AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Kathy Harris

I'm super excited to host my fellow debut author this month, Kathy Harris! Kathy's first novel, The Road to Mercy, released this month along with mine from Abingdon Press. It's been great fun sharing this journey with Kathy and I'm so excited to introduce you to her today!

Krista: Who is your favorite fellow debut author this month.... er... I mean... If you could only read one author's books for the rest of your life (outside of God obviously....) what author would it be?

Kathy: Hmmm . . . Let me see. Hold on, I know the answer . . . give me a minute . . . I remember now! It’s Krista Phillips!!! And, by the way, I’m very, very excited about sharing a debut month and party with her. J

Krista: Oh, you're just trying to butter me up for something! But yes, I'm excited to share our debut month together too! FUN! 

I SUPER admire your guts to touch on a very hard and controversial issue in The Road to Mercy... abortion. Were you ever nervous about writing about such a touchy subject?

Kathy: Funny enough, I wasn’t. The story just seemed to flow. I didn’t set out to write a book about abortion. I set out to write a book about generational blessings and the value of one human life. I was actually surprised when the plot took the turn it did.

I will share, however, that I was afraid of writing about pregnancy/abortion from a medical standpoint, because I’ve never been pregnant. I had to do a lot of research. God also blessed me with a beta reader who could substantiate a lot of what I had written.

Krista: I totally get the extra research party, and yeah for beta readers!!

In the spirit of your book title... what is your DREAM car, make/mode and color? (get it... road... car... *ahem*)

Kathy: Assuming “dream car” means that money and gas mileage are no object, I would chose a Hummer. The big one. In black.  :-)

Krista: OH MY GOODNESS! My dream car has always been a "big ol' black truck." Seriously. How funny is that!?! (although right now, a nice swanky minivan would do nicely!) 

So, what was one thing you learned about yourself or about writing in general while writing The Road to Mercy?

Kathy: I learned that it’s possible to write a book even if you have only small segments of time each day to devote to it. I completed most of The Road to Mercy writing one scene a day.

Krista: Amen to that!!! One scene a day, I need to start doing that!

How long did it take you from first that first spark of "I want to be a serious, published author" to "WOOHOO I'm signing my contract!"? Did it take longer than you thought it would... or was it shorter than you imagined?

Kathy: Much longer than I expected! I finished my first manuscript in 2004. It took about four years to complete. I finished my second manuscript (The Road to Mercy) in 2010 and signed a contract with Abingdon in September 2011. So . . . my debut book was about ten years in the making. In retrospect, the time passed quickly, because I’ve enjoyed studying the craft and hanging out with and learning from other writers. 

KRISTA’S POP PLOT BRAINSTORMING QUIZ:

Rules: I give you three things and a genre. You think of a quick story plot in that genre that features each of the three things integral in the plot, and give it to us in back-cover-copy synopsis form. *rubs hands together*

And because by day you work in the music industry, I thought we'd have a little music theme today!

Here we go....

1. An Justin Beiber bobble-head doll that has a little suction at the bottom so it sits on the dash of your car...
2. A stringless, broken violin
3. An old towel that someone kept as a souvenir from a Guns N' Roses concert that the lead singer wiped his sweat on.

Genre: Historical... oh, fine I won't be that mean. CONTEMPORARY Amish fiction. *grin*

GO!

Kathy: Ooooo. You’re bad, Krista. Where do you come up with these things? Okay . . . here’s my story (and I’m sticking to it). By the way, let’s call it Light-hearted Contemporary Amish Suspense:

When Sari Giles awoke, she was lying on top of a pile of trash in the trunk of a fast-moving car. In the strangled light that filtered through the crack above the backseat, she recognized a Justin Beiber bobble-head doll, a stringless, broken violin, and a stained Guns N’ Roses towel—all riff-raff from her brother William’s “fresh produce and contemporary collectibles market.”

“What are we going to do with them now?” Sari heard William’s ex-girlfriend shouting from the front of the car.

“Them?”

Before Sari could fully ponder the question, the vehicle veered off the road, rolling her backwards into something solid behind her. She turned to face the rear of the car and gasped as she looked into the wide-open eyes of her brother, William, staring back at her.

Spoiler Alert: He’s not dead… just kidnapped along with her :-)

Krista: VERY good!!!!

Thanks SO SO SO much for joining us in the Alley today, Kathy!!  

Discussion: Kathy's book centers around a recording artist in the music industry. What's your favorite music artist and why? Does music ever inspire your fiction? 

***************************GIVEAWAY*****************************

Kathy has agreed to giveaway TWO fabulous prizes to one lucky commenter today!

A copy of her novel, The Road to Mercy

and

A Kayrn Williams' ONLY YOU CD  

Comments made through Sunday, September 16th at 11:59 PM are eligible to win. US only. Winner will be announced next Saturday in the weekend edition.

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Kathy Harris is an author by way of a divine detour into the Nashville entertainment business. She graduated with a B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University and has spent the past two decades employed as a marketing director in the Nashville music industry. Abingdon Press released her fiction debut titled The Road to Mercy, in September 2012. Kathy regularly interviews literary and music guests on her blog at www.DivineDetour.com.