We are super excited to be a part of this Indi-Credible event . . .
We got a chance to ask Kristi Strong a few questions. . .
She even played one of our favorite little games and gave us three truths about herself and one lie. . .
Can you pick out the lie?
Can you pick out the lie?
1. Favorite TV show when you were younger? - For TV, I think it would have to be Draw Squad. It was an awesome show geared toward getting kids interested in drawing, and giving them the training to actually make fairly complicated pictures while still having a blast. I still have the companion book that my mom bought me, oh, twenty-some years ago.
2. What would we find if we looked under your bed? A locked storage contained with 3 decorative (but very sharp) Eastern influenced swords, my smudging bundle (sage, cedar, and sweetgrass), a few of my child's socks, and something completely random (at last check, it was a cookie sheet my daughter had hidden under my bed)
3. Book Store or Library? Book Store. - While I definitely enjoy the free aspect of the library, I like to take my books home and give them a permanent place on my bookshelf. Well, the books I'm not downloading to my Nook, that is.
4. If you could write another genre, what would it be - I would love to write historical fiction. It's not too big a jump from my current fantasy works, but I would love to be able to write a story that is historically accurate (at least, to the best of our knowledge) down to the last detail.
5. What are a few things on your bucket List? - Visiting the Black Hills of North Dakota, a European 2 week tour, and being able to do a headstand again.
6. Can you share a little of your current work with us? - Well, I actually have about 4 books in the works right now, but most of my effort is in getting the third book in the Land of Kaldalangra series, Soul of Asimina, finalized for publishing. The events in Soul of Asimina take place twenty years after the end of Heart of Kylassame (second book in the series) and involve the children of Rhea and Rowan. The characters have become some of my favorites, and I really think my fans will enjoy seeing their old favorites as the wise parents, while learning to love the children.
7. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? - Writing about things I have never experienced. I want my characters to be as in-depth and authentic as possible, so it is really difficult when they need to have something happen that I haven't experienced at all. That's not to say that everything I write about has happened exactly as it does in the book, but often I can take a personal experience and then enhance it to produce a deeper/darker scenario.
10. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? - I love Anne Bishop. She has an amazing talent of creating very fantastical worlds that are 100% believable after you have begun reading the books. She has a way of making her books easy enough to read that you can just use them to distract yourself when you need a good story, but if you are in a thoughtful mood, they have a rich depth and may hidden messages.
11.What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life? - One of the biggest challenges was making sure that I stayed true to my created world of Kaldalangra, and true to the characters nature. There were many times when I would want the character to do one thing, but it just wouldn't make sense given their history/personality. It was often very difficult to take the story where I wanted/needed it to go, while letting it flow naturally.
With Heart of Kylassame, the second book in the series, the hardest part was putting my heart on paper. The challenges that Rhea faced in this book are ones that are very close to my heart, and I shed many tears while writing this book as it dredged up some very deep emotions that I thought I had hidden deep within.
11. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? - Above all, thank you for being such incredible fans. When I first published The Lady of Steinbrekka in 2012, I had no idea it was going to get such a wonderful following, and have such loyal readers. Every review I get makes my heart glow, and I love hearing from them, both good and bad.
12 Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline: The Lady of Steinbrekka - Fantasy : A story of kidnapping, darkness, mysterious strangers, and refusing the path of destiny. Heart of Kylassame - Fantasy : Love, loss, joy, and despair. When life knocks her down, can Rhea find the strength to stand back up?
13. What Inspired you to write ? - One of my favorite quotes is "Write the book you need to read", and that's what I have done with this particular series. The Lady of Steinbrekka was born out of a (literal) dream that I wrote down because it was just odd. Then I just kept writing, and 322 pages later, my first published novel was born. Heart of Kylassame was a follow up to the first book, a way for me to express that there is no cookie cutter "happy ending", and that there will always be doubts and struggles in the paths we chose.
14. Do you have any writing rituals? - I always open up a baby-name site, Thesaurus.com, and Wikipedia before I can start writing
15. What is your life motto? - Do what you can, when you can, with what you have
16. Did you always want to be a writer? - Yes, but I never dreamed it would actually happen. Writing was something I loved to do, but early on I recognized (through some very non-writing-friendly teachers) that it wasn't a lucrative career. It wasn't until my best friend, author Kristina Circelli, told me about self-publishing that the spark was re-kindled and I was able to finally attain my dream.
