Our intrepid Interviewee is Kat Brooks today.
Tell us about your latest project.
My two newest books were released in the same week back in August. I definitely didn’t plan it that way! One is “Mr. Pish’s Woodland Adventure,” which follows the adventurous Jack Russell Terrier – Mr. Pish – on an expedition through the forest. It’s all full-color photography and information presented in a fun way to get kids (and adults) interested in exploring what’s outside their doors. It’s the third book in my series promoting Outdoor Learning and Literacy. My other book is “Night Undone,” a character-driven suspense drama featuring the recurring anti-terrorist Special Agent Kathrin Night. It’s the second book in the “Cover Me” series which features Agent Night after her career-ending injury. She now has to deal with forced retirement, a real relationship, and figuring out how to get back into the industry she was born to be in – covert ops.
Writing books for children and writing about anti-terrorist Special Agents are obviously two very different genre’s of book, do you enjoy writing such differing subject matters or find it difficult to balance the two?
I started out writing action-adventure thrillers. The research and writing mindset is intense. I welcome the lightness of the children’s books, and the opportunity to showcase my photography. It’s a gentle, happy creative process, which is a great break from the dark world of an incredibly serious single-sighted Special Agent.
Do you have any quirks to how you write?
I write in marathons. I get in a mindset and I go. Nothing else gets done when I’m doing that.
Your writing seems like it can be quite sporadic, do you find it difficult writing to deadlines or just don’t set yourself any?
I give myself ridiculous deadlines. I’m trying to turn out at least 2 published books a year. The only reason I stop writing is to do the marketing after a book is released. I’m almost done with 1 other children’s book, and I was hoping to finish my action-adventure thriller as well – which would have given me 4 this year. Frankly I’m disappointed with myself because I probably won’t get all 4 in print this year.
Are there any of your characters you particularly relate to, if there is, who and why?
Oddly enough, no, I don’t really relate to any of my published characters. They’ve morphed into something more than me. I share some of their same basic beliefs, but the similarities end there. I’ve been working on a vampire novel on and off for about 14 years now (ugh, I didn’t realize it was that long until right now) – and honestly – I relate to that main character more than any of my others. Which is kind of a frightening thought.
What’s your perfect writing day like?
A perfect writing day would go like this: Wake up – instantly, the writing in my head begins. It’s actually more like it never stopped – I was just asleep while it was going on without my knowledge. Have coffee – write on the laptop. Don’t stop writing until I walk the dog (Mr. Pish), during which time I’m writing in my head. Back to the laptop…write until I need to stretch, only stopping momentarily here and there to take Mr. Pish out and get a glass of water or tea. Make and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner while writing in my head. Write on the laptop until I’m exhausted, go to bed, write in my head while I’m falling asleep. Wake up in the middle of the night writing in my head. This would all be COMPLETELY perfect if there was a staff available to do the cooking and cleaning. I’d still want to walk Mr. Pish.
What are you planning on doing next/What else are you up to?
I’m working on the sequels to “Postcards from Mr. Pish,” “Mr. Pish’s Woodland Adventure,” “Lust for Danger,” and “Night Undone.” I’ve got an anthology that I wrote with Author Newton Love that we’re marketing to publishers, and I’ve got that vampire novel started, along with a couple of other projects on the backburner. There are always at least 4 books being written in my head at any one time. Good thing I’m ADHD.
You say you’ve written with another author, did you work on the same story/stories together or just put together a collection of stories you’d written separately?
It’s a collection of stories, poetry and flash fiction that we’d written separately. We’re currently shopping it around to e-book publishers.
Was working with another author a good experience and one you would like to repeat?
Newt is a great guy to work with, and he’s a great author, so it was a wonderful experience. I’d do it again in a heartbeat…with Newt. I’ve had some bad experiences with other writers – people blatantly plaigiarizing me – so there’s a big trust hurdle that needs to be overcome before I could work on a project with someone else. I’m lucky to know Newt, and I’d say to other writers if you have someone talented and trustworthy like Newt who you can bounce ideas off of and collaborate with – hold onto that person and make sure you let them know how much you appreciate them!
If you’d like to find out more about Kat, you can visit her website or follow her on facebook and twitter, likewise for more info on Mr. Pish, you can visit his website or follow him on facebook or twitter.
For more info on the books you can visit the Amazon author page here.
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