http://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Wilder-Spy-Rescue/dp/0062382691/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453862219&sr=8-1&keywords=bridget+wilder+spy+to+the+rescue

Middle school meets Mission: Impossible in the second hilarious adventure of a girl whose life is turned upside down when her long-lost father recruits her to be a superspy.
When the top-secret spy agency that recruited Bridget turns out to be a fake, Bridget hopes her superspy father will teach her his tricks, stealth codes, and martial-arts moves (WRONG!). Instead of drop-kicking evil villains and shooting laser beams from her lip gloss, he wants to bond over normal (aka BORING!) stuff like TV, fro yo, and boy talk. But when Bridget gets framed for stealing cheerleading secrets and ruining the most glamorous party of the birthday season, her spy instincts kick in: she’s being set up. And when her spy dad goes missing, Bridget knows she’s the only one who can bring him back alive—official spy or not.
Now Bridget’s back in the spy game and on a plane headed straight to New York City with her best friend by her side and a crafty nanomarble sidekick that does everything from hacking phones to taking down the fiercest enemy agents. Can Bridget ditch her annoying older brother/chaperone, squash a budding crush, and prevent global disaster before her mom texts to check in? Or are Bridget’s days as a spy over—for good?
It is no secret—Bridget Wilder: Spy to the Rescue is part of an explosive new series packed with humor, high-tech gadgets, and best of all: girl power.

I'm excited for the third book!






Friday, January 22, 2016

Author Interview with DOROTHY WINSOR:

The eight gods that govern the world are tricky and fickle, and even the most innocuous of their blessings comes with consequences. Those who find a blessing are cursed to dance on strings in exchange for good fortune. Which begs the question: is finding one good fortune at all? Cade lives a simple life with his mother and brother, but when he finds a heart stone, he wonders if he can’t change that. Heart stones are said to bring luck to those who hold them, and Cade’s tiny family could surely do with good fortune. But heart stones aren’t just tokens of good luck; simply tracking one down is a sign of a special gift. Cade is a Finder, just like his mother before him, but this gift is hardly what is seems; if the larger community finds out about this, Cade’s entire life will change. And not for the better. Now he lives outside the law, struggling to find a way to reclaim what was once his, all while fending off a new hardship that he never anticipated: an overwhelming desire to take back what is his. No matter the cost.

I am so honored and excited to sit down with the Author of  FINDERS KEEPERS - Dorothy Winsor - today! FINDERS KEEPERS is her debut novel!

THANKS FOR JOINING THE BLONDE BOOKIE BLOG TODAY, DOROTHY. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BOOK. 
I'm a former tech writing professor who decided that writing fantasy was much more fun. FINDERS KEEPERS tells the story of twelve-year-old Cade, who's lucky—or cursed—enough to be a Finder, someone who senses the presence of precious heart stones.  When his mother, who's also a Finder, is seized to work in the hellish heart stone mines, Cade's older brother wants him out of the path of anyone who might spot his "talent" and send him too to the mines.  But first, they have to search the city to find and free Mum.

As a twitter post, the story would be: Boy senses presence of heart stones. Girl recruits him to steal some. World ends at New Year if they fail. Boy also rescues mother. Tricky.

SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT READ! WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Writing is deeply satisfying to me, meaning I have very little to complain about in general. It's the start of the story, just as it always is. Beginnings are incredibly hard to write because you have to accomplish so much—introduce characters, get the plot underway, and, in the case of fantasy, set up a bit of the world. As a consequence, I can't think of a time when the opening I first drafted was the one I wound up with.

In the case of FINDERS KEEPERS, I originally started with what's now chapter 4. Cade's mother was already gone, and he was working as a delivery boy. In other words, I had this huge, dramatic plot event—the Watch arrests his mother as Finder—and I didn't show it, just had Cade think about it as a past event.

What was I thinking?

