The Bookstore welcomes Kimberly Logan as our December 2005 featured author!
Kimberly, welcome to The Bookstore. We're happy you could take a break from this busy holiday season to chat with us.
No problem. Thank you for having me!
Tell us a bit about yourself. Your background, family, etc...
Well, I was born and raised in the same small Indiana town where I still live. I have one sister and one brother, both younger, and I live within 5 minutes of both of them and my parents, which is great! I had plans to be a teacher and even went to college for three and a half years to get a degree in elementary education, but my first dream was always to be a published author and the writing bug wouldn't leave me alone.
Are you married? Do you have children or pets? How about any hobbies or collections?
I'm not married and I have no kids, though I'm perfectly happy with a niece and two nephews to adore. I do have one pet. A yorkie named Skittle who is an absolute doll and my baby. He's spoiled rotten! As for collections, I've always been an avid reader, and I have shelves and shelves of books, which I rarely get rid of. I'm also a big Walt Disney fan, and I have a rather large collection of figurines, mugs, snowglobes, etc. from their animated movies.
What kind of jobs did you hold prior to becoming a full time author? What has been your best and worst job?
Well, right out of high school I went to work in a daycare center. Practice for my future career as a teacher, I thought. I loved the kids, and eventually I worked my way up to assistant director. I wound up sticking around for over ten years! Then I went to work at a label production company as an order processor. I was there for two years, and though I liked the people I worked with, answering phones was NOT for me!
Do you manage to do a lot of reading now that you are a full time author? Who are some of your favorite authors?
I don't get to do as much reading as I would like anymore, but I'm addicted, so I can't completely break the habit. LOL! I read predominantly romance, and picking just a few favorites is tough. But if forced to choose, I would say Lisa Kleypas, Teresa Medeiros, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Sharon Sala, Lori Foster, and Catherine Anderson. I never miss a book by any of them.
Do you have a favorite book? If so, what is it and why?
That's another tough question! I have my childhood favorites that I still pick up and read every once in a while. I will never get tired of classics like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. At the top of my list of more current favorites is Sharon Sala's Butterfly (Which makes me cry every darn time I read it!) and Julie Garwood's Guardian Angel. I just love the characters in both of these books. Characters that can truly make you care for them is what makes a book a favorite for me.
Do you feel your writing has been influenced by any of your favorite authors? If so, by who?
Well, in childhood I used to be a big mystery reader. I loved Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Meg, the Dana Girls. And I think that has had a definite influence on my writing. I never feel like a book is complete unless it has a mystery or suspense sub-plot. And some of my older favorites like Kathleen E. Woodwiss, Julie Garwood, and Johanna Lindsey, as well as current favorites like Lisa Kleypas and Teresa Medeiros.
Where do you get the ideas for your books? Do you ever use real people or real life happenings to inspire you?
Actually, I have a very active imagination, so a lot of my ideas just tend to pop into my head at the weirdest times. In dreams, when I'm in the shower, when I'm driving on a long trip. Mostly when my mind has a lot of time to wander. I also get ideas from movies and even from overheard snippets of conversation. I have yet to base anything on an actual event or person I know though.
Tell us about your writing. What kind of books do you write?
I started out writing mysteries as a child. But when I graduated to reading romance in junior high school, my interest turned in that direction. Now I am a historical romance author, and I write predominantly Regency-set historicals, which would be the time period between 1811-1820 in England. But I'm not adverse to trying another time period someday. Maybe a medieval or colonial-set one. I've also written a few contemporaries, though none of them are published.
How did you get started writing? Was this something you have always dreamed of doing?
I tell people that the bug first bit when my mother gave me my first Trixie Belden book in second grade, but actually I think it happened even before that. I can remember being about 5 or 6 and sitting on my dad's lap, listening to him reading me a story and thinking how neat it would be to write my own someday.
How old were you when you started writing? What was your first book?
My first short story was written when I was seven, followed by several others. They were all part of a series about a girl detective I named Tansy Williams. My mom still has every last one of them. Back then, I think I had dreams of being the next Carolyn Keene or Julie Campbell. Boy, did my tastes change! I wrote what I think of as my first official, full-length book, a YA romance, in high school. I think I was in eleventh grade.
You are relatively new as a published author, with your debut book, A KISS IN THE DARK, published in March 2005, doing very well. You have a second, follow up book, A KISS BEFORE DAWN coming out this month, December 2005.
Please tell us about these books. What is the time period and setting of your books?
Both are Regency or Post-Regency-set historicals. A Kiss in the Dark takes place in 1819 London, while A Kiss Before Dawn is set in the English countryside of 1827. A Kiss in the Dark is a very Oliver Twist sort of tale. In fact, it was partly inspired by the musical, Oliver! A Kiss Before Dawn is about two childhood sweethearts, secondary characters in A Kiss in the Dark, who reunite to track down a jewel thief. I tend to write a bit dark, and I usually try to throw in a lot of mystery and adventure.
What drew you to this era and location? Will your next books have similiar settings?
I'm not really certain what first drew me to Regency-set historicals. I tend to gravitate toward that setting in my own reading, so I guess it only made sense to write about the time period I most love to read about. As I said before, I wouldn't say no to trying another time period, but my next few books will definitely be Regencies.
How many books will be in this series? Any idea when we can expect the third book?
A KISS BEFORE DAWN will be the last book in the Knight family series. At least for now. I've had several requests for Benji's story, so who knows? Maybe someday... But for right now, I'm moving on to a new series. My next book from Avon, SINS OF MIDNIGHT, will be out in July 2006 and will be the first book in a trilogy about three sisters who find themselves tangled up in adventure and romance in Regency England when they set out to investigate the years-old mystery of their mother's murder.
Do you think you will ever venture into any other style of writing?
I wouldn't mind trying a straight mystery someday or maybe a contemporary romantic suspense. But I am perfectly happy writing historical romance, so maybe not. Even if I did branch out, I could never completely leave historical romance behind.
Tell us about the research you do for your books. Approximately, how long does it take you to do research for your books? Where do you get your reference material? Do you mainly use printed material or perhaps online infomation.
While I do have a few good reference books, I do most of my research online. This is something I usually tackle while in the early plotting stages, and it can take me anywhere from 1-3 months. It's a very time-consuming task, but also a very interesting one!
Do you travel to research your books or is that something you still hope to do in the future?
I haven't done so yet, but I would love to. England is definitely on my must-see list, along with Australia! I would love to set a novel in the outback someday. :)
Is there any aspect of being a published author that is different than you expected? Do you find the job to be better or worse than you expected?
Deadlines have been the hardest aspect to come to grips with. I was used to being able to take as long as I wanted to finish a book in the past. A KISS IN THE DARK took me two years. Now, I'm lucky if I have six months. It can be a lot of pressure, but it's worth it.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring writer, what would it be?
The most important thing is to find some sort of network of support. At least, it was the most important thing for me, and it really made a difference. Join a writers group. Whether it be a national organization like Romance Writers of America or a small local group, having that encouragement from fellow writers who don't mind sharing their knowledge can be an invaluable tool. I would also say to research the market. Find out all you can about the genre you want to write in. Who is publishing it and what is selling right now. Educating yourself can save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
Where can our readers learn more about you and your books? Do you have a website?
Kimberly, thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to chat wit us. It's been a pleasure. We wish you continued good luck with your wonderful books! We hope you will be able to come to the store to do a booksigning for us soon!
