Welcome friends! This is Sinner back with our October Pink Diamond interview!
Our guest today is Ms. M.J. Kane author of the recently released A Heart Not Easily Broken. Minnie and I met Ms. Kane when she responded to a blog post Minnie wrote about a lesson learned and they became fast friends.
In preparation for this interview, we read M.J.'s release A Heart Not Easily Broken and here is our review.
It is with great pleasure, that I introduce you all to Ms. M.J. Kane!!
Welcome!!
Before we begin, tell us about the newest member(s) of your
family. You recently became a “grandma”, isn’t that right?
LOL, well, by doggie standards anyway! If my kids were to pop up
pregnant right now there would be a problem! Our Pit Bull, Ivy, is due to give
birth any day now. Her ‘unplanned’ pregnancy has taken us by surprise, but
we’re looking forward to our new family members!
Please tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to
begin writing.
I started writing in 2009 after my husband suggested I pull a
short story I’d written out, dust it off, and give it another go. Until then,
I’d always been a reader and never thought twice about becoming an author. It’s
taken me four years to learn the art of writing. Tears, yep a lot of them, some
cussing, and determination….but my first novel, A Heart Not Easily Broken, Book One of the Butterfly Memoirs, was published on September 20, 2012!
Here are some reviews from amazon.com:
Punkin8187 says: "This was one of the best books I've read in a while..."
Romanceallday says: "...I liked the cover, it was refreshing to see a romance novel that didn't have two people in the throws (sp) of passion on the cover..."
and S. Williams says: "I enjoyed watching Brian convince Ebony that the difference in their races didn't matter...."
Brava woman!! Congratulations!!
Please share with us what your experience has been in getting A Heart Not Easily Broken published.
My journey to publication has been a very interesting
experience. I’ve blogged about it, but for the most part, every bit has been
fun and an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything! My decision to become an
author has given me the opportunity to meet many talented authors, from New
York Times Bestsellers, Suzanne Brockmann, and Jamie Rush, to amazing Amazon
Bestsellers, Carmen DeSousa and Bernadette Marie, and the bold and brave
Bestselling Authors self-published authors Chicki Brown, Delaney Diamond,
Candace Shaw, Sharon C. Cooper, and so many more. Each experience has taught me
a little bit more about myself and helped me continue to define and develop who
I am as a writer, my writing style, and my writing voice. I am now taking the
knowledge that has been shared with me and sharing it with other authors
through my blog, This Writer’s Life, and the writer’s group I host at my local library.
It’s my way of giving back the same way these amazing women have given to me!
Tell us how you came up with the idea for this story.
A Heart Not Easily Broken came about from watching women around
me deal with life changing experiences (myself included) of various types that
could have had a negative effect on the way they viewed themselves and the
world around them….they could run and hide, give up on life and their dreams,
or they could fight back, push a tragic past behind, and continue to fight to
follow their dreams and become the women they want to be.
Ebony’s story (I’ll
avoid spoilers!) went through several stages of evolution before I found the
perfect way to tell it. I also wanted to put a twist on the typical love story
and delve deep into the hero’s side and not just have him present as eye candy
for the heroine.
Brian goes through his own evolution of character, experiences
a few things he never thought he would, and has to change his outlook on life
as well. Apparently I’ve done a good job because numerous women have told me
that they wanted a Brian of their own when they were done reading! (Thank god
he’s stuck on Ebony or else girlfriend would have some serious competition!)
We know that you are big on plotting and that you use visuals
for inspiration. Tell us your process in this area.
Oh man where to begin?
Yes, I gave pantsing a try, but my
stories were never deep enough to grab my beta readers. They wanted more plot,
more realism, more of presenting my characters on so many different levels that
they became living and breathing individuals instead of just a person on paper.
So, after about two years of fighting it, I gave up and plotted…not just
writing a general outline…
I took a month to develop both of my main characters,
getting to know them from the inside out. That included using visual aids, or
pictures of how (or who) I envisioned my characters to look, sound, and act.
I also pulled images relating to their daily life…home, work, car, etc….those
little things we never think about until we focus on the editing portion of
writing after the initial dialogue and plot have been written. Those little
details are what make your writing stand apart and come alive.
