Interview with Kimberley Dehn

Author Kimberley Dehn is my guest, a fellow author at Wings with an August 2008 release titled Southern Exposure available at www-wings-press.com

Let’s jump right in.

Hopefully, visitors have already read your bio, so I'm not going to ask you to tell us about yourself. Instead, what do you find the most difficult about being a writer?

Organization. I tend to write my stories without a concrete roadmap in order to keep my creative juices fresh. I want to be surprised as much as my readers. If I have a good idea about how the story will begin and how it will end, I keep a loose hand when writing the middle. Some of my best plotting comes from this method. Planning out every minute detail of a story will ensure that story never sees the light of day, because I will never finish it. In my head, the story has been told and I’m ready to move on to the next idea. However, there are times, like on my current work in progress, when the plot is multi-dimensional and there are more than two characters that have a meaty part to play that I wish I could be a bit more left brained. Unfortunately, I recently took a test and discovered I’m 20% left brained and 80% right, so I have no chance of ever being organized.

What is your hero's biggest challenge?
Dean has a paternalist complex fostered by his father dying when he was fourteen, leaving him to take care of his mom and sister. He can’t do what he wants to do for himself, which is leave town for Atlanta and resume a successful architectural career, until he takes care of his town and loved ones first. The people of Potter’s Kiln bailed him out of a personal problem in his past and he will do whatever he can to repay them, even if it means he’s stuck in a backwards burg going no-where for the rest of his life. He puts everyone first before himself, and as a result, he’s miserable.

What is your heroine's biggest flaw?
She believes her family’s opinion of her and hasn’t grown past it. Kat is from a wealthy, successful food icon family and as she puts it, is the red hot chili pepper in a family of instant potatoes. Her family is business first, last and always, while Kat, at age 24, has no idea what she wants out of life and is struggling to find herself.

What prompted you to write this story?
In a world filled with fascination for heiress party girls like Paris Hilton, and runaway brides like Julia Roberts or Jennifer Wilbanks, I wanted to see what would happen when such a woman lost everything and had to face life without privilege and family support. Thus, Kat Hubbard, the heroine in Southern Exposure, was born. This story was written years before Paris spent time in jail, so I watched how she dealt with her situation with great interest. In fact, she inspired me to dust Southern Exposure off and give the world another chance to see it, so I guess I have Ms. Hilton to thank for my novel’s success.

What is your least favorite genre? Would you ever consider writing it?
Erotica. I had a hard enough time writing passionate scenes in Southern Exposure because I could envision my mother-in-law…my father…reading what I wrote.

Who has helped you the most?
Marge Smith, who writes as Elizabeth Sinclair for Harlequin. We have been friends forever, and her advice and critiques over the years has made me a better writer.

Do you have a favorite theme? Eg: love conquers all; good vs evil; How do you use it?
Struggle brings out the best in people, and the worst. I love for a main character to have everything and then lose it all. I want to see what they do to survive.

What have you learned about yourself from your writing?
To trust my instincts. I no longer work with a critique group. I tend to write outside the box of what is typically published in the categories and genre’s, so in the past critique groups, especially when my work is not fully developed, have hampered my creative flow. I will give the work to trusted critiquers who are not writers, but rather readers for feedback. I’m writing for readers after all.

Why will your reader think your book is different?
Well, it’s not your typical contemporary romance. It’s actually a relationship comedy, with Kat Hubbard as the focal point of the story. Southern Exposure is about her journey of self-discovery, her personal growth and her relationship not only with Dean the hero, but also with his daughter Stevie, and various townspeople in Potter’s Kiln. It’s funny, poignant and at times, ridiculous. I wrote it to entertain readers in dire need of a good laugh.

Excerpt/Cover
Dean veered his motorcycle left off Main to skirt Polliwog and Pine and, despite Kat's scream, jumped the train tracks onto Old Man River Road. The bite of her nails through the paper-thin denim into his thigh became a constant reminder that he was a fool to give in to Rooster. Kat was going home with him, but only until her check cleared the bank. Four days tops. He had until Thursday to somehow use her to save his town.
Kat leaned to the right to glare at him over her left shoulder. He felt his pulse leap with anticipation. They would be the longest four days in his life. He noticed her large eyes were framed with the thickest lashes he'd ever seen on a woman. Probably synthetic.
"I need to stop at my yacht."
He shook his head. "Rooster will filet my hide if you escape."
"I won't escape."
"Right, you won't. End of discussion."
"Oh, for…” She stiffened her spine and leaned forward in an attempt not to touch him. After a moment, she again turned to him. "I need decent clothing; something without racing emblems or beer advertisements. If you won’t allow me to board my yacht, at least take me to the nearest mall with a Bergdorf anchor. I have their credit card.”
“Sweetheart, the North has Bergdorf. The South has Dollar General.”

Kimberley Dehn
Southern Exposure
www.kimberley-dehn.com

Thank you so much for being my guest. Good luck with your new release.

Barbara Edwards

Coming soon from The Wild Rose Press: Ancient Awakening, a Black Rose
www.barbaraedwards.net
http://barbaraedwards.net/blog/blog.asp for Barb'Ed Comments
www.Wings-press.com for Annie's Heart, Another Love, Rachel's Rescue