But enough about me!
Kessie stopped by to chat, and I asked her a few questions. I thought you might be interested in knowing what she said, so, pull up a chair and fill your cup...Here is our conversation:
I think Christian Fiction writers always have an amazing God moment or two when they write their stories. Did you have one? What was it?
For me I think it was a whole God process. While writing, I found the Marcher Lord Press website and visited the forums. There I found a link to the Sandbox critique group. The Sandbox proceeded to pummel Storm Chase while I put it through multiple drafts. If God hadn't guided me to the critique group, I wouldn't have really learned to write and edit. I wouldn't have met Dana Bell and had multiple stories published in anthologies. Really, God's hand has been on my entire writing journey. It's wonderful. :-)
Why did you choose to write Storm Chase?
The story that became Storm Chase has been part of my life since high school. It's my husband's story, you see. He's been writing it and rewriting it for years. Finally, one day I got sick of it and said, “I'm going to write it for you and then it will be DONE.”
Ten drafts later, it finally is.
Are any of your characters based on a real person? Can you tell us who?
Carda is a caricature of my husband. Naturally we had to change Carda quite a bit, though!
Your dialog was spot-on for the age of your characters. How did you do that?
I love writing dialogue and listening to people talk. I have a bunch of teen and adult siblings, and I love listening to them and the slang they use. They also coin hilarious phrases and say really funny things with a completely straight face. My kids, although younger, are the same way.
What inspired you to write this story?
Well, I was writing my husband's story, really. But a lot of other influences crept in—Lovecraft and Diablo influenced the angel-with-tentacle-wings. I'm a fervent admirer of Diana Wynne Jones's work, and I adore her multiverse, and the way she wrote magic happening in the real world. In later Spacetime books I go nuts with the multiverse aspect.
I happen to know the male main character in this book drives a particular car, would you like to tell the readers why his car has special meaning to you?
When we got married, my husband drove a red 1990 Mazda Miata. So of course Carda did, too! Although my husband no longer owns that car, it lives on in Storm Chase. I have fond (albeit terrifying) memories of zipping along the highway in that thing and almost getting blown off the road in storms.
I also know you just gave birth to your fourth child, but do you have hobbies, other interests besides writing and taking care of the kids?
I've been in art class since I was little, and taught art to kids for about five years. I swap between writing and drawing to rest my muse. I also adore videogames and computer games, usually of the simulation sort: SimCity, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and the like. I love building things.
Can you tell us something interesting about you that most people do not know?
My preferred pet is a reptile. Lizards, usually. Snakes don't have eyelids and can't give you sarcastic sideways looks. I had iguanas growing up—and then bearded dragons became popular, and I always wished for one. But I have small children, and small children do not mix well with reptiles that consume crickets and mealworms. (Hint: Twenty-five escaped crickets inside your house is a LOT.)
That's very true, and wise of you to realize it's not your season to have reptiles. But, when the kids get older... Right? Thank you for stopping by! I have enjoyed our chat. And if you'd like to know more about Kessie, scroll down. And I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
About the Book
Carda is the Strider of Chronos. But figuring out what that means may cost him his life.
Struggling through high school in Phoenix, Arizona was hard enough, but now Carda’s hands are burning with magical fire and lightning. Worse, they affect time and space. Now all kinds of people want Carda dead, from a killer angel to the head of the extra-world Council.
Fortunately he has allies—his twin sister Michelle manipulates gravity with dance. His rival Indal is secretly a time mage—until Carda accidentally turns him into a werewolf. There’s Ben, a black time-traveling lizard. And Xironi, a gorgeous catgirl with a growing crush on Carda.
Together they face the most horrifying enemy of all—an inept mage with far too much power. This power unleashes a chaotic subspace storm that consumes worlds—and Earth is next on the menu.
Young Adult fantasy, 12+
It's available for 99 cents at Amazon.com
About the author
K. M. Carroll got her start writing fanfiction, which she
did for the majority of her teens. After marrying her high school sweetheart,
she began collaborating with him on what became the Spacetime Legacy series.
She also enjoys painting, raising chickens, and cooking delicious meals. She
currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.
You can stalk, I mean contact Kessie at:
Website: http://spacetime.netraptor.org
Email: netraptor001 (at) hotmail (dot) com
http://netraptor.org/blog
