Kim Smith - Author Interview

I am thrilled, beyond words, to have the wonderful Kim Smith, author of A Will To Love and Avenging Angel, at Cafe of Dreams today! She is on tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotions this entire month, so please be sure to follow along with her, I know I will be! Not only is Kim a sweet and extremely talented person, but she was wonderful enough to allow me to do an interview with her. So, without further ado, on to the interview....

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Hi Kim! Welcome to Cafe of Dreams! I am so thrilled that you were able to take the time to answer a few questions! First of all, I wanted to tell you how much I loved your book, A Will To Love! It is such a beautiful and touching story and the writing is fantastic and often times poetic!

Can you tell us a bit about A Will to Love?

It all started with a tragedy, believe it or not. A local woman died in a train crash (see Amtrak crash 1999) and her husband was left to run their bed and breakfast alone. I took that and from the sad thought of it, I wrote A Will to Love.

Who are your favorite characters in the story and why?

I love the character of Benton. He opens the story with remembering a place he’d traveled to and loved, and I cannot tell you how many times I have done that very thing. I would give anything to be able to go to Ireland one day, so my longing for that sort of colored that scene I think.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process and what writing means to you? Where do you come up with your characters, ideas, etc.?

I have the most erratic writing process of anyone out there. I write hard and long when I am writing, but when I am not, whew boy, it’s pretty sad. I sometimes cannot force myself to sit down and do it. The best days are when ideas come to me full-blown and I don’t have to think much about the story. I love to write though, and know with a certainty that even if I would never be published again, I would still write. I get ideas for characters and stories from so many odd places! I can hear a snippet of a conversation at a café and be off and running. Love it when that happens!

What is a “day in the life of Kim” like? Can you share with readers a bit of the person behind the fascinating writing?

Thanks April, you are so good to me! A day in the life? Wow. It’s pretty hectic actually. During the week, I am a network admin for a small company and I hop from desk to desk doing stuff, or I am at the order desk being an entry clerk. On the weekends, I moonlight as a videographer, and photographer. We do a lot of weddings this time of year so I am meeting myself coming and going. Other than that, I am on the radio most nights with Introducing WRITERS! Radio show at Blog Talk Radio, or writing. No more time for much else!

*(note to Kim from April - you do not do near enough, you really should pick up a few hobbies, lol)

What types of books do you like to read and who are some of your favorite authors?

I read all genres and all types of books. My absolute favs are historical books and not just the fiction or romance ones although they are pretty good! Currently I am reading about three books, and I find that a writer can learn a lot about craft from great authors. I love most of the biggies like any other reader. Gabaldon, Evanovich, and Deaver are among my favs.

Who inspires you?

My friends of late have been great inspiration. Marta Stephens, author of The Devil Can Wait recently took an award for her book, and my other pal, S.W. Vaughn has gotten picked up by a major publisher in NY. And as always, Aaron Lazar the author of the great Gus LeGarde books is writing more and more to entertain us all, including the new one, Mazurka which I just received. I am just too thrilled to be counted as friends to these great authors, and really, strive to be as good as they are one day.

*(note to Kim from April - don't underestimate yourself, you are an awesome writer and author!)

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Pretty much. I remember thinking when I was in high school how nice it would be to just be able to sit at home all day and write in my PJs. Of course, that is the same silly thought all aspiring authors think, but it just serves to prove that writing has been on my mind a lot of years.

Ok, here are some fun questions:

What are some of your favorite foods?

Oh gosh, I am a type two diabetic so I have to be so good now, and don’t get much of my favs, but when I get to Heaven I will ask my Mama to make some of her delicious skillet fried potatoes with onions. OMG. I love those!!

What do you enjoy doing when you have free time?

As I said, I am a photographer/videographer http://www.videovisionent.com and that is what I hope to do for a retirement one day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking pics of brides. They are all so happy and look so good.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hopefully, I will be in better financial situation than I am today. This recession has cost us a lot of business and I am hoping in five years our little biz will be booming.

Do you have a favorite movie or t.v. right now?

I have been a pretty regular viewer of Jon and Kate Plus Eight but only because of all the media hype. It’s sort of sad really, but you know, like a car wreck, you just have to look.

Is there anything that you would like to add, Kim? Or anything that you would like readers to know about you or your writing?

I have a lot of places on the Internet where I can be found. I will just give a small list. If you Google MKimSmith you will find me!

http://www.mkimsmith.com (website)
http://writingspace.blogspot.com (writing blog)
http://bookmadness.wordpress.com (guest bloggers for radio show and others)
http://murderby4.blogspot.com (group blog with Marta, Aaron, and S.W.)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kims (Introducing WRITERS! radio show)

I’m also on twitter, facebook, and myspace, so go out and friend me!

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A bit about Kim Smith:

Kim Smith is the hostess for the popular radio show, Introducing WRITERS! Radio show on Blog Talk Radio. She is also the author of the zany, Shannon Wallace mystery series available now from Red Rose Publishing and also the new romance novel, A Will to Love. You can visit Kim’s website at www.mkimsmith.com.

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A bit about A Will to Love:

Benton Jessup wants his bed and breakfast to be successful. He will go to no lengths to insure that it does. But when Kitty Beebe, a famous romance author, arrives at The Inn, his desire for success becomes a struggle of wills with love.

(click here) to purchase A Will to Love!

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Win Prizes!

Kim Smith's A WILL TO LOVE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on July 6th and end on July 31st. You can visit Kim's blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of July to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.