BALLOON DAYS
Cindy, thank you for having me here. I am so excited. SOUL STEALER, my first book, was released from Samhain Publishing on Saint Patty’s day. And I haven’t stopped celebrating yet. In fact, it’s all been one big party.
The day I got the call from Samhain editor, Deborah Nemeth, (well, really it was an email) felt like my birthday. It was as if I had gone to bed the night before as me, struggling writer, and woke up reborn as the published author I’d always dreamed of being. Okay, that sounds WAY too melodramatic, but anyone who has ever worked at a goal for twenty years will know exactly what I’m talking about. An honest-to-goodness editor from a wonderful publishing house loved my book, SOUL STEALER. Yep, it was my 
birthday. To prove it, one of those helium birthday balloons dropped from the heavens and landed in my front yard. Honestly. I don’t know where it came from, or who it belonged to, but I put it up in the entryway and left it there for a month. After so many years of writing and five years of working nonstop to get published—the day had finally arrived. I’ve got to tell you, it was my best birthday ever!
SOUL STEALER started out as a very bad writing prompt. My local newspaper posted a short story contest with the winner receiving a free scholarship to a writer’s conference. I wanted to go, but the writing prompt was about a man who sees a beautiful woman and kills her. Ewww. I didn’t think I could do it. I can’t even read serial killer stories! I’d have nightmares, shoot, I’d never sleep again. I mulled the idea over in my head and came up with a plan. What if I turned it into a love story? What if the man was really Death and the woman he comes to kill is the one woman he can’t live without? Ah-ha! The germ of an idea for SOUL STEALER was born. And no. I didn’t win that contest, LOL. But the idea took hold and I kept writing until SOUL STEALER was a completed book. I truly love it and hope you will too.
Now, tell me, what would you offer Death for a trade for more time?
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Leave a comment to enter for a chance to win an ebook of SOUL STEALER. Entries accepted until midnight, PST.
To read Kimberley’s bio and the blurb for SOUL STEALER, please see yesterday’s post. A link to an excerpt for SOUL STEALER is also in yesterday’s post.
To learn more about Kimberley and her upcoming releases, please visit her website.
Hi,
Kimberley I just checked out your website, WOW!!! You have had allot of jobs. Lots of experience…lol.
Children’s author and romance author, wow! Pretty cool!
SOUL STEALER sounds like a good read, I will be checking it out!
Thanks for the invite Cindy!
Carrie
Hi Kimberley, welcome to the blog!
I love your first sale story and how you got the idea for your novella. Isn’t that just how writers think?
I would offer death, um, my Kraft Dinner collection. I can’t imagine he gets many good meals and would probably trade anything for some good old-fashioned comfort food. 😉
Thanks again, for inviting me, Cindy.
If you do buy Soul Stealer, Carrie, let me know what you think about it.
Cindy, LOL. I agree. Death is probably a hungry guy. And Kraft dinners? Absolutely, that would buy you some time.
What a great idea for a book! I’ll do one better. I’ll make my famous Swedish meatball recipe for Death. Almost from scratch. 🙂
Oooh, Edie, that’ll stop him (you know I’ve got to say it) dead in his tracks.
Mmm. I love me some meatballs.
Cindy, great blog.
Kimberly – your books sounds awesome!
Sorry girls you’re wrong…DEATH is a woman. In Ireland she is called “bean sidhe” in Gaelic. It’s pronounced – Banshee in English. It means “Faerie woman” of death. So forget the Meat balls and kraft dinners and get the chocolate ready if you want to make a trade. LOL
Hum, what I’d offer death is a chance to live in my body for one week. I’d give Death a taste for living. I’d offer her time in my life…by doing that she’d get hooked on life and leave me to mine.
{:-O I’d hope…gosh, what if she refused to give me back my body!? Gulp. Ah, on second thought – I’ll offer her champaign with chocolate covered strawberries.
LOL
Hawk
I was thinking…it seems only right that Death is a woman because we women are the only ones who can bring life into this world, so who better than a woman to take the soul home again?
Right?
Hawk
Edie, I have a wonderful recipe for Polish meatballs. I wonder if they’re the same? Mine takes loads of sour cream. Yum.
