Enjoy!
KB – What got you started writing romance and erotica?
Kim – I don’t think I ever sat down and decided that was what I wanted to write. It just happened. No matter what genre I tried to write, the story always ended up being about a relationship between the two main characters – so it was definitely the romance part of the equation that came first. As for the erotic side of things, my characters were having sex. I couldn’t see any good reason not to write about that part of their relationship along with everything else.
KB – What was the reaction of your family and friends when they discovered what you were writing?
Kim – All my family know what I write for a living. I’m sure I should have some story about how I tried to keep it a secret for years, and how horrible everyone thought it was when they finally found out. But, to be honest, I’ve never met anyone who has a problem with it.
KB – Do you have a favourite book that you read often?
Kim – I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan, especially of his City Watch stories. I try to go back and read my favourites whenever I get time. I revisit Jane Austen fairly often too, usually on talking book.
KB – Did you always want to be a writer? What prompted you to write your first published book?
Kim – I’ve always made up stories, I’ve been jotting them down since I was nine. Writing for a living was always my dream job, but I knew the chances of making a living out of it was slim, so I tried to focus on gaining some qualifications and making a sensible back up plan first.
Strangely enough, things only actually started to be accepted after I stopped trying to write for publication. A couple of years ago, when I first started to take my writing more seriously, I took a leap of faith and stopped trying to work out what publishers wanted or what readers wanted. I began writing what I really wanted to write and everything clicked into place for me. At that time, it never occurred to me that anyone would want to publish what I chose to write – I’m glad I was wrong!
KB – What is your advice to new writers?
Kim – Something that really helped me was Nanowrimo (www.nanowrimo.com), it took away the pressure to try to write a perfect first draft. Sometimes the only way to stay even vaguely sane is to just get something down on paper and worry about editing it later.
Apart from that – I found setting (and keeping!) word count goals worked for me. 1000 words a day, every day. Three years later, I still keep to that goal and it’s still helping.
KB – What was the most surprising thing about being published?
Kim – I was surprised how easy it was to forget that the most important thing is the actual writing – and how easy it was to lose track of how much I love writing in the process.
It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in trying to promote the books or in worrying about reviews and publication slots and a million other little things. Before you know it, the release of a new book isn’t something to celebrate, it’s just a dozen different items added to your ‘to do’ list. Website update, Yahoo groups, blog… Sometimes you have to remind yourself to just stop worrying about it all and enjoy the fact you get to spend your life doing something you love.
KB – Chainsaw, tire iron, or shot gun?
Kim – As a Terry Pratchett fan, I can’t help picturing the look on Reg Shoe’s face at the idea Zombies should be killed off at all! “The silent majority wants dead rights!” Lol.
KB – In a zombie movie, which character would you be?
Kim – Is there a character that’s so caught up in what they are doing they don’t even notice the zombies are there until it’s too late? That would probably be me!
You can read all about Kim Dare on her blog. Her lastest e-book, Blood Slave, can be purchased at total-e-bound.
-Krista
