Like Kim, I write cozy mysteries, so I’m very pleased to have her as my guest this week. Kim is a very busy lady with many interests. In January she has a surprise in store for her mystery fans. We’ll preview it later in the week.

Kim Smith was born in Memphis Tennessee, the youngest of four children. After a short stint in a Northwest Mississippi junior college, during the era of John Grisham’s rise as a lawyer, she gave up educational pursuits to marry and begin family life.

She has worked in many fields in her life, from fast food waitress to telephone sales. “I always got the seniors on the phone who were lonely and wanted someone to talk to. My boss couldn’t understand why in the world I spent so much time talking to them and not enough time selling. That was when I realized I love people and care deeply about their lives.”

After the birth of her two children, she gave up working outside the home for the more important domestic duties of wife and mother. When her kids decided they wanted to pursue theater as an extracurricular activity, she gave up her free time to drive them to rehearsals, training classes, and plays. During those years, she found herself bored with nothing to do to while away the hours stuck in a car. She began thinking of stories to entertain herself and pass the time. Before long she started telling her husband about her stories and he assured her she could write a book if she really wanted to. She put the idea away once she landed a job as a network administrator for a small corporation, and together the Smith’s started their own video production company.

Writing was a dream, hidden but not forgotten, and soon Kim began to talk again of trying her hand at it. She played with words, and wrote several poems, one of which was picked up for an anthology

One day in the early nineties her husband came home with a desktop computer and sat her in front of it. “Now you have no more excuses,” he said, and she realized the truth in his words. Procrastination, now no longer an option, she took off on the pursuit of penning her first book. Though that book, a young adult fantasy, was lost due to unforeseen circumstances, she kept going, writing a historical romance, and another YA.

When she decided to try out her hand at mystery writing, she discovered her true love and niche in the writing journey. She has since had four short stories, and her first mystery novel accepted for publication.

Kim is a member of Sisters in Crime, and the Short Mystery Society. She still lives in the Mid South region of the United States and is currently working on her second book in the mystery series.

I asked D. Renee some questions about here writing experience.  Here are her responses.

1. Name and any pen names.

   1. D. Reneé Bagby and Zenobia Renquist

2. What genre/s do you write in

   1. Fantasy Interracial Romance. I dabble in contemporary every now and again, but my love is fantasy and world-building. My stories are always interracial as well but I do not harp on race unless it is a major part of the plot.

3. Who is your current publisher? If you have more than one, let us know, but attach the publisher to the book.

   1. Samhain Publishing

      1. Adrienne by D. Reneé Bagby

      2. Serenity by D. Reneé Bagby

   2. Red Rose Publishing

      1. A Valentine’s Day Gift for Tori by Zenobia Renquist

      2. Acknowledging Meirion by Zenobia Renquist

4. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you became an author.

   1. I became an author as an outlet for the stories I would make up to entertain myself. I had a hard time remembering them all so one day I started writing them down. I finally decided to actually polish something enough for publishing when I couldn’t find the types of books I wanted to read—fantasy romance with an interracial slant. As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. So, I ended up writing to entertain myself and, it turned out, other people like reading my stories too.

5. What is a typical writing day like for you? Approximately how many words do you try to write in a day? What is your workspace like?

   1. Typical. If I could have a typical writing day I would probably get a lot more finished. I try to balance everything and write at the same time. In the end, something has to be neglected so I can get some writing done. At the moment, it’s housework. My study is a disaster area. I can barely get from the door to my desk without tripping over something. I’m planning to rearrange it soon which would involve cleaning, but I’m sure it won’t take me long to mess it up again.

   2. As I’m in the middle of a WIP that is really talking to me, I try to get a chapter a day (approx 2000 words) or at least half a chapter. I don’t normally write in chapter order but when I’m nearing the end, I go chapter by chapter to make sure everything flows.

   3. My usual writing style is scene by scene. I write the scenes as they come to me and then string them together later. As a result, I usually have the ending finished long before I figure out how I’ll start the book and then I just have to figure out how the main characters got there.

