Kendall Grey Interview and Special Whale Video
Not too long ago I posted a review of Kendall Grey’s book Inhale
Describe your books. What genre do you prefer them to be classified? Is this your favorite genre to read as well?
The JUST BREATHE trilogy is 51% urban fantasy and 49% romance. The books mix a lot of ideas that don’t seem to go together—whales, dreams, Elementals, fantasy, music, romance—but I think I mesh them in a way that makes sense. *Knocks wood* Urban fantasy and paranormal romance are my two favorite genres to read.
You are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about whales and whale education. Will you ever write a nonfiction piece on the topic?
I’ve thought a lot about writing a nonfiction whale book for kids. I have gobs of pictures I’ve taken over the years that I could use within the pages. I don’t have the time now, but it’s bound to happen eventually.
What is the first book(s) you remember reading? Has that impacted the way you write?
I read Nancy Drew books as a kid, but I was never a big reader. I’m ashamed to admit I’m still not. I don’t know that any particular book or author has influenced my style. I just write the same way I think. The word “raw” comes to mind. 😉
You’ve got characters from all over the world (and beyond) in your books, did you find it difficult to write and stay true to their dialects? (They read quite smoothly.)
Thank you! Yes, it was difficult at times. I did tons of research on Aboriginal Australians to get Yileen’s dialect down, but it’s nowhere near perfect.
I’ve visited Australia several times and have some friends there who helped me with common Aussie sayings and phrases. I had to cut some of the more obscure references because my editor felt most readers wouldn’t understand their meaning. I wanted to portray the characters as authentically as possible, but she’s right. Quirky Aussie humor goes right over our American heads. Ha!
Do you have a personal favorite out of the characters in your book? Who is it and why?
You’re gonna make me choose? If I can only pick one, I’ll have to go with Gavin. He’s got all the qualities I love in a man—tall, tattooed, Australian, rugged but sensitive, a musician. *Sigh* But I adore the other characters too. Zoe for her dedication to the whales, Adriene for being the perfect best friend, Scarlet for being so bad she’s good, Yileen for his wisdom, and Sinnder for his moral ambiguity.
Photograph by Jemma Milanovic used in the cover of “Exhale” to portray Gavin Cassidy
How did you come across the photographs featured on the covers on Inhale and Exhale?
I found the Zoe picture on the INHALE cover on a stock photo site. The “Gavin” photo for EXHALE came from Deviant Art. Both images took months to find. Funny bit of trivia…the Gavin model is Australian and lives in New South Wales where Gavin does.
Did you learn anything from writing your books? What was it?
The biggest lesson I learned was humility. I wrote the first draft of INHALE almost four years ago and knew it would be a best seller. A deluge of cold-as-a-dead-fish form rejections from agents and editors informed me it was actually smellier than the creamy center of an 8-foot high chicken manure pile. Getting shoved out of my ivory tower was painful, humbling, and exactly what I needed. It forced me to seek help from other writers. I would never have gotten published without my writer friends and critique partners.
Being self published, did you find the responsibility and choices involved in cover art and fonts, etc. freeing and empowering, or a burden?
A little bit of both. I love the freedom and control I have. Many traditionally published authors have little or no say in the production of their books. Part of the reason I chose to self-publish was because I had a vision for my trilogy, and I didn’t want anyone messing it up.
The hard part for me is bearing the “What if?” burden. What if the books flop? What if they’re no good? Every author faces these fears, but I think it’s harder on self-publishers because we aren’t endorsed by the Powers That Be in New York. Many people don’t take indies seriously, which makes promotion and marketing difficult.
In your future ventures in the publishing world, what will you do differently? Why?
So far, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of managing the many the aspects of publishing (writing, revising, edits, more revisions, formatting final drafts, organizing reviews, promoting, developing marketing materials, etc.), but now that I’m close to finishing the trilogy, I don’t think the third book in the series will be ready by my projected publication date of July. The good news is, I’m self-publishing. My boss doesn’t mind if I’m a little late. 🙂 I’ll do my best to meet my self-imposed deadlines, but if I don’t make them, I don’t make them. Now that I’ve been through the process, I should be able to manage future books much better.
Outside of your love for whales, what’s one thing you would want your readers and fans to know about you?
There’s nothing special about me. I’m just a person who wrote some books. I have plenty of flaws, fears, and loud feelings. I’m not afraid to share them. What you see is what you get. 🙂
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, AndiKay!
Additional Notes
INHALE, an urban fantasy romance by Kendall Grey, is now available in paperback and e-book for Kindle (MOBI) and Nook (EPUB). INHALE is the first book in the JUST BREATHE trilogy. Kendall is donating all profits from the sale of the trilogy to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face. Watch the video to find out why: http://www.youtube.com/embed/YQfjxacis28
Kendall encourages interested readers to consider purchasing an e-book instead of a paperback. E-books save trees, cost considerably less, and bring in much more money for the whales.
