The beautiful woman above is more than just a pretty face. She is author K.D. Rose and we have her here with us today for an interview. I read her book Erasing Shadows for a tour group I belong to and it was one of my favorite books of last year. So I wanted to find out some more about K.D. and her book so I asked her to do this interview with me. She was very nice and said yes. But before we get to the interview, I want to tell you a little bit more about K.D. K.D. Rose is an author and poet and currently has Heavy Bags of Soul, Inside Sorrow and I AM (Poetry in Motion) on sale at Amazon.com. Look for the Erasing Series, Book 1-Erasing: Shadows for Lycaon Press available on all publishing platforms. Erasing: Shadows is the first of a Seven Book Series for New Adults in the Paranormal Genre. "K.D. Rose's writing will set your neurons on fire." – Tophat Raven Art and Literary Magazine.
K.D. Rose is now also an author with Lycaon Press. For more adult-themed books, her alter ego, H.K. Sterling is now an author with Breathless Press. K.D. also continues to write poetry and has just created a new literary and art magazine with 5 other global authors. Just like her books, K.D. Rose is edgy, hits you in the gut and gives you the education you never knew you needed. Writing with irony, truth, and a spiked pen, she takes you past the self into self-evolution. K.D. has an eclectic mind and loves language, physics, philosophy, photography, design, art, writing, symbolism, semiotics, spirituality, and Dr. Who. K.D. is an avid supporter of music, the arts, cutting edge science, technology, and creativity in all forms that encourage us to expand and explore past the artificial limits we often set for ourselves in order to see the everyday connections that exist among all things.
She is wonderful and very nice and busy so we are lucky to have her here today. So here is my interview with K.D. Rose.
1. From your biography, it seems you have always been a writer. Is that a correct statement? And if so is that always what you wanted to do was be a writer?
I actually *have* always wanted to be a writer. I've been writing in journals and keeping my own stuff since I was very young. I was also a voracious reader and that led me to wanting to write even more I think. I tried to write a Nancy Drew book when I was 5. That's when it all started. LOL What you should know though is that I spent most of my life writing personally but not publishing. I had a whole different career, I have a Bachelor's and Master's Degree and I spent many years just living. Now that I am older, I write. I started actually publishing in 2012. But that first book is a collection of writing from about 20 years.
2. Who are some of your biggest influences?
I'm going to sound really old school but I cant help it. I read the old science fiction greats. They turned me on the most in my early years. Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein. Later I discovered poetry and especially love E.E. Cummings, Jorge Borges, Aime Cesaire, and many others. Then again, I loved the Harry Potter movies and even Twilight so I keep up a little.
I am also heavily influenced by music. I find having the words *and* the music really transports you. I do keep up with new music and have a love of many bands and singers. The ones I love most though move me in a way that is stronger even than poetry, because you are dealing with more than one sense.
My feeling is that engagement of the senses and feelings are what makes books, music, movies etc special for us. Some things move us and we may not even know why. For example there is one violin solo by Itzhak Perlman that moves me and I don't even know why. To me, vocations that can do that are speaking to higher parts of us.
3. I read your book Erasing: Shadows and it was amazing. I have never read a book like that before. Tell me a bit about how this story formed for you.
First, thank you so much! It's kind of hit and miss. Some love it and some don't because it is a bit different. I've been waiting to write this story for a long time. It is a series. There will be seven of them (the books). You've only had a taste! The story formed from my own dream diaries that I have kept for many years as well as my imagination-creating worlds from your head and arcs for characters and experiences. It is also an adventure just to write it. I am both a pantser and a plotter. Those terms describe how writers go about forming their stories. Some plot out every piece and others write by the seat of their pants and let the characters take them where they will. I do both. In a series especially, there needs to be a logical consistency all the way through so I have a basic plot and arcs outlined in my head. However, when I actually write, within those points my characters often go other directions so I work with that if I can and sometimes it even changes the story!
4. I loved all of the characters but Mrs. Ross was my favorite. Can you tell me about her?
I can't really talk much about her because there are seven books and you've only seen a piece of her! She is someone whom you may think of one way at the beginning but feel differently toward by the end of Erasing: Shadows. She is a wily one. In the other books too, she will play major roles in almost all the books, because she is the wisdom of the series and if you have an adventure you need some wisdom or you're in for trouble.
5. Stu was my next favorite. Tell me more about him.
Stu is the most adept of the group in the work and studies that they do. He learned fast so he was a little arrogant when he was young but he is growing up, especially after everything that happened in Erasing: Shadows. He will become more even-keeled and if you remember (whoever's read the book) he is the only one Mrs. Ross has really taken into her inner circle. Stu will play a major role in all the books. And look out for romance with him. It's coming! You have to remember he is younger than all the other characters, so even though he hangs with the older ones skill-wise, he is more like their college-age children in reality.
On the Erasing website, I will have an interview with Stu up next week. This week I put up an interview with Mira.
6. Are any of your characters based on anyone you know?
Yes and no. There are no characters personalities or actions based on anyone I know. The characters are totally out of my head. However, to make this kind of fun for myself and my relatives, I actually named the majority of characters after different relatives of mine. For me that made it fun to write. I think they will get a kick out of that. But everyone should know the resemblance is in name only. Nothing else.
