Confessions of a Bookaholic: Interview with Kristie Cook- Blog Tour

I am thrilled to have Kristie Cook on the blog today. She is having a blog tour so make sure you check out her site and see the great prizes she is giving away.

Here is a little information from her blog about Promise.

My initial intent and expectation was to just play around - do some character sketches, maybe write a short story at some point. Within a week of making the decision to start writing for fun, however, I had a storyline with a good plot and the beginnings of my main characters. Six weeks later, I had a full story with a beginning, middle and end. Six months later, I had completed my first full-length novel, with many revisions and edits along the way.

The first book has now been split into two, with the first one, Promise, releasing Summer 2010 and the second one, Purpose, releasing Fall 2010. It's really meant to be read as one story, but it was too long for practicality. But my readers say it could be even longer. They don't want to leave the characters. And that, to me, is the best thing I could hear. My strongest desire is to have written a book that people enjoy reading, think about afterwards and, most of all, love the characters as much as I do. And can't wait to meet up with them again in following books, which also be coming soon.

1. Can you tell us a little about Promise?

It’s a book. Paperback. Black cover with a big purple crocus. Oh…that’s probably not what you meant, is it? Let’s see…

It’s a story of two souls that were created for each other by the Angels, but although they are soul-mates, they are also innate enemies. They must overcome their internal issues to be together and eventually lead the Angels’ Army in the future war for human souls. Just as they conquer their personal demons and unite, real demons on Earth attack. Because, as the back-cover blurb says…they are a match made in Heaven and in Hell.

Promise kicks off the Soul Saver series as a sort of prologue. It starts 9 years ago, when Alexis is 18, while the rest of the series picks up in present day. She’s trying to figure out why she’s “different” but, at the same time, tries to hide behind a facade of normalcy. Her mother won’t disclose their family’s secrets until she goes through an enigmatic change called the “Ang’dora” that will make her less human and more like her mom. But she meets her soul-mate, Tristan, and eventually has to confess her freak status. Turns out, he’s not normal either. And he wants to kill her. Well…a part of him does, a part that he has to learn to control so they can be together. In this first book, we learn about their struggles, some of the mythology and the events that lead to a (major) broken promise, setting us up for what’s to come in Purpose (book 2) and the rest of the series.

2. When did you first become interested in writing?

When I was 8 years old, I wrote my first urban fantasy as a school assignment, about gnomes. I fell in love with writing and story-telling then. I’ve been a writer in some capacity or another ever since.

3. What were some of your favorite books and authors growing up?

Beverly Cleary; Judy Blume; Madeleine L’Engle; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Secret Garden; From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; The Borrowers; The Rats of NIMH stories…I could go on and on. I was a major bookworm.

4. What was the hardest part of writing this story?

Editing, editing, editing, trying to get word-count down and finally realizing I had two books in one. Promise and Purpose were at one time just one book and it took me a lot of struggling to figure out that I had two different major plotlines and they needed to be separated.

5. Can you tell us a little about how this story turned in a series?

Once I started writing, not really thinking much would come from it let alone a published book, the ideas started coming on like a rushing river. I pictured this epic battle scene of good against evil and then came all these things that needed to happen before the characters could get to the battle. I knew from early on there was no way it would all be in one or even two books. Turns out, I couldn’t even get the beginning into one book (see #4).

6. What has been the most surprising part of writing, publishing, and now promoting Promise?

That it even exists…in more ways than one. First, although I always loved writing, around my late teens or early twenties, I came to the conclusion that I just didn’t have a whole book in me. Even later, in my early thirties, I thought about angels and demons but had no real story. I decided I was meant to write for business. But in late 2008/early 2009, after playing World of Warcraft with my kids for a while, I needed a more constructive use of my time. I read some recent contemporary fantasies and thought, “I’m going to start writing fiction again.” I never expected to do anything but play around for myself. But as soon as I thought that one sentence, a scene came to mind—a pivotal scene that, although changed drastically, is a major part in Purpose. As I started playing around with this scene, more ideas kept blossoming. Before I knew it, I had a whole book in my head…and then a whole series. So that was quite surprising!

Then realizing that Promise needed to be its own book was another surprise. It had started as just an indulgence for myself so I could learn the main character’s background and what brought her to this pivotal scene. But here it is…my first published novel.

7. What are you currently working on?

Purpose. Certain readers and reviewers are stalking me for it. ;-) When I split the book, Purpose was left with a pretty low word count, so I’m adding some really great stuff. It’s scheduled for a Fall 2010 release, but the date keeps getting moved back. It’ll probably be late November or early December. And I started book 3 a long time ago, but it got back-burnered with the split.

Thanks so much Kristie for telling us about Promise!
YES, I admit it. I loved this book so much that I took Tristan captive and am holding him until I get to read Purpose! :) So, HA!

Coming Up
I will be having a guest post from Kristie on the blog tomorrow!
On Wednesday I'll be posting a "10 Facts" post about Kristie and an excerpt from Promise.
Thursday I will post my review.
Promise is officially released Friday the 30th!

Giveaway
I'm having a giveaway of a signed copy of Promise and some swag!
Click here to enter. Ends 8/2