Interview with author, Kristen Kooistra

Blog Tour day. Author, Kristen Kooistra is with us.


Kristen fell in love with reading at a young age and never resurfaced. She loved solving mysteries, riding across the prairie, and sailing on the open sea. But her favorite books were those that held the fantastical. So when the time came for her to seriously approach publishing a book, it had to be fantasy!

Living in Michigan(her own winterland) with her husband, three kids, and two cats, she has lots of free time . . . Okay, so more like she squeezes in writing time late at night when only the cats are awake to pester her.

Onto the Interview..

Kristen, do you ever get Writer’s Block, and do you have any tips for getting through it?

Yes, I do.

There’s my biggest writer’s block! I don’t want my “writer life” to get in the way of me taking care of my family, and there’s times (like lately) where the baby isn’t sleeping through the night, or I’m really busy and the result is I’m so tired that when I do have free time at the end of the day, I choose to sleep.

In terms of what typically is called writer’s block, yes on occasion I do struggle. I’ve got two methods for dealing with it.

1.     Sometimes you just need a break. There can be tons of reasons for the lack of inspiration or motivation to go forward. Lack of sleep, too much work, maybe you need a short break from that piece.

2.     Baby steps. If a break doesn’t help me overcome whatever’s slowing me down, I give myself a small goal. “This week I’ll write one sentence a day.” Or “My goal for the week is 100 words a day.” Whatever it takes to just go that one little bit further and who knows, maybe you end up writing more than your goal, or that one sentence was all you needed to break through what was holding you back and you finish a chapter!

How do you like to relax?

Reading is a big one for me. Big surprise! Sitting in the sunshine, watching the kids play, hot showers, bubble baths, swimming. Anything that has me not working and just enjoying the simple things in life.

Is there any special or random thing you want to share about yourself?

I love Star Wars! The original trilogy only! *waves hand* There are only 3 Star Wars. I’m the proud owner of a light saber and Jedi cloak. My son’s also named after Luke Skywalker and somewhere down the road, if I have more girls, I’d love to have a Leia as well!

When you’re not writing, what do you like to do?

I love spending time with my family. That comes in all sorts of forms. Sometimes it’s just sitting there and watching them play, other times it’s going places. I love how excited they get over every little thing. I try to appreciate that now because I’m sure the day will come where they won’t appreciate anything.

I also love reading(of course) and sewing. I just started sewing two years ago, but I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.

What is your favorite scene in the story?

There’s a chapter near the end of the book where the villain has “her moment”.

That time when I got to let all the evil villainess parts of me run wild. It’s got this certain melodramatic flair to it and it’s awesome. She gets all the lines, all of the body language, all of the downright no-good evilness that we finally get to see in all of its glory.



Kristen wrote Heart of the Winterland
Amazon synopsis

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Winterland-Kristen-Kooistra

The Princess
On her 200th birthday, the enchantment that holds Princess Calisandra in a state of apathy breaks. Full of questions about her kingdom's history and what lies outside the borders of her snow-cursed kingdom, she leaves home in search of answers.

The Sorceress
Fate has always been against Amee. Orphaned as a baby, she grew up with darkness snuffing out what little light she could find in her life. When her spirit breaks, she sequesters herself in the border forest. Powerful and angry, she waits ...

The Guardian
An orb formed to protect Cali, Voice has never had a purpose beyond caring for the princess's needs. But as she joins Cali on her journey and the spell that confined her breaks, she starts to wonder about her place in the world.

The Captain
Captain Kota, in forced exile from her homeland, swears that never again will she be powerless. Ascending the ranks of the Shayal guard, her latest mission is to find the one who has escaped Duke Bludgaard. 

The Fugitive
A desperate search has brought Angel far from her home, but now Captain Kota's relentless pursuit keeps her from her task. When she crosses paths with a naïve princess and a sage orb, she finds more than she anticipated.

http://www.kristenkooistra.com/

That's all the Time I have today . Readers if you're currently reading any fantasies let me know in the comments below.