7. Tell me about your other works. And what is your favorite genre to write in?
Oh my. Ok, I will just list everything. First, I have another pen name - for adult fare. This is fairly new. So K.D. Rose is used for anything more literary, anything poetic (my earlier books contained poetry) and anything that is Young Adult or New Adult. Additionally, along with 5 others who come from around the globe (3 from England, 1 from Wales, 1 from India and me from the U.S.) I was chosen by the main founder to become involved in creating an e-magazine that is essentially a forum for new artists and authors to be read, along with established authors to give interviews and experience advice. Our first issue is already out. The Magazine is called Innovate. I also write articles from time to time. One of those, for example, is in the first issue of Innovate Magazine.
Then I have my adult stories. H.K. Sterling is the pen name for those. Its no secret, I just wanted to separate out different kinds of work. So Under H.K. I have two short stories in an anthology that comes out February 14 (called My Bloody Valentine), a Mystery/Suspense called A Taste For Killing that comes out February 21st and its sequel has already been accepted by my publisher as well. Additionally I have another short story that was just accepted today and will be published soon. I need to stress though that stories by H.K. Sterling are 18+ only.
8. How did it feel to win the Readers Favorite 2013 international Silver Medal for Poetry?
So exciting. You write, you know, without much validation and you hopefully learn your craft along the way so awards are nice bits of external validation. I just won another award by the way (I will attach the picture) for Erasing: Shadows! It won best book for 2013 from my publisher (who publishes many, many books) so that was an exciting surprise as well.
9. What is a book you want to write specifically?
I have to finish Erasing: Shattered Book Two first, but after that I am writing a book that will contain all short stories and many of them will be science fiction. That is one I can't wait to write. I also must write poetry pretty regularly. Its in my blood. So those get published here and there in different magazines. The neat thing is that my poetry is finally getting known a bit and I've had people come to me and ask me to write one for a specific occasion or place. That is neat.
10. Are you able to remember your ideas for stories, poems, etc. or did you carry around a notebook to jot down ideas when they come?
Heck no. I'm lucky if I can remember to tie my shoes. I have two things that keep me organized. One is a 4 foot white board that has whatever I am currently trying to puzzle out on it (usually plot points and arcs) and then I have a gigantic 1 foot blank book its about 1 1/2 feet really on each side. In there I keep the key information for all my books. Birth dates, last names, all the characters in each story. If I didn't I'd never remember. I work on too many different things at once. That is one thing I love about creativity, it just creates more of itself as you use it. So that book keeps me from marrying a 40 year old to a 9 year old and using the wrong last name for a minor character in later chapters etc. I couldn't work without it. but yes, I also have about 10 or more blank books and small notebooks everywhere around the house, in my purse, in the car, by my bed...everywhere to write.
11. Where is your favorite place to write? For example out on the patio, in a park nearby, at a desk in your home, etc?
My husband and I bought a run down house to fix up. One of the requirements was that we wanted a house with a large room to become my library/office. My husband is an architectural mill man. So he built me my room and I write from there. It has a built in desk with shelves above, and floor to ceiling shelves filled with books (I'm a bibliophile) in the whole room. Then there is a wooden stove so in the winter we keep the fire going and it is possibly the best place I could imagine to write. I love it there. Sometimes I have to be coaxed out with food. LOL
12. Must have food/beverage when writing.
Green Tea usually, for the caffeine but healthy. I don't smoke or drink but actually I should add coffee to that. I've started drinking a small cup of coffee in the morning at my computer too. So, those two things, but you should know that the thing that keeps every writer going, no matter who, is chocolate.
13. What do you have in the works right now?
I think I listed everything above. Erasing sequel, Mystery sequel (3), new magazine with interviews and features and original content that I write too, anthology coming out, short story just accepted. Hmm that doesn't sound like enough. I think I need more! Actually I have a lot of editing to do starting tomorrow! Editing is one of those necessary evils of writing but is so important!
14. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
No you made me talk my own ear off!
Wow! What an interview. You really have left me speechless. I love that you have your hand in all of the cookie jars. I had no idea that Erasing was a seven part series! I am totally psyched about that. I really encourage everyone to read at least Erasing: Shadows but based on K.D.'s style of writing, I cannot wait to read more and I suggest you pick whatever you may like. I hope to have you by again K.D. when your other books come out. I wish you continued success and thank you again for giving us your time.
You can find the links to the Erasing books here:
Erasing: Shadows Now available in print! Click here to check it out.
Amazon: Click here.
All Romance e-books: Click here.
Bookstrand: Click here.
Barnes and Noble: Click here.
Here is the link to the Magazine. Issue Two will be out in February!
Innovate-E-Magazine-issue-January-2014 - Click here.
.jpg)
Links to H.K. Sterlings social media are here. Books out soon!
Twitter: Click here.
Facebook: Click here.
Email: HK.Sterling@aol.com
HK Sterling "Undercover Blog": Click here.
KD Rose, Author On Amazon NOW:
KDs newest book, Erasing: Shadows
Author for Lycaon Press
Website: http://kdroseworld.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KDRose1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kdroseauthor
Some peeks at K.D.'s book covers:
No comments:
Post a Comment