As I so expertly teased in yesterday’s post, today is my turn for Kathi Schwengel’s First of Her Kind blog tour. On a totally related note, Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Source: http://funguerilla.com/rainbow-roses-all-colors-in-one-rose/

Ooooooh shiny. Right. Moving on.

So I have the pleasure of presenting to you today an author interview with Kathi, talking about her new self-published novel First of Her Kind. You probably want to know what the heck it is. Hang on …

Everyone, it seems, wants to dictate what Ciara does with her life: Serve the Goddess, destroy the Goddess, do as you promised your aunt. All Ciara wants is to keep the two magics she possesses from ripping her apart. And that won’t be easy.

Not only are they in complete opposition to each other, blood ties pull her in divergent directions as well. And then there’s Bolin, the man sworn to protect her. There’s no denying the growing attraction between them, but is it Ciara he wants? Or her power?

None of which will matter if Ciara can’t overcome her fear and learn to use her gifts. No one knows the depths of the ancient power she possesses, or what will happen if it manages to escape her control. Will she lose herself entirely? Or be forever trapped between darkness & light?

I’ve only read the first couple of chapters from the Amazon.com sneak preview thingy, but I definitely enjoy what I read. Thus, without further ado, I present to you my Unbelievably Awesome Author Interview with Miss Kathi Schwengel:

What up, KLS. We shall begin, as most things do, at the beginning. How did you come up with the idea for First of Her Kind?

 It all started with the line: “There was nothing for it, in another turn of the glass Meriol would be dead.” I had nothing else to go on. I took that line and ran with it. Characters introduced themselves, and away we went.

Considering the line produced an entire book, you must have run far indeed. Would you consider yourself a casual sprinter, or more a marathon runner? No, that’s a silly question. Let’s stay on topic, shall we? Honestly. So let’s talk about your protagonist, the delightfully fiery and strong-willed Ciara. Did you base her off of anyone in particular?

No one in particular. She’s probably a blend of a lot of women.

Fair enough. Most women are. Well, no, actually, women aren’t usually a blend of other women … not unless they’re the bride of Frakenstein!!! Is Ciara the bride of Frankenstein? No response? Highly suspicious. Moving on. What was your favourite scene to write?

Honestly, the last scene where Haracht (the torturer) and Bolin are together. I can’t say too much about it, don’t want to give any spoilers, but there were a lot of little elements that all came together in that one.

Hmm … the torturer and the strong, silent protector, together at last? Talk about an unconventional love story. Although now it occurs to me that you simply meant they were together in the same location, not together emotionally. Sigh. All right. So, if you could visit one location in your novel, which would you choose?

 I would visit Donovan’s fortress. It is a fascinating place, built long before he took it over. 

Ooooh, a fortress. Is that like a castle? Castles are awesome. Except they’re often haunted, so watch out for wee ghosties. Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. How did you find the self-publishing process? Any horror stories? Any lessons learned?

For me, the process wasn’t as bad as I’d heard it could be. I think part of that has to do with me being a control freak and loving having my fingers in every bit of it. That’s not for everyone, so I know for some authors, it’s very scary. Formatting for Kindle. *shudder* That would be the worst part. MS Word is a great program, but it apparently likes to hide little gremlins everywhere that only come out when you hit that ‘publish’ button. Then it’s back to trying to eradicate the little buggers and resubmitting. Lesson learned? Have a very clean file, then clean it again, then proofread it line by line in excruciating detail on a hard copy, then clean it again. The one thing I would do different next time (which will likely be for book two) is to offer some ARCs for review before the release. 

That sounds like a painful and bloody process, especially with the little bugger eradication. But hey, it’s published now! All the trials and turmoil were worth it in the end. And now that it’s published, you’re probably clavicle-deep in marketing. How has the book marketing gone thus far? What are you marketing plans for the future?

Marketing is a crazy beast that demands feeding every day. Lots of Blog stops, lots of tweets and FB postings to remind people the book is out there — without beating them over the head with it. It really does take a chunk of time that, unfortunately, takes away from writing time.

Yeah, beating potential customers over the head probably isn’t the best way to drum up business. Especially since head injuries and prolonged periods of reading don’t usually work well together. Well, best of luck with the marketing! And speaking of … not marketing … it’s Valentine’s Day! If you could go on a date with one character from your novel, who would you choose, and why?

 Definitely Bolin. Hands down. Okay, so he can come off a bit cold, a bit of an arrogant ass at times, but he’s a hotty. And he has an awesome horse. There is nothing in this world like a good looking man who knows how to sit an equally good looking horse. A Valentine’s Day ride with him would be awesome. *sigh*

So you must have a crush on that guy from the Old Spice commercial. No response again??? Your silence is telling, madam.

That concludes the author interview portion of today’s post. Give Kathi’s blog a look-see, or check out her website, where there are links to preview/purchase First of Her Kind.

Thanks for stopping by, Kathi!!!

Unrelated image of the day:

Courtesy of my friend Rhiannon, here is super cool image of her cat, Sirius. And yes, I am aware that Sirius the cat was named after Sirius Black, the dog animagus.

Is he a fluffy cat? Is he a very small tiger? We’ll never know!!!!!!!

Unrelated note of the day:

I’m officially off on my vacation starting tomorrow. So adios, farewell, and see y’all in ten days!