Some called her hag, others witch. No matter the title they used to label her, everyone knew her Twilight Brew was magical. A closely guarded recipe, she never divulged its ingredients.
It was easy to guess at some things she stirred into the broth: freshly plucked foul, water, herbs, roots, spices; but how she transformed them into the best tasting chicken soup was a mystery.
Kirsten Nairn has a secret. It’s so hush-hush that even her family and close friends don‘t know what it is. The only people she’s shared this secret with is her readers and me. Would you like to know what her big secret is?
Kirsten is a writer. Her first contemporary romance novel A Sorry Affair debuted on July 31, 2017.
Kirsten lives
in Scotland with her husband and two children. Her favorite city is Edinburgh.
She thinks it’s the most romantic city in the world and used it as the setting
for A Sorry Affair.
Now that I’ve introduced you to Kirsten let’s get to know her a little better.
Hello, Kirsten, and welcome. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.
Thank you for having me.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I’m not sure
anything inspired me as such, but more I just needed a shove to get me to put
pen to paper! I work full time, have two children and naively thought I’d start
writing when I was on maternity leave������. It took another 14 years to get me to a point
where I had a spare, quiet moment to write.
Is writing
your full-time profession?
No, I do it
as a hobby at the moment. I’d love to do it full time, but it’s not viable at
the moment. Maybe when I retire…
How long
have you been writing?
Only about
3-4 years, although I had lots of stories in my head before that.
How many
books have you written?
1 published and three more manuscripts almost ready for submission, another two ‘in-progress’.
Which genre
do you write?
Contemporary
Romance
What do you
find most challenging writing for this genre?
Nothing challenging about the genre just the actual writing process.
What are you
working on now?
I am really trying to get my current manuscript ready for submission, but I am also working on another about a holiday romance which blossoms, turns into a long distance relationship and in turn focusses on the dilemma of the main character and the choices and decisions she has to make
Where do you find inspiration for your characters?
Well, my inspiration for the story above came from something I saw written in the sand at St. Andrew’s beach- I won’t give it away here as it features in the story.
My
inspiration for A Sorry
Affair came from a conversation I overheard on a train.
What has
been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?
The
marketing and promotion process- it’s all completely new and daunting, however
I have built an author platform from scratch, developed a website and connected
with people all over the world.
What advice
would you give to authors just starting out?
If you have
an idea, just find time and space and start writing. Hopefully the words will
flow. Don’t think about it too much to begin with and get it all down on paper.
Is there
anything else you’d like your readers to know about you?
I write in secret! No one, not even my family or friends know I write or have published a book.
What message
are you sharing in your books?
My stories
are mainly high on the angst and emotional turmoil of some relationships, but
there’s usually a happily ever after of sorts. If there’s any message it’s that
all relationships have ups and downs and everyone makes mistakes. Whether we
can move on and accept them is the big question.
What
are your favorite books?
Oh way too
many to mention. I love all the John Irving books- The World According toGarp, The Hotel New
Hampshire. Lord of the Rings, The Harry Potter series, Twilight, the
classics, such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, anything by Mhairi
McFarlane and Nick Spalding.
What are
your favorite movies, TV shows?
Any films from the books listed above, but I also love the film, About Time, directed by Richard Curtis and in fact, anything by Richard Curtis.
When you’re
not writing where can we find you?
Working,
running around after my children and their animals, running on my own, at the
gym.
Dean
Russell-Rands is a teacher, a writer, and an advocate for the
under-represented. He discovered his passion for performing arts at a young age
and has taken this creative zest with him wherever he goes, whether it be
teaching in an elementary school classroom, writing a picture book, or reading
children’s stories on his Youtube channel.
Dean lives in
Essex with his husband and their cat named Shadow.
Now that I’ve introduced you to Dean let’s get to know him a little better.
Hello, Dean, and welcome. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.
Thank you for
having me.
What
inspired you to be a writer?
I’ve always been a creative person and a bit of a dreamer, really. I guess some people would say I had an overactive imagination (and hopefully I still do).