Thank you for supporting INHALE, and most importantly, the whales that need our help.
Check out Inhale’s web page: http://www.justbreathenovel.com/Just_Breathe/The_Books.html
Read my review of Inhale here: https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/inhale-and-be-ready-to-hold-your-breath-a-lot-a-review/
Some of my interview questions have been known to have been inspired by http://riteshkala.wordpress.com/
Michael Goodell, Interview and Book Signing
I met author Michael Goodell, Author of Zenith Rising, on shelfari.com a few years ago. I bought his book, eager to read a something published by someone who I actually got to interact with in a book club. I love getting to know authors along side their work and separate from their work, its fascinating to me, which is why I am a huge fan of reading biographies and memoirs after reading everything the author has written. I enjoy pairing fiction with nonfiction and finding the beautiful little seams that tie the two together. So imagine my excitement when, in addition to booking a signing with me, Michael Goodell agreed to do a blog interview as well!
Describe your book. What genre do you prefer it to be classified?
Zenith Rising is a work of mainstream fiction with a linear narrative function. It is set in a declining industrialized Midwesetern American city, and describes how a handful of characters respond to the city’s decline, including that of the protagonist, a real estate developer who, on the eve of his greatest triumph, is rudely confronted with the poverty in his city, and decides he must attempt to do something to try to save the city.
I prefer to use the term serious contemporary fiction to describe its genre. In other words, I don’t aspire to write literary fiction, because I think most literary fiction today employs tricks, slight of hand and technical flourishes. It is actually more a matter of showing off, or of trying to impress your creative writing teacher or seminar host. The view today is, bizarrely, “If it reads well, it can’t be literature.”
What were the major influences for you when writing this book and for you as a writer in general?
I was working with a nonprofit housing group, trying to arrest the downward spiral of poverty and despair through restoring housing. It was such a positive experience, meeting a compelling need, that I wanted to get the message out to a wider audience. I thought fiction would be the best way to go. The kind of fiction I like always has a message–not an overt one, but one conveyed through the story. Since the novel was based inDetroit, but I set it in the fictional city ofZenith, where Sinclair Lewis set Babbitt, I suppose you could say he was a major influence at the time. So was Hemingway, along with Paul Bowles and John Fante.
Come Meet Michael Goodell in person!
When and why did you begin writing?
I have always written, because, trite as it may sound, I had to.
What is the first book you remember reading?
I don’t remember the name, but it involved a pair of wooden skis, a hut, and a hill. I was very young.
Do you have a personal favorite out of the characters in your book? Who is it and why?
When I started it was Narrows Burton. By the time I finished it was Seneca Doane III. He started out as a villain, and, honestly, I never expected him to turn into one of the good guys.
How did you come across the artist featured on Zenith Rising’s cover?
I met Warren Dreher inSan Francisco. We were both working in the back office of a brokerage firm. He was a painter, I was a writer, and we got an apartment together, along with a third friend who played the saxophone. We used to dream about how our lives were likeParisin the 20’s. There were some nights when we would all be in our rooms working on our respective crafts, and it was beautiful. WhenWarrenpainted the cover painting, I told him I wanted it on the front page of my first novel. I never realized it would take 20 years, but eventually, it made it.
Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?
I learned that if your work is real the characters actually take over the story, as I mentioned with Doane above. I had a basic story line in my head, but the characters kept driving the plot. I suppose one thing I learned, then, is to get out of the way of the story, that if you are struggling with the plot it probably means you are trying to force the story somewhere it doesn’t want to go.
In your future ventures in the publishing world, what will you do differently? Why?
I won’t get published by PublishAmerica. I would rather not self-publish, which is basically what I ended up doing with PublishAmerica, even though they billed themselves as a legitimate publisher. At this late date I may end up having to self-publish though.
Tell me about your next book. How is it linked to Zenith Rising? When is it coming out?
The new book is called Rebound. It’s more of a straight murder mystery, or what I called a postmodern treatment of the hard-boiled detective novel. It came about as a “what if” response to a news article. I wrote 30 pages and then let it sit for ten years because I didn’t know where to go next. When I dusted it off and reread it, I was amazed that there were arrows pointing the way. So I wrote it. It’s set in Zenith, but involves entirely new characters, though some of the old ones make cameo appearances. Much more of the novel unfolds in the exclusive suburb ofWellingtonLakes, where the rich and powerful kill each other and break all the laws. It was fun to write. The dying city plays as big a role in this one, though not as a theme, merely as background. It will come out when I find a publisher, or decide to do it myself.
What’s one thing you would want your readers and fans to know about you?
Tough question. I was going to say that I’m honest, especially in relation to writing. I suppose, though, I should say I am passionate about the written word.
Read My Official Review of Zenith Rising
Interview Questions inspired by Ritesh Kala’s Book Reviews Blog
Anakalian Whims 