Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Meet K.G.Cummings!


Meet K.G.Cummings, the striking author of The Wind Whispers War and many other novels. She provided a very interesting interview below, so read on to learn more -






Heather: To start off, tell us a little bit about your background:

How long have you been writing?

K.G.: The first thing I remember writing was when I was 3 or 4. I knew how to write my name and how to write my sister's name. Shhh... don't tell mom... I took a bobbi pin and scratched my sister's name on the side of my parents chest of drawers!

Heather: What started you writing for publication?

K.G.: My daughter wrote a short story, and it touched me so deeply that I wrote a continuation of it as the mother of her main character . I wrote as if the mother was writing in her diary

Heather: Do you have a set time when you write, or just whenever you get the urge?

K.G.: I'm fortunate enough to be able to write whenever I feel inspired. I'm not disciplined at all. Some days I don't write a word, then others I've been known to write 30 pages.

Heather: Who is your favorite author?

K.G.: Sidney Sheldon! In my opinion he deserves the title he earned, the Master Storyteller.

Heather: Have you ever had writer's block, and if so how do you get rid of it?

K.G.: I can't say that I have ever had writers block, but there have been times I pondered for days about the possibilities with twists and turns that a particular story could take.

Heather: What do you recommend to aspiring authors?

K.G.: Know your subject. Nothing loses an audience faster than reading empty words from an author that doesn't have a good grasp of what they are talking about.

Heather: How do you invent your characters?

K.G.: Sometimes they are loosely based on real people, then they evolve into what is needed to make a story come together.

Heather: I know a few authors who keep records (almost like police records) of height, weight, background, etc. of their characters, do you keep tabs on your characters, and if so, what do you usually make note of?

K.G.: I don't always give detailed physical descriptions. When I was a young adult reader, I liked to envision myself as one character, or another. If the character was too well defined, I had a harder time relating to the story. Hope that makes sense!

Heather: Some authors say that they feel as though his or her characters are real, do you feel this way, and what do you think about this?

K.G.: Oh, most definitely! Sadly, I had a wonderful 17 year old young man that was killed. Even though I wrote the story, I mourned his demise for days. I still miss him, but life isn't always fair and we have to learn to adjust.

Heather: Do you have anything in the works?

K.G.: Yes, my sixth novel is at the publisher now. I'm also writing a series of short stories based on characters that were teenagers in the mid 1950s.

Heather: What would you say is the neatest thing you know?

K.G.: The neatest thing I know is that bad things don't last forever.

Heather: What is your favorite part about writing?

K.G.: To escape into a world where I have full control.

Heather: Has music ever inspired your writing?

K.G.: I like music, but it has never inspired anything creative in me.

Heather: Do you like to write in complete silence or does it have to be noisy?

K.G.: I prefer silence where I can "hear" the characters voices in conversation. If a story is screaming to be told, nothing will distract me even if the TV is on, the neighbors are mowing, the dog's barking, the parrot is squawking- nothing stops it!

Heather: What made you put your characters in the setting that you did?

K.G.: That goes back to writing about what I know. The characters are in the era I grew up in, or just a few years older because I always wanted to be one of the "big kids".

Heather: Keyboard or pen?

K.G.: Keyboard! Been on computers since 1968

Heather: What do you think is the hardest part about being an author?

K.G.: Having to interrupt the creative process to promote what I've already written.

Heather: What do you usually do while writing?

K.G.: I constantly think about what will happen next. I've always thought things through. If I do this how will it affect that? What will be the final effect if all these different things factor in a situation? Think, think, think... that's all I do when writing.

Heather: What were the circumstances surrounding your decisions to become an author?

K.G.: I was down and out broke. I didn't have any money for entertainment, and couldn't afford cable TV. I invented a life that was a lot happier than what I was living and made characters that truly loved each other.

Heather: Some people say that you need to live life before you write a book, do you think that it’s experience that writes a book or imagination?

K.G.: A combination of both. Experience if one is writing about situations that could happen in real life, and imagination if it's about walking on rainbows to the far side of the moon!



I like the colors of: rainbows.
The sky is most beautiful when it’s: blue.
My favorite feature of a computer is: delete.
I think inventors should invent a/an: time-machine.
Thing I love most in the world is: God.
Things I hate most in the world is: cheaters.
My favorite type of electronic device is: computer.
My favorite thing that has been available before the year 1900: books.
My favorite thing that has been available since the year 1960: Laptop.
The oddest thing you have ever written on (hand, wall, etc.) is: dresser.

6 comments:

Greg said...

K.G. you were a sneaky child carving your sister's name into your parents dresser. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing when I was a child.

It was good getting to know you better by reading more about you in this interview. I will certainly be on the look out for your books!

Laura said...

Heather - Wonderful interview!

K.G. - I certainly agree with you, it takes both experience AND imagination to write a book!

kgcummings said...

Greg, that was the worst thing I ever did and I was three! Got my life of crime over with early!
Hope you enjoy if you read my books. Thank you for commenting.
All the best, Kathy

kgcummings said...

Thank you Laura. I appreciate your comments. Best of everything!
Kathy

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Hey, KG. I came over from Goodreads; awesome interview!

kgcummings said...

Thank you Susan. This was a lot of fun, as the questions were different than what many ask.
Goodreads is a great site.
All the best, Kathy