I started writing and performing at a young age–I had a poem published at age 9, a short story published at age 11, and then another poem at age 15.
Is writing
your full-time profession?
It’s not my
full-time occupation yet. I’m a teacher and I’m currently working as a supply
teacher.
How long
have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I was young but I’ve taken it more seriously since completing my performing arts degree. I have a catalogue of stories saved and recently I put my hand to illustrating so I could self-publish.
How has
teaching influenced your writing?
I had settled
into a lovely school which I miss dearly but I realized that I was telling
children to follow their dreams and I hadn’t fully chased my own.
Also, I told my
last class I was getting married to a man, and they were so accepting but
together we noticed that there aren’t many books that promote equality,
diversity and inclusion.
I decided then I’d focus on my creative dreams and publish books that all children and families could relate to.
How many
books have you written?
At the
moment, I’ve self-published one book ‘Love,
Cuddled & Tickled Too!’. However, I have a catalogue of stories I
continue to develop and tweak.
Can you tell
us a little about your Youtube Channel Big Box Of Books?
I very quickly
discovered that self-publishing requires a lot of effort and a lot of
promotion. I turned to social media and my YouTube channel was born.
Big Box of
Books is a tool I use to promote lesser known books including my own. There are
so many great books out there that deserve to be read many times over.
What
inspired you to start your Youtube Channel?
It was
primarily my own struggle to promote my book but also seeing so many new
children’s authors on Facebook pages and Instagram.
How can an
author have their book read on your channel?
What do you
find most challenging writing for this genre?
I think it’s
about keeping an open mind to the age range of books–it’s important to remember
the age of your audience but with important topics like ‘equality’ you want to
remain as accessible as possible so that the right message can be spread to
lots of readers.
What are you
working on now?
I’m currently
working on a book that’s all about being different. It begins with everyone and
everything looking the same but someone has an idea and it all starts to
change…
Where do you
find inspiration for your characters?
With my first
book, it was a lot about the families I worked with. I had a multi-racial girl
in my class and I included a multi-racial family in the story so she could feel
included.
With this book,
it’s mostly people on the street and clowns. I think my inspiration is usually
what I see around me and parts of myself that I want to explore too.
What has
been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?
Recently, a
girl at the school I’m currently working in told me she’d found my book. She
said she really liked it and that it was a very important message for others to
hear.
If I can make
one child realize that love is love then I did my job.
What advice
would you give to authors just starting out?
Just do it,
take the plunge–once you put the effort into getting your work out there, more
opportunities will come.
Is there
anything else you’d like your readers/viewers to know about you?
I have two beliefs–everyone has the right to be happy and everyone has the right to be treated equally.
What message
are you sharing in your books?
Hopefully,
exactly what I’ve written for question 16. We’re all different but deserve to
be treated the same.
What are
your favorite books/authors?
I have soooo
many. I love Rachel Bright and Tom Fletcher.
As for adult
books, I love an emotional story–Cecelia Ahearn and Rowan Coleman are great for
that.
What are
your favorite movies, TV shows?
I’m a total
Netflix fan–Grace and Frankie is fantastic. I’m also desperate to watch Homecoming
because I LOVE Julia Roberts.
When
you’re not writing where can we find you?
If I’m not
writing, I’m usually watching tv or a show. I love Wicked the musical. I
also like travelling and this year I’ve got trips booked to New York and Disney
World.
My answer: A pretty cottage, speckled with golden sunlight, nestled among a copse of trees. It’s a quiet place where a poet can collect his thoughts or a couple can share in a private rendezvous.
Lyle Lunarman was a curious child.
He had a curious mind, read curious books, and played curious games. But, the
most curious thing about him was how he came to sit upon the milky sliver of
moon each night.
When passers floated by and asked
him how he got there his answer was always the same. He’d shrug in that
lackadaisical way only eight-year-old boys can then cast his long silvery line
into the endless ocean of space.
“Search me,” he’d say, “but it’s the best spot in the whole galaxy to catch starfish.”