Meet Kiss Carson, Author of Shadows of Angels, Calypso’s Curse…and More!

1. Your novels, In the Shadows of Angels, Calypso’s Curse, Come the Blue Moon and Fairview are published with Solstice. How did you discover Solstice Publishing?

Well…I was surfing the net one day looking to see what publishers were out there. I wasn’t particularly looking for publication at the time. I had a completed manuscript but I thought it needed a little more tweaking before I let it go. I clicked on a link (Hearts on Fire) and checked a few things out. What really caught my eye was the professionalism the company portrayed, and one single cover. I can’t remember which it was but I liked it so much that I sent off my story.

2. Where does your inspiration come from?

I’m not entirely sure. I’m asked this question a lot and it’s so hard to answer. Maybe there’s a scene I just have to get out and it turns into a story, or there might be a name that intrigues me so I create the character to go with the name and then the story to go with the character. One story I wrote because of my love of a single word…NEBULOUS…Ahhh I love that word

3. Does your background (in terms of job, family, geographic location, etc.) play into your writing? What kind of research went into your stories?

I live a very boring life and go to a very boring job every day. Writing is my escapism. I do quite a bit of research for my stories although the reader wouldn’t know. One night I went to the darkest street in our neighborhood, stopped the car and turned off the lights just to experience darkness. I needed to see what, exactly, showed up in the dark. The answer is not a lot. I scared myself. I’ve walked through fog; read books that really shouldn’t be looked at; stared at people until I bordered on stalking; and watched lots of movies. The internet is a wonderful thing. Google. Lots and lots of googling…

4. Describe the genres in which you write.

I write romance but not the straight genre. I write sub-genres: paranormal romance, fantasy romance, gothic romance, thriller romance and my all-time favorite time-travel romance

5. What is your mind set or process as you sit down to write? Do you have a playlist going? Do you need complete silence? Are you a 6 am writer or an 11 pm writer?

Generally I have set writing times each week which has helped my productivity. I find I don’t sit around waiting for the muse to strike as he (my muse) has been buzzing in my head all day. I have a playlist which consists of a lot of power ballads, revenge songs, and woe is me songs. A song for every occasion. I write mainly at night, although of late I have trained myself to write during the day. Although I still do my most productive writing at night. I try not to do a lot of rewriting while I’m writing the first draft, and it can take up to ten rewrites before I’m happy with the plot.

6. How do you balance writing with work and/or personal life?

Well, I work part time, and I’m also studying a degree in Creative Writing. I also have three children and a house that I’m really not very good at running. I’m the worst housewife alive! Usually, the days I work I’m too tired to write but I might study for an hour and a half while my husband watches sport. I knew sport was good for something. The days I don’t work, I do three hours of study, then go out and do the shopping/clean the bathrooms/have coffee with friends/etc. When I come home (about lunchtime) I’m usually ready to write. It doesn’t happen quite so smoothly all the time but I try. Coffee helps…

7. Do you have any other projects you’re working on?

Show me a writer who isn’t working on multiple projects and I’ll shake their hand. A few days ago I signed a contract with Solstice Publishing for my novella Silent Memory. I’m working on a full length novel, book one of a series which will be sequels to my novel In the Shadows of Angels. The main characters are Ella and Luke’s five grandsons, Dominic, Rory, Christopher, Oscar and Avery. The heroines are all sucked into the infamous red book where they travel through time and enjoy adventures beyond their wildest dreams. Dominic is a pirate, and his heroine is a little too “magical” for his liking. I introduce a whole new set of characters who are just as lovable as those in In the Shadows of Angels. I’m also working on another novella, Demon Heart. The hero is a character in a video game who can morph into an angel demon. The heroine is a cheeky human who is chosen to help him save his home. She spends most of the book running around in thigh high boots looking like a “bondage queen”.

8. Any words of advice for aspiring writers?

I guess every writer says this, but it’s true. Don’t give up. Write, write and rewrite. Surround yourself with writers and people who support you. Sometimes you will feel like quitting, and 9 times out of 10 you will. But you are a writer, and the story festering inside will burst out eventually. Believe me. If you write it, they will come J

9. Social media: Tell us where readers can find you.

Twitter: @kisscarson

Facebook: Kiss Carson

Wattpad: kisscarson – read my book Angel Magic for free. I’m up to chapter 6

10. Book links: Tell us where to find your books!

http://solsticepublishing.com/search.php?search_query=kiss+carson&x=0&y=0

http://www.wattpad.com/story/10122108-angel-magic

…and lots of other online bookstores!