Interview with Author Kay Springsteen

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of reviewing Lifeline Echo's by Kay Springsteen and I loved it, as well as her first novel Heartsight. Kay is proving to be a very talented author and with plans for sequels and many other books in the work, I think we need to watch out for her. You can also read my review here.  I would now like to introduce you to Kay Springsteen and we can all learn a little more about her.

Can you tell us about your book, and is it available or when it will be released? I have two books currently released. Heartsight (released 03/01/2011)  is available for Kindle and other e-readers as well as in paperback through Amazon.Heartsight is the story of a blind marine, a single mom and a child with Down syndrome, each having issues in life they need to deal with, and all meeting on a stretch of beach in North Carolina, where they become close and give each other love and hope. 

Lifeline Echoes (released 04/05/2011) is available for Kindle and other e-readers at this time but is planned to go to print. This is the first in a small town series I call The Echoes of Orson's Folly. It's a story about turning loose of the past in order to gain a future, but also a story of hope and trust that things will work out the way they're supposed to in the end. 

What elements can we look forward to in your book?  I strive for as much realism as possible, in terms of making certain what happens is possible, and in terms of dialogue. I write with a lot of emotion - and try to show my characters experiencing the gamut of the big four - anger, sadness, happiness, fear. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?  I was ten. I read past my age group and ran out of things my mom considered good for me to read, so I began making up my own stories. 

How long does it take you to write a book? Depends on what else I have on my plate at the time. Straight writing without editing a previous work and when work doesn't get in the way, I can get a decent 80-90K book second draft produced in a month. If I have a work in pre-edits or edits for a publisher, though, the writing time is interrupted and it might take two or three months to get that second draft finished. 



What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I write to music. I choreograph scenes in my head to the rhythm of songs that feel like the scene I want to write. Lifeline Echoes has an entire soundtrack. 

Where do you get your inspiration or ideas for your books? I get ideas everywhere. I might hear a song that ends up being the theme for a story, or I might see a story on the news, a person on the street, hear a story from one of my kids. I'm very character oriented, so tonight I decided I want to write about a deaf librarian. That's kind of how Heartsight came about - I wanted to write a blind hero. Lifeline Echoes was a song on my MP3 player (Garth Brooks When You Come Back to Me Again)

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

What do you like to do when you're not writing? Photography, gardening, hiking, playing with my dogs, spending time with my granddaughter, reading, watching TV, watching movies. 

What does your family think of your writing? Everyone is thrilled - until they find out a quirk or trait they have gets assigned to a character. I have this idea for a romance with a heroine who is a bit of a flake with a sunroof problem on her car...and she uses an umbrella jammed through to keep the rain off. That was from my daughter, Dora's real experience. When I told her I was going to use that, I got an initial "grrr," but then she helped me plot out the story. 

Do you have any other books available or soon to be released? I have the second of the Echoes series due out this summer (Elusive Echoes), and the third is being written (Hidden Echoes). A group of Astraea Press authors and I got together to write what is currently titled "The Wedding Anthology," with final title to be determined. My contribution to this collection is called Camp Wedding and is the story of the Heartsight characters' wedding. The plan for the anthology is for the proceeds go to the relief effort in Japan. My publisher handed me a list of possible titles for the next in the Heartsight series - until she did that, I hadn't even considered a sequel! Guess I'm going to be busy.

Can you tell us a little about you publisher(s)? I write for Astraea Press, a recently begun sweet romance and YA publishing house. The owner/editor is very strict about what she lets through. Absolutely no drug use by hero/heroine that can be painted in a glorifying light, no sex on screen, and fade-to-black premarital sex is okay only if there will be consequences that are a part of the story. She allows edgy stories but graphic language is not allowed, though the inference (he cursed) is fine. Sensual tension is fine but cannot include any "pink parts." Their motto is "where fiction meets virtue." But, while Astraea Press has a few authors who write inspirational fiction, this is a secular press. 

What do you think makes a good story? When plot and charcters collide and blossom and then explode (sometimes literally)

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?  I wanted to teach. 

Who is your favorite Author and what is your favorite story? So many authors, so little time. I cut my romance teeth on Nora Roberts, and I've enjoyed Nicholas Sparks, Debbie Macomber, Kat Martin, Jill Shalvis, Tori Carrington. Many of my favorite authors write with some degree of heat but they incorporate the heat into the story in such a way that it's tasteful and part of the plot, not there just to titillate. More recently, I've enjoyed some of my fellow Astraea Press authors' works, which of course is a much lower heat level. And though I've never read much horror, I've been reading more of that genre recently and found some of it is to my liking. A good story is really something that gets my attention more than the specific genre or heat level. 

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?  Only my thanks for having me here. 

Thank you for Joining us Kay, it was a pleasure speaking with you.