Karly Kirkpatrick Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

I would say right after breakfast (between like 9:30 AM – Noon).  That’s if I’m not at the day job.  Then I would have to say weekends or lunch hours, as that’s the only time I have. I am a high school teacher, so I do benefit from a few good writing breaks (Winter, Spring, Summer).  But I’m always wishing I had more time!

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

I start all of my projects in a black Moleskin notebook.  I list ideas, names, plots, descriptions, look

up any research I might need before I get started with the writing.  It helps keep me focused.  I actually wrote my first novel in one of those notebooks before putting it in the computer.  That’s probably why it took so long to write!

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Life, imagination.  I work with teenagers all day and write YA fiction, so I try to think about how they would handle unusual situations.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

I do.  I’ll try to shoot for a round number, usually 1,000 or 2,000 words in a sitting.  I’ve found I can do 1,000 words in about 45 minutes if it’s really flowing.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I am self-published.  I used a cover artist named Carl Graves to design my cover.  He did a fantastic job and has done all the covers for epub author Joe Konrath.  That’s where I got his name.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I’ve always loved books and stories and one day I thought to myself that I should put my own stories down on paper. I would love to do it as a full time job.  Before I epubbed, it didn’t seem like that would really be an option, but depending on how things go in the next year or two, that might be a possibility someday.  The idea of entertaining people for a living is so cool.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I do.  We are now, in fact, a 2 Kindle household.  I love it!  It’s actually sitting next to me right now!

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

Right this second I’m reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare and an awesome manuscript that a good friend of mine is going to release soon.  It’s awesome!

Some of my fave authors are JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins, AS King, Agatha Christie, and Roald Dahl.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

Hmm.  Book trailers.  I have seen a few in my time, but they didn’t really do anything for me.  I’d rather just look at the cover and the description.  Call me lazy, but I haven’t done any for my book and probably won’t.  

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

I actually got it from a song title.  I was listening to this Finnish band called the Rasmus a lot when I was writing Into the Shadows, and their song, In the Shadows was my inspiration for the title.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

Oh, lots of things!  I’m currently wrapping up work on a YA vampire novel (less sparkle, more blood, but still something for the ladies) titled Bloody Little Secrets, which I hope to have out by May.  I will have sneak peaks on my blog soon.  I’ve got another finished YA contemporary that needs a little polish, but should also make an appearance in 2011.  I’m also planning to write and release the sequel to Into the Shadows in 2011.

As well as the books, I am also very active on my blog.  I’ve been interviewing epub all-stars, giving them a chance to teach us a few things, I have a series of articles called Adventures in Epublishing where I share my path with anyone interested, and I’ve started something called Bookaday, where authors can list there books for free to my readers.

Thanks again for the interview!

http://karlykirkpatrick.blogspot.com/

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