Do you edit as you go along?
No, that was a habit I had in the beginning, but I’ve learned to
stop. I ‘throw up’, LOL, on paper, letting the story that’s been plotted come
alive. I write it out, chapter by chapter, ignoring the misspelled words,
descriptive tags, research of minor details and let the characters voices flow
though me. Once that is done, I go back and clean it up, then I focus on
consistency, making sure everything flows right. It’s a time consuming process
and usually results in about 5-6 stages before I’m ready for my beta readers to
even take a peek at it!!!
How do you handle writer’s block? Do you ever feel like giving
up?
I have only had one
really bad case of writer’s block, and that was after I’d been told my story
wasn’t real enough. I took a solid month off of writing, refusing to think about
my story or the characters and decided writing wasn’t for me. After about two
weeks, the characters came back, invading my dreams (day and night) refusing to
let me give up. I took a writer’s course at my community college, read more
books, looked up information online, and listened to my beta readers and
critique partners, then tried again.
Since then I’ve had to make myself take
time off! I have six stories planned in the Butterfly Memoirs series…the next
five already have their character pictures chosen, bits and pieces of their
story written for later use. If I ever run out of inspiration for my current
couple, one of the future ones never hesitate to step in and wrestle my
creative muse to bend to their will! Once their story has received attention, they
disappear into the back ground and I can revisit my current couple with a fresh
set of eyes. I know…straight jacket is coming isn’t it???? LOL!
Your next story in the series is “Jaded” and will focus on
Yasmine, Ebony’s friend and roommate. What can you tell us about her and her
story?
Oh man, my girl Yasmine! Where to begin?
She and Ebony
are complete opposites! I introduce her near the end so you can see where her
head is at and leave you wondering how she’ll recover after Ebony finds her
happy ever after. Yasmine has a story that will have you looking at her from a
new light. As her diary post says…no one
will ever be able to understand her…or so she thinks. The man for her is
someone she least expects.
Yasmine’s biggest hurdle will be discovering
information that is not only devastating to her, but will also affect the man
she’s involved with in a way that will change him for the rest of his life.
Does she keep it in and stand by his side, or does she tell him and run the
risk of having her heart broken for the third and final time?
Every time I do
another round of edits on this story I find myself crying. Yep, it’s just that
good.
If you could offer up words of wisdom to those embarking on a
writing career, what would you tell them?
Never give up. No matter what others say about your writing,
take the negative, the ‘you can’t do that’s’ and put them to the side. Continue
to learn how to become a better writer, learn the rules of your genre, then bend
them and break them until you create something that is yours. Don’t be afraid
to stand apart. Different is what the readers want. Give it to them!
Lipton-isms!!
If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?
The power to write perfectly without the need for edits!
Good one!! What would friends say is your best trait?
I like to laugh and have others around me laugh. It’s got to be
a very bad situation to keep me from having a smile on my face!
I know that's right!! What’s your favorite place in the world?
A few years ago I would take my kids to this park where we had
to walk about ½ mile to get to this river. They’d play by the water’s edge; I’d
sit on this huge rock that lay half on the river bank and half in the water and
read or just stare at the water and enjoy the sounds of nature.
I miss that
place! We no longer live near it. Once day I will go back!!!
I'm positive you will!! Who do you most admire or what quality do you find most
admirable in people?
Resilience, perseverance, and the ability to overcome obstacles
most people would run from. Those are strong character points that everyone can
learn from. Those are also qualities I strive for my characters to have by the
time their story ends.
Chocolate or vanilla?
CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!
And there you have it folks. Come back tomorrow when Ms. Kane returns with a special guest blog post!
Below are the many ways in which you can get in touch with today's guest!
I enjoyed this interview. It's stimulating and exciting to hear about Ms Kane's writing experience and methods. A Heart Not Easily Broken is sure to appeal to a vast audience of readers. Best wishes. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Catherine, and thanks for dropping by and the comment! I hope you have a chance to check it out sometime, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
DeleteMJ
Thank you for having me over! I'm so glammed up in diamonds that I feel like a million bucks! LOL!!!
ReplyDelete