Thank goodness for helpful beta readers and revision. If drafting a start is my least favorite part of writing, revision is what I like best. I love being able to lay my whole draft out and see where the pace slackens, where the character arc needs to be brought out, where I can build a thicker world, and in this case, where I've failed to show, not tell, the most crucial event of my young character's life. Once I decided to write what are now chapters 1 through 3, doing so was pure writer pleasure.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I have a YA fantasy coming out at the end of this year tentatively called DEEP AS A TOMB. Here's the blurb I queried small presses with:

Sixteen-year-old Myla feels the land in her blood and bones. Like everyone around her, she's tied to the green world through tombs the forest made when it made the people. So when Myla finds she can open tombs long thought sealed, she's thrilled. At least, she is until her father demands she use her power to help him rebel against the king, starting with spying on the king's son, Beran. What Myla wants is to be with Kaven, whose family is choking on debt and secrets.

Beran has been sent to the forest under orders to impress people so the Council will confirm him as King's Heir. He's supposed to use his princely power to forward his father's goals. But stone that, because what Beran wants is revenge. On his first day in the forest, someone murdered the guard who raised him, and Beran means to root out the killer, no matter who it is. Thrown together as fosterlings in the same household, Myla, Beran, and Kaven must each decide how much they're willing to use power to get what they want.

THAT SOUNDS GREAT! WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
I first started writing fiction in the form of Tolkien fanfic, and at one point, I killed a character. A reviewer told me she was reading the chapter at work (bad reader!) and burst into tears when she learned the character was dead. Her boss happened to be passing and asked in great concern what was wrong. My reader said she'd just heard a friend had died. Her boss gave her the rest of the day off, so she went shopping and bought sandals and a floaty blouse. In terms of reader reaction, that one's hard to beat.

THAT MIGHT BE THE BEST I'VE HEARD. DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
I'm with a small press, and they edited, thank goodness. Editing helps me make the story the best it can be.

I LOVE YOUR COVER! HOW DID IT COME TO FRUITION?    
My publisher asked me what I'd like to see on the cover, and I suggested a scene from the first chapter. The artist produced a couple of sketches, and I picked the one I liked best. I love my cover, and I feel lucky my publisher let me make suggestions, because that doesn't always happen.

YES, I'VE EXPERIENCED THAT FIRST HAND. AS IMPORTANT AS A COVER IS, IT SEEMS CRAZY THAT SOME PUBLISHERS DON'T LET THE AUTHOR HAVE MORE SAY IN IT. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
I hope that parts of me are in all my characters, including the villains. If I don't draw on my own sense of what it means to be human, I'm probably just reproducing something I've read or seen elsewhere.


It's tricky, though, because I'm drawing on myself, but I also have to become someone else for a while and see the world as they do. In FINDERS KEEPERS, Cade is a twelve-year-old boy, which I obviously am not! He's far more daring than I ever was, even when I was twelve, so I sometimes had to ask myself what I'd do in his situation and then have him do the opposite. That was a great deal of fun actually.

THAT IS FUN! HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
Touching a reader, even just one. If someone in the world enjoys themself and, better yet, has a richer life because of what I wrote, that's success.


Beyond that though, you need to take satisfaction in the act of writing, in immersing yourself in someone else's life. You have to revel in that moment when you look up from the book and are startled to see that it's snowing because it's summer in the book. External rewards are uncertain and mostly beyond your control, but that internal success is available to anyone.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Three things:

Write what you want to write because you want to write it. That's your vision. It's what will make your books unique.

Keep writing. The difference between published and non-published is persistence.


Keep working on your craft through workshops, writing groups, beta reader feedback, books about writing, and reading good stuff.

GREAT ADVICE! ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? 
Thanks to Blonde Bookie for giving me the chance to babble on about writing!

GLAD TO HAVE YOU!
And now for the Speed Round of Questions...

DOROTHY's BLONDE” BASICS:

FAVORITE FOOD?  Pizza. Sad that it's so bad for me.
FAVORITE MOVIE? "Fellowship of the Ring"
FAVORITE BOOK? This changes from time to time. Right now, it's Megan Whalen Turner's THE THIEF.
FAVORITE SUPERHERO?  I'm missing the superhero appreciation gene, so I don't know.
FAVORITE AUTHOR?  Of all time, Jane Austen. Writing now, it's a tossup between Cinda Chima and Megan Whalen Turner.

DOROTHY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THE BLONDE BOOKIE BLOG TODAY! WE WON'T HOLD THE SUPERHERO GENE AGAINST YOU :-)

NOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND HER AND HER BOOK:




KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR DOROTHY, AND HER NEW YA FANTASY ON THE WAY, DEEP AS A TOMB!