Hawk, I don’t know how I feel about Death being a woman in historical folklore. On one hand, like you say, we bring life into the world, why not take it out? OTOH, poor Eve gets blamed for enough. Must nasty Death also be a woman? Oh, let me think. That’s right, it’s a patriarchal world. That explains it, snort! 😉
Hawk,
you’ve got a great idea there of showing death what it truly means to live, but you do run the risk of her not giving your body back. Hmm, if it’s a woman, yes of course the dark chocolate is a good plan. We’ve got a great chocolate maker in my town who creates these amazing dark chocolate truffles. I think I’d better stock up, just in case.
LOL –
Cindy, you said –> ” I don’t know how I feel about Death being a woman in historical folklore”
LOL… Sorry hon, that’s just the way it is…I didn’t write the history – I was born to it….I’m an Irish girl with a very long family history in Ireland.
Yes, we women get the blame for everything, BUT the good news is…we can take that on too because we are strong…because WE HAVE THE POWER….WE ARE WOMEN.
Kimberley – LOL maybe my idea wasn’t so great…if she spent one night with my hubby…oh lala – I know she wouldn’t give me my life back…he’s a true hero! Nope, I’m not making her that offer. I’ve taken it back.
But for any woman who wants to get rid of a couch potato hubby, maybe they should try it…then again, Death might be too smart to fall for that situation. Death is a woman you know (sorry Cindy) LOL.
Look at it this way…if she didn’t like the couch potato – maybe she’d take him with her when she left….teeheehee, sorry the devil made me say it. LOL
Hawk
Cindy – BTW – I love your humor!
And Kimberley? Can you send me a few pieces of chocolate…now that Death has hear over the cyber space about the hubby I’ve kept under wraps, she might be headin’ me way! LOL
Hawk
Thanks, Hawk.
I’d love to travel to Ireland someday. Have you been there?
What chocolate (chew chew swallow)? Rats, looks like I’ve got to go visit the store again, we seem to be, um, out.
Hey Cindy, I want to go too. Surely, there is some book research we must do in Ireland.
As for me, I was thinking maybe I’d offer Death my brand new Kindle. He (she?) would be so engrossed in all the wonderful books to read, I’d just quietly slip out the backdoor.
Then again, it’s my Kindle. Hmm. Might need to rethink that one.
I don’t think Death would like a week in my body. She/he’d probably grant me anything to be released on Wednesday. Especially if work was pretty heavy.
I’d have to say I’d offer up my banana bread. Let Death have the calories.
Soul Stealer sounds great. Thanks for sharing.
Lynn
So you are tougher than Death. I like it. Yum to the banana bread.
I’m glad I could be here.
Congratulations, Carrie! You’ve won the copy of Kimberley’s SOUL STEALER. Please check your email for a note from me, so Kimberley can get the copy off to you.
Kimberley, thank you for blogging this week. I enjoyed the conversation. Quite lively!
My next guest blogger is Vanessa Kelly, whose Regency-set historical, MASTERING THE MARQUESS, will be released by Kensington on April 7th. Vanessa is blogging April 15th and giving away a copy of the book. Please stop by.
Ah! Kimberley – you ate my chocolate?! Good God almighty girl now I know death will be paying me a visit and I’ll have nothing to offer her! Did you visit that candy store yet? Well hurry on over there will ya’…but I think I’ve got it covered with a strawberry cake that’s in the over right now…I’ll let you know!
Cindy – No but I really should – I’ve got family over there and a family home there as well….one day when I get time…
I’ll let ya’ both know when I go and you can join me…neither of you mind a haunted castle do you?
Yap, me family says it’s haunted.
Hawk
Hey, Hawk. I don’t mind a haunted castle as long as it’s not haunted like a Halloween Horror House. I hate fake haunted houses. They scare me to death!
Cindy,
Nope, my family line has pretty nice ghost…But bring a coat, I’m not sure what shape the castle is in these days. Might be cold…The English had it for a long time…my family got it back into our hands about nine years ago…family there has been taken care of it…when my fahter and brother (only son) passed over – it went to my father’s youngest brother (last one left alive)…something to do with male family line. And when he steps over then it’ll go to his eldest son….my cousin.
One day I do hope to go over to Ireland and visit the family and the castle. It’ll be fun to see my roots.
Hugs
Hawk