I
love holidays…the decorating, the cards,
and definitely the selection of the gifts.
My nephew tells me that I choose the coolest
presents, which for me is the best compliment
ever imaginable. But I have to admit,
there is one holiday I just never have gotten
into…Halloween. If I had to take
a guess why I think it would be because I lack
that certain creative and artistic gene necessary
to make the most original Halloween costume. Okay,
so my best kept secret is out there, but it's
true. I just don't know how those
super moms come up with such creative and cute
ideas. Luckily, our sons have great imaginations
that fill in the gap where I leave off. In
our house, there's nothing wrong with
being a football player two years in a row!
 This month's jewel selection is
quite apropos for this time of year. I
have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about
reading YOUR COFFIN
OR MINE?. A vampire
romance? C'mon! How could
that be? It's hard for me
to take  an idea like that to the next level,
but I have to say that I was quite taken in
with Kimberly Raye's lead character,
Lil. This book is definitely on the cutting
edge, just like the author herself. I
really like how she steps out of the box and
teeters on the cusp of the unexpected, which
perfectly suits our holiday theme and then
some!
As part of this interview, Ballantine
Books has donated five copies of YOUR
COFFIN OR MINE? for my lucky readers
to try to win. So, go ahead and get
to know Kimberly Raye and don't forget
to look for the trivia question at the end
of the column! Good luck! Find this book in our catalog.
Jen: Please tell us
a little bit about your educational and professional
background so that we can better understand your
path to becoming a writer.
Kimberly: Actually,
I have a bachelor's in both Accounting and Management
with a minor in Physics from the University
of Houston. I'm also an RT (a registered
radiographic technologist). My "real" job
was as the radiology supervisor for an imaging
clinic. I worked in the same field for
sixteen years before deciding to write full
time.
Jen: I was absolutely
amazed as to the number of published books
you have under your belt. Your latest release, YOUR
COFFIN OR MINE?,
is a paranormal romance, but that's
not all that you write. Please tell us
how about your publishing history. How
did you go about getting your first manuscript
published? Did you find an agent first
or after the fact? What other types of
books have you written and what can you tell
us about them?
Kimberly: Actually, I've had
over 36 books published and six more under
contract (a total of forty-two). In addition
to romance, I've written a few horror titles
under a pseudonym. My first book to sell
was actually my fourth completed manuscript. I
entered that fourth book in every contest in
which there was an editor judging. Karen
Taylor Richman, then an assistant editor with
Silhouette Books, was judging the final round
of one in particular. She liked my manuscript
and bought it (she also picked it for first
place!). It was my first contest win
ever and it resulted in the selling of my first
book to Silhouette Shadows. Needless
to say, I'm a huge contest advocate. I
went on to write a few more shadows, a couple
of horror, some time-travel, and then contemporary. I
actually enjoy reading all types of fiction
which made focusing a little difficult for
me. Now I write hot, sexy contemporaries
for Blaze and Leisure and paranormals for Ballantine. I
feel as if I have the best of both worlds!
Jen: A question
I just have to ask. How
did you arrive at the premise for a vampire
romantic comedy series, if you will? Did
you do a lot of research on vampires, werewolves,
etc.? Were you concerned about the reaction
your fans might have since it is not a typical
mainstream theme for a book? Or perhaps
is this exactly what your readers would expect
from you…being on the cutting edge so
to speak.
Kimberly: My books (regardless
of genre) have always been hip and trendy, "cutting
edge" so to speak, so I think this is
exactly what readers expect from me. I
love to take traditional story lines and give
them a "NOW" twist so that they speak
to readers in this day and age. I also
love to laugh and rarely take myself very seriously. This
makes for some pretty off-the-wall books. My
romances are far from your typical "boy
meets girl". I have fun writing
all of my books, particularly my latest with
vampire heroine Lil Marchette. If I were
a vamp, I would love to be Lil. She's
funny and full of confidence. At the
same time, she has heart and she believes deeply
in love (a no-no for her kind). She's
your best girlfriend, but with fangs.
Jen: From a writer's perspective,
what part of a novel is the most challenging
for you to write and why? The most enjoyable? Please
take us through your writing process. Outline
first? Plot? Characters? Approximately
how long does it take for you to write from
conception to completion?
Kimberly: It takes me anywhere
from 2-6 months to complete a novel (regardless
of length). My blazes take just as long
as the lengthier books. I think because
my brain creates a story at the same pace regardless
of what I actually do on paper. My process? I
let it cook in my head a few weeks and nail
down the main character, their hopes and dreams. I
also come up with a sexy premise. For
me, the premise is the most crucial thing. It
drives the entire story and I MUST have it
crystal clear before I start to write. I'm
not much of an outliner. I'm more a pantser
(write and write and write and see what happens). While
I have a general idea of where I'm going and
how to get there (the premise), I don't know
the nuts and bolts of what will happen until
I write them. And while it's stressful,
there's a part of me that doesn't want to know
because, for me, the discovery is the most
awesome part of writing. When things
start falling into place (usually when I'm
a few chapters shy of the end). I love
this phase of writing. At the same time,
I also like the beginning because anything's
possible and the sky's the limit.