Sunday, January 17, 2016

Author Interview with K.W. PENNDORF:
Freya's family is wonderful. Just not to her. After all, her older sister loves to talk about "pulling a Freya" - a term for any mistake she makes, her younger sister publicly reads from Freya's diary without ever getting reprimanded, and her parents hardly take notice of her. But that is all about to change when her father, Denmark's renowned Viking archaeologist, asks her to hide a precious artifact where no one will find it. Freya jumps at the chance to prove her worth and suddenly discovers herself transported to a magical forest where she comes face to face with not only real Vikings, but a clan of sprites and a Berserk as well. In search of a way home, Freya unearths a realm of adventure and a path to greatness she is sure her family will revere.

I am so honored and excited to kick off 2016 with the lovely Author of  FREYA AND THE DRAGON EGG - KW Penndorf - CHECK OUT HER BOOK TRAILER TOO......

THANKS FOR BEING HERE KW. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BOOK. 
My name is KW Penndorf, and I’m the youngest of four which has led to a natural talent for story telling haha. I’ve always had a love for “moving” an audience, whether that be acting in my high school plays when I was younger, a career teaching in a classroom, or now writing as an author. I love engaging people. My book, Freya and the Dragon Egg, draws on another love of mine: history. I enjoy learning about how history shapes the way a culture lived at a particular time in the past. I have written my story with the hopes that readers will learn through Freya’s experiences, within the Viking Era.

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I became a story teller at a very young age. I had often mingled with writing, but in truth was more interested in setting up the story than actually writing it. Then I grew up, had experiences, one of which was having lived abroad, and then took a boring job in which I commuted by train to work – just over one hour each way. From this, I became an author by a sheer act of God. Sitting sleepily on the train one morning, a vision flashed before me: a little girl holding an oval object while sitting in a Viking graveyard. I knew it to be a Viking graveyard because I had visited one 13 years prior to this boring morning. I checked out the train window for a cemetery or anything to help explain why of all days, so many years later, I would get such a vision. With no such cemetery in sight, I got excited and thought, “Let’s do this: let’s build a story!” The writing teacher in me started asking ‘who was the girl, why was she in that graveyard, and what on earth was that oval object?’ Presto! My book was born.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT? 
I would have to say writing Freya and the Dragon Egg has been my greatest writing achievement. Not so because it is the first book I have finished, but because it is the first book I have cared to get out into the public, to promote, to hear feedback about, and to get excited to see where else it will take me. I often explain that Freya and the Dragon Egg is an adventure story in that Freya goes on adventures as well as I do. She has awarded me adventures through events at schools, Scandinavian and Viking festivals, gift shops associated with museum events, kubb competitions, libraries, book stores, and not to mention, super cool conversations with fans and other authors.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Easy – having a full time job outside of being an author. I would love to have 100% of my time devoted to all things “author” instead of 20%. I am still able to do research, to write, to edit, to promote, and to plot story lines, yet months go by instead of what I think could only take weeks if I didn’t have a day job. I think I’m as impatient as my fans are about seeing the second book come out, hehehe.

I KNOW THE FEELING COMPLETELY! SO WHEN YOU'RE ABLE, WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I’m actually working on book two of the series. Freya and the Dragon Egg is book one of nine!

WHEW, 9 BOOKS! YOU MIGHT BE BUSY FOR A WHILE! WHAT GENRE(S) DO YOU WRITE OR WISH TO WRITE IN THE FUTURE?
I really enjoy writing middle grade fiction. It speaks to the kid in me and my young fans are absolutely adorable to meet and speak with.

I AGREE WITH MIDDLE GRADERS! DO YOU EVER SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?  IF SO, HOW DO YOU GET PAST IT? 
100%. I’ve tried many tricks. They all help, but not at the same time or in any particular order. I’ve walked away from my writing for a day or two, I’ve written out of order according to the story line, I’ve plunged into research for other topics I’m not currently writing about, and I’ve talked plot lines with friends and family.

