It’s the 25th of the month, taking centre stage we have another great author, a best selling one at that all the way from Canada! I’m thrilled to have her here let’s not waste anytime, let’s get into it and learn Kristina’s style….

Hello nice to meet you! Tell us a bit about you where are you from and other than writing what else do you enjoy?

Hi Kim,

Thanks for having me.  I currently live in British Colombia, Canada and am avid skier and sailor, but writing is my passion.

I write the Stone Mountain Mystery series. DESCENT, BLAZE, and AVALANCHE are published by Imajin Books. LOOK THE OTHER WAY, my latest novel, was released August 1^st.

Kim: Nice to have you here ma’am.

How did you start writing? What was your inspiration to create?

Late one night in Unteruhldingen, Germany I was reading MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU by Mary Higgins Clark. The opening—a woman trapped in a grave. Darkness and silence surround her, and she doesn’t know where she is. I can still see her fingers clawing at the edges of the coffin.

Tucked in my bed, I knew a driver would arrive at 4 a.m. to carry me to the Zurich airport for a flight to London, England. The sensible thing to do was sleep. But I couldn’t. I turned pages until the car arrived. I was exhausted, bleary eyed and excited. At that moment I knew I wanted to write something that forced a person to read and to forget about life for a while.

When I finally started my first novel, I’d been living in a ski resort for five years. Skiing is one of my passions and seemed the obvious topic.

Kim: wow, it’s so great when you find a writer that does that to you. I had  the same experience, the first romantic suspense I ever read was by Jackie Collins. Them pages turned, and Lord knows I was way too young to be reading about that kind of stuff... here I am over ten years later writing that genre. This is great to hear.

What genre do you enjoy reading?

I’m addicted to mysteries. I read one or two a week.

Are you a “plotter” or a fly by the seat of your pants “pantster” as a writer?

I am so a “panster.” I spent years developing spread sheets to help me rewrite my drafts so they were structurally sound. Finally I got so fed up with the cumbersome process that I created a company, Fictionary.co, and developed Fictionary to help me. It’s recently been released, so other writers can benefit. The goal is to help writers turn a first draft into a story readers love.

Fictionary is a game-changing online tool for fiction writers with a first draft. Fictionary guides writers through an automated, big-picture edit with a deep focus on story structure, not on the words. Think characters, plot, and settings.

Kim: yes you told me about this I remember I must go and take a look. Thanks for reminding me.

What are you working on now? What will you release next?

I’m rewriting the first draft of EVOLUTION. I’m using Fictionary to do that.  As soon as I finish, I’ll start work on the sequel. I plan to join Nanowrimo in November to get 50,000 words written.

Kim: Good luck, my Nanowrimo was a no no this time, third time lucky I hope. I’ll be joining you in November.

So… where can we get your books?

All my books are available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Kristina-Stanley/e/B0106J097I

What does “success” look like to you? When would you say “damn, I’ve made it baby!”

I try for little successes rather than big ones. If I wrote 1,000 words before breakfast, that’s success. If I ran 5 kilometres after I wrote, that’s success. Did I make my husband laugh? Another success. I believe it’s the little things that make a lifetime of happiness instead of trying for that big one.

Kim: very grounded. I’d love to know how you felt the day you woke up a best selling author, honestly?

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book

You know the saying, write what you know? I believe it should be write what you love. I write about skiing, so imagine how fun it is to research that? For AVALANCHE, I spent hours with the avalanche forecaster at a ski resort.  For LOOK THE OTHER WAY, I lived on a sailboat in the Bahamas. That novel takes place – yup you guessed it – in the Bahamas on a sailboat.

Kim: Bahamas?? … Nice. I like location stories * opens up Amazon to take a look.*

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Sometimes. I’d rather take feedback from beta readers when I still have a chance to make changes. Once the book is published, there’s not much I can to. I’ll admit I read the 5 starts reviews just to make myself feel good. Who doesn’t like a little ego boost once in a while?

Kim: Guilty, in all areas. For me I guess not so much ego but knowing you did a good job.

Do you Google yourself?

I have Google alerts set up for my name.  I found out my novel, DESENT, had been released in Germany. The German version, ABWEARTS, was out on Amazon before my publisher told me it had been released. That was a fun moment.

Kim: Okay, seems like this Google alert is a winner then? Another author this month mentioned they too have an alert. *Pouts in deep thought.*

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Having other authors as friends is tremendously important. I’ve developed friendships with authors who write in same genre as I do, so they are great people to trade beta-reading services with.

Kim: agreed, or even writing buddies.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

I can write a first draft in about three months if I write six days a week. Then it takes me another few months to rewrite and edit, and that’s before any proofreading is done. This month I’m using Fictionary for my big-picture edit of EVOLUTION. This will speed up my editing and rewriting process.

Which one of your characters is your favourite and why?

My favourite character is always the protagonist I’m currently writing.

Pick one a one time “Bestselling author” or an author with longevity what would you rather?

Longevity!  Writing makes me happy, so I want a lifetime of it!

Kim: Good answer! Same here.

And that’s a wrap people. Great to have so many authors from different parts of the world here. A real diverse month too in terms of genre. I hope you all enjoyed meeting Kristina. Connect with her below.

Author site  www.KristinaStanley.com

Twitter:         ‎@StanleyKMS

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KristinaStanley.Author/

SUBMERGED BENEATH THE DEPTHS IS A SEA OF SECRETS…

A year after her Uncle Bobby mysteriously disappears in the turquoise waters surrounding the Bahamas, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt to trace Bobby’s last voyage. Shannon hopes the serenity of the sea might help her recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé.

Sailing the 38-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat, is Captain Jake Hunter, a disillusioned cop who has sworn off women. While Shannon tries to resist her growing attraction to the rugged captain, she uncovers dark truths about her uncle’s death that might send them all to the depths.

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