Jen: Creating characters
is always a challenge because we tend to “borrow” traits
from the people we know. Lil is an absolute
hilarious character. Quite frankly, she's
a woman with a mission and lets nothing stand
in her way. How much of you is
in Lil? From the first book of the series,
DEAD END DATING,
to the third, YOUR COFFIN OR MINE,
how has your vision for Lil changed if any?
Have your expectations been met or even been
surpassed? Has she taken on a life truly of
her own?
Kimberly: I LOVE Lil. If
I were a fantabulously dressed vamp, I would
want to be Lil. Unfortunately, she has
way better clothes than me and much more cooperative
hair. But I do share her deep-seated
belief in love and happily-ever-after. I
think every woman, no matter how many bad relationships
she's had, how many nightmarish dates, wants
to find true love. Granted, I think today's
woman doesn't NEED true love. She's confident,
self-sufficient and can not only survive, but
succeed without a man by her side. At
the same time, I think we all want to feel
loved. To find the guy who won't run
the other way when he sees us at our worst. To
find someone we can respect and trust. Someone
who will respect and trust us. I think
every woman, deep down, would LIKE to fall
in love. Lil thinks so and so do I. And
yes, she's definitely taken on a life of her
own. Over the course of the three books,
she's started to feel more confident in her
choices. Will she ever truly stand up
to her mother? You bet. Will she
get shot down? You bet. But don't
we all?
Jen: Besides Lil, who is your favorite
character in this book and why?
Kimberly: I actually love them
all, but if I had to pick I would probably
go with Viola (the next door werewolf neighbor
of Lil's parents). Viola is independent,
intelligent and doesn't take any crap. At
the same time, she's met her match with Lil's
father and so the two of them go at it in every
book.
Jen: Fashion seems
to play a vital role in the story. What is your Achilles
heel, shoes or handbags? Which designers
are your favorites?
Kimberly: I'm actually
a make-up fanatic. I love, love, LOVE
MAC cosmetics. I have every lip gloss
color imaginable, including a lime green sparkle
that is just too cool. I love bronzers. And
blush. And mascara. I have eight
different colors of mascara, including a green
that goes with the lip gloss.
Jen: Will there be a fourth book in
this series and if so, what can you tell us
about it?
Kimberly: I've just gone back
to contract for three more Lil books and am
currently working on number four, JUST
ONE BITE, which will be out in the summer of 2008. I
don't want to spoil it, but I will say that
we're going to see a lot more of Ash and his
hunky brothers (and we might even find out
what they really are).
Jen: What has
surprised you most about the publishing business
and why?
Kimberly: Nothing is consistent. Things
change like the wind and you have to be ready
to duck and cover at any moment, no matter
how well things are going. Be prepared
for a rocky ride if you're a new writer. At
the same time, it's wildly exciting because
anything is possible. While you could
bomb in a big way, there's just as much of
a chance that you could skyrocket straight
to the top. You just never know.
Jen: If you could go back and do one
thing over again in relation to career, what
if anything would you change and why?
Kimberly: I would have been more
focused in the early part of my career rather
than writing all sorts of different things. At
the same time, I think this is what helped
me define my voice so I can't really regret
it. I do think it made me a better writer. At
least this is what I tell myself when I start
mentally kicking myself for not getting it
together sooner.
Jen: Your website
is really cool. Please
walk us through your site. Do you have
a mailing list? E-mail notification of new
releases? Book give-aways? Do you participate
in author phone chats and if so, how can my
readers schedule one?
Kimberly: My web site has two "sides" so
to speak, one for my Lil books and one for
my sexy contemporaries. I urge readers
to look around in both areas. I'm always
running contests for everything from books
to gift cards and I also have an e-mail list.
You can also sign up to get freebies such as
bookmarks, pens, whatever I have handy. I
do urge readers to be patient. I answer
all e-mail myself and I also write personal
notes with goodies, so it takes a while for
me to get things out. I don't do
phone chats yet, but as I said, I do respond
personally to all e-mail. I read everything. And
I appreciate everything. So please contact
me!
Jen: Thanks so much
for taking the time out of your busy schedule
to speak with me. Best
of luck in your career! You're a fabulous
writer.
Kimberly: Thanks so much for
having me!!! I hope your readers will
enjoy my newest book YOUR
COFFIN OR MINE?,
and I encourage everyone to stop by my website
or visit me on MySpace. I love to chat!
Well, now that you have learned
all you'd ever want to know about vampires
and werewolves, I hope that you are set for
Halloween! A special thank you goes out to
Kate Blum at Ballantine Books for
making this interview possible. Okay,
it's time for the contest. The first
five readers to e-mail me at jensjewels@gmail.com with
the correct answer to the following trivia
question will win a copy of YOUR
COFFIN OR MINE?. Good luck!
What is the title of the first book
in Kimberly Raye's paranormal vampire
romance series?
Don't forget to look for my next
column in early November! I will be interviewing
Monica McInerney, author of The Alphabet
Sisters and Family Baggage. You
won't want to miss it! Happy
Halloween...Jen
|
Meet
the Author: featuring Jen's Jewels