WRITING OUT OF ORDER HAS WORKED FOR ME TOO. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?
We have a spare guest room with a pullout sofa. I love sitting on that sofa (it has a chaise lounge) and write or plot. And drink tea. There must be tea when writing. 

SOUNDS LIKE A PLACE I'D LOVE TO WRITE TOO - ALTHOUGH I'M A COFFEE GIRL. WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
All of them. I know that sounds like a cop out, but hearing from friends and family that they hear my voice when they read my words makes me feel like I’m staying true to myself as a writer/story teller. Hearing readers say my book reads like a movie in their mind, tells me my art of describing is exactly the form of writing I enjoy reading. Listening to readers discuss plots or ask about future plots excites me, knowing I’ve hooked them. Or knowing that readers learned things about the Viking Era which they never knew about makes all my research all that more meaningful.

 WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
“The book is good.” And no further insight to their opinion. I’m left wondering if it’s good enough to shout from the rooftops that everyone should buy a copy, or if the reader feels ‘good’ is the only word kind enough in polite society to say it’s best not to know their true opinion.

OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I love dinner parties, travelling, movies, Skipbo, and planning family outings.
I MIGHT HAVE TO TRY OUT SKIPBO... DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK(S) PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Yes. It was important to me to have others critically view the plot, the imagery, the character voices, and the believability of a work of fiction. 

I ADORE YOUR COVER AND BOOK TRAILER! HOW DID THEY COME TO FRUITION?    
I was fortunate enough to meet an AMAZING graphic designer, Lisa Amowitz, who understood my vision perfectly for the cover and interior art of my book. She listened, asked questions, sent sample work and revisions, found cover fonts with the right Viking rune vibe,  and basically created visually what my words on paper did in the mind of my readers. For my book trailer, I gave a storyboard using Lisa’s drawings to another amazing artist, Kallias Szweda, who brought the exact mix of adventure, excitement, and strong tone of mystery to my mini movie.

 DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
I wrote in the voice of an extremely chatty little girl, named Grimhild. She dreams of growing up a Viking warrior and basically will talk anyone’s ear off about the topic or will rush into an adventure without thinking it through. She’s all me, hahaha. I wrote her without even realizing she’s me. It wasn’t until I was editing the book and smiling that it hit me why I connected to her so well. Anyone who knows me knows I love to talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk. And although I can’t say I want to be a Viking warrior, I love the idea of just going out and doing something without thinking it through. Like becoming an author!

DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
As this is my first book, everything is a learning curve and thus I have nothing to compare my experiences with. Should book two bring about difficulties which book one didn’t see, then I would say yes. So I guess I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO REACH BACK OUT TO ME ONCE BOOK 2 IS COMPLETE. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS YOUR FIRST TIME, DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Nope. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had any “woe is me” moments, or have walked away from my book (writing, promoting, returning emails) for days on end because I wasn’t in a mental state to bring ‘being an author’ forward. Then magic will happen, a review, or new plot idea, or an eager fan requesting book 2, and I’ll snap out of woe is me and step into yea is me!

I LIKE THAT! HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?
Success to me is that moment when your book sells to a reader who doesn’t know or isn’t connected to you through family or friends or colleagues in any shape or fashion.

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Stick with it. 

AGREED :)
And now for the Speed Round of Questions...

KW's BLONDE” BASICS:

FAVORITE FOOD?  Pizza or mashed potatoes. Depends on the day
FAVORITE MOVIE? Sense and Sensibility – I literally have seen it over 100 times
FAVORITE BOOK? Anne of Green Gables – it’s the only book I’ve ever read more than once
FAVORITE SUPERHERO?  Does Indiana Jones count? He inspired me to take adventures!
FAVORITE AUTHOR?  LM Montgomery

JUST FOR THE RECORD, INDIANA JONES TOTALLY COUNTS! :)  KW, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THE BLONDE BOOKIE BLOG TODAY!

NOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND HER AND HER BOOK:
HER WEBSITES: 

FIND HER ON FACEBOOK: 

ON BARNES & NOBLE:

ON AMAZON:

YOUTUBE VIDEOS WHERE YOU CAN SEE HER IN-PERSON!


KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR KW, SHE'LL HAVE MORE RELEASES COMING OUT IN THE SERIES!