17. What can readers expect next from you? - I am currently on schedule for a late December/early January release of the third book in the Land of Kaldalangra series, titled Soul of Asimina. I am also working on two stand-alone contemporary novels, along with a fourth and fifth book in the Kaldalangra series (which need a lot of research, so they will likely not be out in the next year)
18. Do you have a specific writing process? Are you a plotter or a pantser? I am a plotter, but my characters are not. We've compromised by just having loose plots and then I let them figure out how they are going to get from one point to the next. Many of my plot ideas also just end up not happening because they never worked their way into the story.
19. How do you get yourself in the right frame of mind to write those amazingly hot sex scenes? - Ha! Most of my books are pretty tame so far, kind of a "fade to black" type sex scene. All of that may change with my first adult novel, which I'm hoping to work on after Soul of Asimina is done.
20. What was the very first erotic novel you read? What was your initial reaction? - The Kushiel Series by Jacqueline Carey. I was very shocked but also very intrigued. She just has such a beautifully descriptive and complex way of creating a story, with devastatingly well-written sex scenes that shock and amaze.
21. What are three things that many people don’t know about you? - I am painfully shy, have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and was once fluent in Arabic.
22. What is your least favorite thing about the writing process? - Editing. I hate editing. It will take me twice as long to edit a book as it will to write one.
Heart of Kylassame ~*~ Blurb
2. What would we find if we looked under your bed? A locked storage contained with 3 decorative (but very sharp) Eastern influenced swords, my smudging bundle (sage, cedar, and sweetgrass), a few of my child's socks, and something completely random (at last check, it was a cookie sheet my daughter had hidden under my bed)
3. Book Store or Library? Book Store. - While I definitely enjoy the free aspect of the library, I like to take my books home and give them a permanent place on my bookshelf. Well, the books I'm not downloading to my Nook, that is.
4. If you could write another genre, what would it be - I would love to write historical fiction. It's not too big a jump from my current fantasy works, but I would love to be able to write a story that is historically accurate (at least, to the best of our knowledge) down to the last detail.
5. What are a few things on your bucket List? - Visiting the Black Hills of North Dakota, a European 2 week tour, and being able to do a headstand again.
6. Can you share a little of your current work with us? - Well, I actually have about 4 books in the works right now, but most of my effort is in getting the third book in the Land of Kaldalangra series, Soul of Asimina, finalized for publishing. The events in Soul of Asimina take place twenty years after the end of Heart of Kylassame (second book in the series) and involve the children of Rhea and Rowan. The characters have become some of my favorites, and I really think my fans will enjoy seeing their old favorites as the wise parents, while learning to love the children.
7. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? - Writing about things I have never experienced. I want my characters to be as in-depth and authentic as possible, so it is really difficult when they need to have something happen that I haven't experienced at all. That's not to say that everything I write about has happened exactly as it does in the book, but often I can take a personal experience and then enhance it to produce a deeper/darker scenario.
10. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? - I love Anne Bishop. She has an amazing talent of creating very fantastical worlds that are 100% believable after you have begun reading the books. She has a way of making her books easy enough to read that you can just use them to distract yourself when you need a good story, but if you are in a thoughtful mood, they have a rich depth and may hidden messages.
11.What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life? - One of the biggest challenges was making sure that I stayed true to my created world of Kaldalangra, and true to the characters nature. There were many times when I would want the character to do one thing, but it just wouldn't make sense given their history/personality. It was often very difficult to take the story where I wanted/needed it to go, while letting it flow naturally.
With Heart of Kylassame, the second book in the series, the hardest part was putting my heart on paper. The challenges that Rhea faced in this book are ones that are very close to my heart, and I shed many tears while writing this book as it dredged up some very deep emotions that I thought I had hidden deep within.
11. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? - Above all, thank you for being such incredible fans. When I first published The Lady of Steinbrekka in 2012, I had no idea it was going to get such a wonderful following, and have such loyal readers. Every review I get makes my heart glow, and I love hearing from them, both good and bad.
12 Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline: The Lady of Steinbrekka - Fantasy : A story of kidnapping, darkness, mysterious strangers, and refusing the path of destiny. Heart of Kylassame - Fantasy : Love, loss, joy, and despair. When life knocks her down, can Rhea find the strength to stand back up?
13. What Inspired you to write ? - One of my favorite quotes is "Write the book you need to read", and that's what I have done with this particular series. The Lady of Steinbrekka was born out of a (literal) dream that I wrote down because it was just odd. Then I just kept writing, and 322 pages later, my first published novel was born. Heart of Kylassame was a follow up to the first book, a way for me to express that there is no cookie cutter "happy ending", and that there will always be doubts and struggles in the paths we chose.
14. Do you have any writing rituals? - I always open up a baby-name site, Thesaurus.com, and Wikipedia before I can start writing
15. What is your life motto? - Do what you can, when you can, with what you have
16. Did you always want to be a writer? - Yes, but I never dreamed it would actually happen. Writing was something I loved to do, but early on I recognized (through some very non-writing-friendly teachers) that it wasn't a lucrative career. It wasn't until my best friend, author Kristina Circelli, told me about self-publishing that the spark was re-kindled and I was able to finally attain my dream.
17. What can readers expect next from you? - I am currently on schedule for a late December/early January release of the third book in the Land of Kaldalangra series, titled Soul of Asimina. I am also working on two stand-alone contemporary novels, along with a fourth and fifth book in the Kaldalangra series (which need a lot of research, so they will likely not be out in the next year)
18. Do you have a specific writing process? Are you a plotter or a pantser? I am a plotter, but my characters are not. We've compromised by just having loose plots and then I let them figure out how they are going to get from one point to the next. Many of my plot ideas also just end up not happening because they never worked their way into the story.
19. How do you get yourself in the right frame of mind to write those amazingly hot sex scenes? - Ha! Most of my books are pretty tame so far, kind of a "fade to black" type sex scene. All of that may change with my first adult novel, which I'm hoping to work on after Soul of Asimina is done.
20. What was the very first erotic novel you read? What was your initial reaction? - The Kushiel Series by Jacqueline Carey. I was very shocked but also very intrigued. She just has such a beautifully descriptive and complex way of creating a story, with devastatingly well-written sex scenes that shock and amaze.
21. What are three things that many people don’t know about you? - I am painfully shy, have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and was once fluent in Arabic.
22. What is your least favorite thing about the writing process? - Editing. I hate editing. It will take me twice as long to edit a book as it will to write one.
I love the idea of 3 truths and a lie :)
1) I worked as an archaeologist for 4 years.
2) I have lived in 26 residences in (almost) 30 years
3) I don't own a smart-phone of any type
4) I have an English degree
Heart of Kylassame ~*~ Blurb
Nyssa has taken her place as Queen of the realm, with her secret love, Sebast, now openly at her side. She rules with a fair hand, striving for justice and prosperity for all of her people.
Rowan and Rhea travel the realm, spreading peace and healing wherever they go. In Kylassame, they have formed a strong bond with friends and spread deep roots in the community.
The people of Kaldalangra are joyful, and life in their world is better than ever before.
But a string of tragedies has the ability to bring Rhea to her knees, and with her, the entire realm. While Rowan struggles to recover the village of Kylassame from a devastating crime, Rhea’s faith in her own strength weakens, with dire consequences.
Re-enter the world of Kaldalangra, and join the adventure as Rhea and Rowan endeavor to continue upon their chosen destiny.
Purchase at Amazon
The Lady of Steinbrekka ~*~ Blurb
With the help of her new companions, Rhea discovers the courage to defy the tyrant King Verikhan and his heir, the cleverness to deceive the court, and the power within herself to transform this world of darkness into one of beauty and hope.
Will Rhea triumph over those who seek her destruction, or will she be forever lost in the darkness known as Kaldalangra?
Join the adventure as Rhea seeks to return her destiny to her own hands.
Purchase at Amazon
Author Bio ~*~
When not writing or reading, Kristi can be found working on various crochet projects, gardening, tinkering with her house, and wasting far too much time on Pinterest.
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I'm going to say the lie is the English Degree #4.
ReplyDeletemestith at gmail dot com