Monday, November 06, 2006

Make-Believe Mondays With Kim Amburn

Today on Make-believe Mondays I'm pleased to introduce my friend from RWAonline, Kim Amburn. Kim sold her first book to Triskelion this year and we're all very excited for her. (Have you noticed how many of my author friends have come from this writing chapter?)

Kim, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Kim: A divorced housewife desperate for money takes a job with a private investigator uncovering suburban secrets and stumbles across a dead body, a missing socialite and the love of her life.

Debra: It sounds like an intriguing story!

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Kim: Mainly by reading all different types of genres. I not only try to read all the subgenres of romance, I read outside romance as well - mystery, horror, YA. My love of reading is why I became a writer and it helps stimulate my imagination.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Kim: Absolutely. About seventy-five pages in, the characters start to take over. I've tried to plot extensively before I start the book but have found that the characters tend to come up with better scenarios themselves so I've learned to let them take over and my manuscripts are much better for it.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Kim: Funny you should ask. Dreams, which will be released by Triskelion Publishing in April of next year, arose from a dream, or rather a nightmare I had. The final book didn't resemble the dream, but the basic plot stemmed from the image I awoke with in the middle of the night.

Debra: Fascinating! I can't wait to read it.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Kim: Growing up, I read just about anything I could get my hands on, but, even then, I loved a book with a mystery. I still have several Trixie Belden's and Nancy Drew's which I plan to pass on to my daughter.

Debra: What a treasure, to be able to pass that joy along to your daughter.

Kim, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Visit Kim at http://kimamburn.blogspot.com/ and watch for her book in April!

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