Today
I’m sitting down to chat with one of my critique partners, the awesome Kim O’Brien,
about her debut YA novel, BONE DEEP. (Full disclosure, Kim is not only a
friend, she is also a skilled equestrian and amazing cook and my recent partner
in crime on the ABC morning news as we did our first live TV interview (thanks
Tom Abrahams!) to promote the MoCo Book Fair a couple months ago) Kim’s fans know her from her numerous
inspirational romances or maybe even her board book series on horses, but with
BONE DEEP, she is shifting genres to YA and she’s off to a great start with
this contemporary mystery/romance, out today from Spencer Hill Contemporary!
Joy: Tell us a little bit about BONE
DEEP.
Kim: Thanks Joy for having me on your
site and congratulations on the release of your new book FINDING PARIS. I loved
it!!!
As far
as BONE DEEP goes… well, it is a mystery and, at its heart, a love story. It’s
about a girl -- Paige Patterson -- who travels to Arizona to spend the summer
with her archaeologist father. While there, she is reunited with her childhood
best friend, Emily and soon finds herself falling for the project manager’s
son, Jalen. But the summer takes a terrible turn when Emily vanishes. As the
police struggle for answers, Paige sets out to find the truth. The search takes
her from the Cliffside ruins of prehistoric Native Americans to the Navajo
Nation to the horrifying possibility the answer is much closer to home. Her
father has no alibi for the night Emily disappeared, and Jalen has some secrets
of his own. As Paige digs deeper into Emily’s disappearance she realizes that
uncovering the truth may cost her everything – even her life.
Joy: Why the Southwest? Why
archaeology and Native American legend?
Kim: This above photo is Montezuma’s
Castle in Camp Verde, Arizona. My family and I visited there a few years ago
and these ruins became the inspiration for BONE DEEP. It’s hard to tell from
this picture, but the castle is actually about 90 feet off the ground and set
into a sheer limestone cliff. Imagine having to navigate a series of ladders
and make that climb multiple times every day! But that’s what the Sinagua
Indians did. These prehistoric Native Americans lived in these ruins for about
400 years and then overnight they mysteriously vanished. To this day no one
knows why. I became fascinated by the ruins and the idea of people mysteriously
disappearing. The more I learned about Native American mythology and legend,
the more I fell in love with the culture. Even now, looking at this photo of
the ruins, I wonder what secrets they are holding…
Joy: What are three things we might
be surprised to learn about you?
Kim:
1. I
have two different colored eyes
2. I’ve
written everything from non-fiction children’s books to Inspirational romance
to young adult mysteries.
3. I
love watching college football – Gig ‘em Aggies! Sic ’em Bears!
Joy: Who are some of the authors who
have inspired you?
Kim: Jodi Piccoult, Stephen King, Anna
Sewell (Black Beauty), Carolyn Keene (a pseudonym for the ghost writers of the
original Nancy Drew series)
Joy: Advice for aspiring
writers?
Kim:
1.
Read constantly. There’s a saying that goes something like not all readers are
great writers, but all writers are great readers. Not only is reading really,
really enjoyable, but also it helps wire your brain for rhythm and cadence.
2.
Practice your craft every day. Make writing a daily habit, even if you only
have a short time. Pick a time and stick to it.
3. Get
feedback from someone you trust (and/or join a critique group). Having your
work read aloud by other people is extremely helpful.
Joy: What's coming next for Kim
O'Brien?
Kim: I’m working on a thriller
called, “The Darkest Place.” It’s about a girl who gets stalked. Hopefully
reading it will make everyone check their locks before they go to bed. Only
kidding. More seriously, as I researched stalking I was amazed how common it
is, and how hard it is to get rid of a stalker once he or she locks onto you.
Joy: Okay, time for a quick Lightning
Round:
Wine or whiskey?
Wine
Chocolate or twizzlers?
Chocolate
Guilty pleasure TV?
The
Bachelor/Bachelorette
Song you can't get out of your head?
Billy
Joel’s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood.”
Joy: Now you
all need to go out and get a copy of BONE DEEP!
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