6. What do you enjoy most about writing?

   1. Finishing. I know most authors love the creation process. I love being able to read the story in its entirety, which means I have to finish writing it. My second most enjoyable moment is seeing people’s reactions to my stories once they are published. I like to know that my books struck a cord with the readers and that they will remember them. I had one reader write to me and tell me Serenity made her cry. I didn’t mean to do that but I’m glad for the reaction because that meant she enjoyed the story.

7. How do you advertise your books? Blog? Website? Magazine advertisement? What works best for you?

   1. All of the above. I’ve inundated Yahoo loops with promo, taken out magazine ads, gotten the promotion service, have my own website and my own blog, and even done banner ads. I’m not sure what is working and what isn’t.

   2. I have learned something very recently that has changed my attitude towards promotion and will color how I handle promotion in 2009. Readers seem to like prolific writers. The best promotion in the world is a new release. Most writers will tell you that their backlist sales increase every time they have a new release. I saw the same for Adrienne when Serenity came out. So, with that in mind, my 2009 goal is to write, write, and write some more so I can finish as many of my planned stories (of which I have tons) as possible.

8. What are you working on right now? Tell us a little about the plot setting and characters. How did you get the idea?

   1. My current WIP, which I hope to have finished before January 2009, is a mainstream ménage. I know, most ménage stories aren’t usually mainstream, but this one is. My romances aren’t heavy on the sex. I’m more about the emotion and the plot. That’s not to say they won’t be having hot threesome sex, it just won’t dominate the book thus making the book a mainstream.

   2. Here’s my tiny blurb: Lucien and Ranulf have lived through time to once again meet the woman who stole their hearts and changed their lives forever. The only problem is Eris has never met them before. They hope their love can withstand the test of time and that she can forgive their past for the chance at a happy future.

   3. The idea for this story… I wanted to do a time travel. Not to confuse anyone but this is not a typical time travel. I’d say it’s a fantasy story with elements of time travel. That sounds weird, but that’s how the story is. And, it’s not every day a black heroine gets to jump back in time and meet Mr. Right… mostly because someone would probably mistake her for a slave or turn her into one. Well, my heroine has the same issue when she falls back.

9. What is the best tip you can give someone who wants to be an author?

   1. Most people would say keep writing no matter what or rejection isn’t the end of the world or read as much as you can. I say never stop asking questions. This has several meanings

      1. Talk to your characters. Find out everything there is to know about them. It may not end up in the book but it never hurts to know. More is always better than less.

      2. Talk to other authors. Don’t assume you know all there is about the publishing world. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, someone will pop up with something new. Authors who have been there and done that have a lot of knowledge to share and are willing to share it if you’re willing to listen.

      3. Know what you’re getting into when you submit to a publisher and before you sign a contract. If you don’t understand something about the submission guidelines then email the publisher and ask for clarification. If something in the contract doesn’t make sense, then ask the publisher. If they don’t explain it enough then ask a lawyer. Never be in such a hurry to get published that you screw yourself over.

      4. Finally, learn something new. Don’t just shrug it off when you don’t know something. Open your mouth and ask someone. The embarrassment of having to ask is fleeting but the knowledge gained will last.

10. Do you have an agent? Do you think a successful writer needs an agent?

    1. I do not have an agent. There are successful authors that do not have agents. I want to enter the world of New York publishing so I will need an agent to get my foot in the door as most NY houses don’t take unsolicited manuscripts.

11. What do you think about the current state of the industry? What about ebooks? Do you read them? Do you think they will eventually replace print books?

    1. With the economy the way it is, everything is struggling and people are tightening their purse straps. I think ebook sales will only rise because of the trying times. They are cheaper than print and take up way less room.

    2. I do read ebooks but I love my print collection. I will literally buy a book twice, once in ebook and again in print, just to have the print version. More often than not, I will opt to read a print over an ebook just because I get tired of looking at a backlit screen.

