Ask the Author: K.S. Jones
Answered Questions (7)
K.S. Jones
SO MANY! I am reading lots of historical fiction lately and I am almost ready to start reading a book by Lesley Poling-Kempes titled BONE HORSES.
K.S. Jones
I am an inspirable person! Seriously. I can overhear a conversation in a coffee shop and find a word or phrase which inspires a story. I can watch my dogs playing with a herd of deer and be inspired. I can watch an old television show and glean inspiration. To prove the point, one morning I sat thinking about advice I'd recently received from writer W. Michael Gear in which he suggested I should write a story beginning with death or dying. As I was mulling over the thought, a rerun of GOLDEN GIRLS was playing. I heard Bea Arthur interrupt Estelle Getty in a story by saying, "Ma, you weren't even alive in 1855!" (Or whatever year she mentioned.) That was all I needed! I hurried to my computer and began typing. The short story turned into my first big writing award: Deadlines -- winner of the 2014 SOUTHERN WRITERS Short Story Contest. http://www.southernwritersmagazine.co...
K.S. Jones
The three P's ... Practice. Persistence. Patience.
K.S. Jones
I've spent the better part of my life trying to "be a writer." Fact is, anyone who writes is a writer. Tagging it with the word successful is a whole other game! I have always been a writer, well, since about age eight, anyway. But justifying that title was a different story. Now that my first book has been published, I can truly say, the best thing about being a writer is being able to actually say, "I'm a writer!" and have it be true.
K.S. Jones
Early mornings are my most creative times. That's when I hear the voices of my characters, and if I stop and listen closely enough, I'll hear their secrets being whispered, too. But as the day progresses, my mind becomes muddled and mental hesitations deepen. That's when writer's block hits. It is akin to being stuck in a mudhole. When that happens, I take a walk with my dogs, or I clean my house, or I cook! Those things are a breath of fresh air to me. By morning, writer's block is long gone.
K.S. Jones
I have recently finished writing a middle-grade fantasy set in the Southwest, tentatively titled The Talisman. It is currently under publisher's review. I am also putting the finishing touches on another middle-grade fantasy which I hope to start marketing soon. After that comes the writing of a New Adult novel set in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas.
K.S. Jones
Shadow of the Hawk, although historical fiction, is more than just a story to me. The place known as Coaldale is nothing but a blip on an Arkansas map these days. It no is longer an actual 'town', but it is still a tiny community made up of a few homes, a church, and a cemetery. It is where my mother was born. I grew up listening to her childhood stories which spurred my imagination and this tale. Years of research, including the use of family history, taught me about life in this Oklahoma/Arkansas border town during the Great Depression. I am fortunate to also have a few personal letters from townspeople who lived in the vicinity during the 1930s, each sharing their memories with me. So, although Shadow of the Hawk is purely fictional in every respect, I want Coaldale to live again--for at least one book. Fifteen years of research makes this novel as authentic and as accurate as you’ll find anywhere.
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