An interview with author, Kim Culpepper!
Where
are you from?
I was born and raised
in Columbus , Mississippi
What
inspired you to write your first book?
Twilight actually
inspired me to write my first book. I had never read the Twilight series before
and when the first movie came out I immediately thought it was something that
it wasn’t. I thought, ‘werewolves and vampires surrounding a love story ought
to be the kind of movie that a horror fan like me would enjoy’. Boy was I ever
wrong. Please don’t think I’m insulting the series but, it was not what I was
expecting so I wrote what I expected. I normally stick to writing straight up
horror because I don’t like the mushy stuff but, after starting The Blood
Talisman I found that I quite enjoy adding some mush.
Do
you write full-time or part-time? How do you balance your writing life with
your family/work life?
Very Carefully. Balance
is very difficult to find when you work full time, have 2 small kids, and a
disabled parent to take care of. I started writing this novel while I was also
attending college but my writing suffered so I dropped college to focus my very
sparse personal time on writing.
How
did you come up with the title?
I wanted something that
pulled the story together as a whole. My main characters find that the blood
talisman is something that can be coveted or something that could also be
devastating. It really will lead the reader on a journey to figure out what its
purpose is and what good things it can do and what bad things can come from it.
It really is the center of this great conflict that will continue through to
the next book in this series.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
If I had to pick just
one thing it would be that people change constantly. They change when bad
things happen. They change when good things happen. One person’s personality
may stay the same but their morals and their convictions can change sometimes
without the person even realizing that it is happening.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I think all writers
will agree that their stories no matter how small or how grand are based on
some aspect of their own life that leads them to write what they feel in their
hearts need to be written. Personally I went through a lot of changes in life
when I was in my early twenties that lead me to put those aspects into this
novel. I used to be a very angry person and good things happened in my life to
change that about me and it ended up making me a better person.
What books have most influenced your life?
I know this is cliché’
for horror but Stephen King has influenced me since I was 12. My first horror
novel was Pet Cemetery
What book are you reading now?
I just finished On the
Lips of Children by Mark Matthews. Excellent story that I read in one day cause
I couldn’t put it down. I am looking forward to reading Mr. Mercedes by the
great Stephen King!
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I have met quiet a few
indie authors online through this little service called Twitter. Indie authors
are some of the most inspiring people as they have denied all rejections and
all sense of traditionalism to go their own way and I think that speaks volume
as to who they are as a person and who they are as writers. Tammy Farrell has written
a book that I am currently fighting for time to read. Her novel Darkness of
Light seems to be a very interesting read and she is an awesome critique
partner that helped me with The Blood Talisman. Beyond her a few new authors
I’ve read and love are Mark Matthews, Julie Hutchings, and Mina Vaughn.
What are your current projects?
I am constantly writing
short stories so I am working on a compilation of those as well as a haunted
house type story that I am really excited about.
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
The first person that
comes to mind is someone I call my book twin. Her real name is Camilla. We met
through Twitter and she has been super supportive of me since we first talked
to each other. I also have become involved in a local writers group and have
found the people there to be really supportive. It’s always refreshing to meet
new people in a town you have lived in your entire life, especially when they
are as supportive as my local writers group.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest
book?
I don’t think I would
actually. I worked with a really fantastic editor and we made a lot of changes
during the editing phase that made the story flow better.
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Sure! Here are the
first few paragraphs from the ghost story I mentioned earlier. Its working
title is Hardy House.
If
you can imagine the absolute best thing in the world being snatched away in an
instant, leaving you to wail and scream helplessly, then that is the story of
my life. I always imagined life to be perfect. Living in a small town gave me
that feeling of comfort. Nothing ever goes wrong in a small town and the gossip
that flows through the local beauty shop is always of the teens that are raised
to finish school and move away, only to return later with 2 kids and a husband
that happily mows the yard 3 times a week.
That was my dream since birth
except that’s not how it happened for me. I was different. I saw ghosts and
talked to them like they were my only friends on earth. With everyone knowing
of my so-called disability, they pretty much were my only friends on earth.
When I got pregnant at 16 the
people that whispered around corners became louder and I became more withdrawn
from the tiny society that I longed to be a part of in a more peaceful way. I
started blocking them out and blocking out the world had consequences.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Staying fluent in the
story. I have to stop and start again because of time restraints so much that
it takes several readings once I am finished writing to get the story just
right. I get rather frustrated with myself when I’m re-reading. I’m constantly
wondering how that part got there and where it should be. It’s like putting
together a puzzle.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their
work?
As I mentioned earlier,
Stephen King. My favorite novel by him is The Dark Half. I have read the paperback
version so much that I’ve considered replacing the spine with duct tape. Mr.
King just takes you through a story and you don’t even realize it’s the end
when you reach that last page because you can’t see an ending. His characters
are so real that they live on in your mind and your heart forever.
Who designed the covers?
My editor Stephanie
Dagg. She’s awesome. She owns a farm in France
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Putting my feelings on
actual paper for other people to read. I would wince if someone asked me to
just read an excerpt from something I’ve written or give them a few lines or
anything. Other people had confidence in my writing but I couldn’t find
confidence in myself. Sometimes those thoughts creep back into my head but I
will look back at comments, or places I’ve been accepted for publication and
sometimes even the nicer rejection letters to gain that confidence back in
myself to say, ‘Somebody likes it. Why can’t I like it?’
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned that I am a
very determined person and once I commit to something, I am headstrong in
pursuing it through to the end. I used to question that about myself because
for a long time I would start things and then never finish them. It wasn’t
until I went through a lot of personal changes that I became strong enough to
be confident in my writing.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Do lots of research and
I mean lots! Make new friends, research what it takes to self-publish, attend
conferences, and just do whatever it takes to get published. You may not get an
agent with your first book, keep trying. I am. If I can do it then you can too.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I would say to go into
this story with an open mind and expect the unexpected. This first book is the
beginning of a series and not every character will make it through to the final
book. Stay tuned after this one to see where it goes next because people change
and not always for the better.
What do you think about e-publishing versus traditional publishing?
I think it is all
personal preference. Some people like to have a book in their hands and turn
paper pages whereas others live in the digital world and all they rely on are
virtual pages. I am fine with reading either, though an e-reader is more easily
accessible when on the go. As far as being a writer goes, I’m willing to follow
either avenue as long as it takes me where I want to be by the time I retire.
Do
you have an agent or publisher? How did you go about finding one?
Not yet, but I will
have one. I just know it!
If
you could live anywhere, where would it be?
In England. I have
always thought London to be so beautiful and English people are so nice. I also
swoon over their accents.
If
you could have any super power, what would it be?
Mind control. Not quite
sure if I would use it for world domination or not. *winks*
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