    3. I don’t think ebook will replace print. eBooks may one day become more prevalent than print but print books will always be around for those people who prefer them. I know I’m not the only one who finds the smell of a bookstore soothing. Besides, print has one major pro on its side—there is only one format. eBooks are hurting themselves because of all the different formats and readers. I don’t have to worry about if a print book is compatible with my hands or if I’ll have to figure out how to open it or if I’ll have to buy it again at later date because a newer version came out with more features that aren’t compatible with the original

12. Besides yourself, do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?

    1. My favorite author has always been Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick. I went out of my way to read all her books (that I could get my hands on) when I was in high school and college. Of all hers, I’d say I love Mystique the most.

    2. I don’t think I have an all time favorite book just like I don’t have an all time favorite movie.

I asked Renee how she became an author.

I became an author as an outlet for the stories I would make up to entertain myself. I had a hard time remembering them all so one day I started writing them down. I finally decided to actually polish something enough for publishing when I couldn’t find the types of books I wanted to read—fantasy romance with an interracial slant. As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. So, I ended up writing to entertain myself and, it turned out, other people like reading my stories too.

Her latest release is Serenity from Samhain Publishing. Here’s what she has to say about why she wrote it..

1. 1. My most recent release is Serenity. It came out in ebook in May and will be in print at the end of January 2009. It is a fantasy romance set on an alternate Earth.

   2. I don’t quite remember how I came up with this story. I remember I wanted to name a character Serenity and have her smiling all the time, which, as my beta reader pointed out once I finished writing the story, made Serenity a sociopath. I didn’t mean to do that but it’s her character. And how I threw that smiling, usually happy, girl into the mix with a seven-foot tall blue demon with giant horns sprouting from his neck, I’m not sure. But, they are a happy couple, so I guess I can’t complain.

   3. My favorite character from Serenity is Chigaru. He’s pretty much everyone’s favorite and he’s getting his own story which will further Serenity’s story as well. I loved him because he was silent and extremely loyal. It’s a shame I have to make him talk in his book but his heroine won’t let him remain the strong, silent type.

   You can get more information about D. Renee Bagby at the following sites:

2. 1. 1. Email – dreneebagby@gmail.com and zenobiarenquist@gmail.com

      2. Website – http://dreneebagby.com and http://zenobiarenquist.com

      3. Blog – http://dreneebagby.blogspot.com

      4. Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/kuraimegami and http://www.myspace.com/zenobiarenquist

Today I’m interviewing K. T. Bishop.

Tell us a little about yourself, K.T.

I am a award-winning sportswriter who lives on the Florida Gulf Coast and Red Rose Publishing author.
How to Cure a Cajun Cold is the opener of My College Love 101 series, a set of four short stories. Cajun Cold is my debut at Red Rose Publishing. I’ve always wanted to write in this genre.
The next book I have out at Red Rose is PICKING COTTON, the opening novel in my Cotton Series. It will be released in the upcoming months.
For those wanting to know more about me, go to myspace.com/kenibird and kenibird.blogspot.com

• 1. What inspired you to write this story? College Love is one of the most sacred romances, but often gets overlooked. High school sweethearts are mostly coveted in romance novels, while the college lovers are usually lost in the shuffle.

  2. Do you have a favorite character, if so tell us why? Arnaz Booker is a hard-working, good-looking student who always get lost in the shuffle. He never gives up on his goal, and finds a beautiful woman in the process.

  3. Tell us a little about your writing schedule. What do you find most difficult, easiest? I write mostly on my off days. At work during dinner/lunch breaks and during the morning before heading off. During the week sometimes is hard to get time into writing, mainly because of a day job.

  4. What are your future writing plans? Picking Cotton is the first of a three-novel series by Red Rose. It entails about M.L. Cotton working hard to play college quarterback in the South during the 1980’s.

  5. What made you write Interracial and Multicultural Sports Romance? I will give a two-part answer. One, I’ve seen countless books on black women/white men and hardly any about white women/black men. Some of that went on at my high school, but people were afraid because of racial intertolerance in the South. Two, there were sports romances out there about baseball and hockey, auto racing. I saw few books on football, a big time thing in the Deep South.

K.T. Bishop is published by Red Rose Publishing. You can learn more about how to Cure a Cajun Cold at: