Spotlight on Author Kim Boykin

Spotlight on Author Kim Boykin Kim Boykin was raised in her South Carolina home with two girly sisters and great parents. She had a happy, boring childhood, which sucks if you’re a writer because you have to create your own crazy. PLUS after you’re published and you’re being interviewed, it’s very appealing when the author actually lived in Crazy Town or somewhere in the general vicinity. Almost everything she learned about writing, she learned from her grandpa, an oral storyteller, who was a master teacher of pacing and sensory detail. He held court under an old mimosa tree on the family farm, and people used to come from all around to hear him tell stories about growing up in rural Georgia and share his unique take on the world. As a stay-at-home mom, Kim started writing, grabbing snip-its of time in the car rider line or on the bleachers at swim practice. After her kids left the nest, she started submitting her work, sold her first novel at 53, and has been writing like crazy ever since. Thanks to the lessons she learned under that mimosa tree, her books are well reviewed and, according to RT Book Reviews, feel like they’re being told across a kitchen table. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair from Berkley, Steal Me, Cowboy and Sweet Home Carolina from Tule, and Palmetto Moon, also from Berkley 8/5/14. While her heart is always in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte and has a heart for hairstylist, librarians, and book junkies like herself. Interview When did you begin writing?  My grandfather was a wonderful oral storyteller telling tales about growing up in rural Georgia or about working on his farm. He kept everyone including me enthralled and laughing for hours. It wasn't until I tried to write stories that I realized just how much I learned from him--cadence, pacing, characterization. He was a true master at his craft. It all came together when I wrote a REALLY bad romance 28 years ago. I kept writing and until I had something that was marketable. My first novel, The Wisdom of Hair, was published in 2013 and I haven’t stopped since. What genres do you write? Contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Who do you imagine you're telling a story to as you write? I turn off my imagination and listen to my character’s voices in my head. My characters always come on their own terms, complete with a name, a location, a time period. I hear their voice in my head and start writing. I've learned to stick to what they tell me. When I try to massage things the way I think they should be, I screw it up. I'm kind of like a glorified stenographer. The best way for a writer to understand this is to listen to an audio book. That's as close as a reader can get to knowing what the voices in my head (they're good voices :-) sound like. What's your latest book about? My new book is part of the Magnolia Bay series I write with my writing bestie, Erika Marks. The working title is CAUGHT UP IN YOU. It’s the story of Tanner, one of the very yummy Mauldin brothers. He’s a huge flirt who thinks he’s got womankind all figured out until he meets his match in Halley Sullivan. Which authors inspire you? For romance, I like to laugh, so I’ll stop what I’m doing and read authors like Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins the moment their books hit my eReader. For women’s fiction, I adore Karen White, Wendy Wax, and Jane Porter. Jane’s a twofer because she writes women’s fiction and romance too. What's your favorite book? It’s A GOOD HARD LOOK by Ann Napolitano. It’s incredibly well written and heartbreakingly beautiful. Why did you choose to publish with Tule? Jane Porter started the Tule Publishing Group to change the industry for authors. She changed my life giving me a platform to reach voracious romance readers and many of those have also read my women’s fiction novels, The Wisdom of Hair and Palmetto Moon. What one piece of advice would you offer aspiring authors? Stay at it. Connect with readers how ever you can. Give books away to those voracious readers and let them fall in love with your writing. And keep writing your next best book because, those readers? They wanted it yesterday. Kim's Latest Novel Caught Up in You Coming April 21, 2015 Available for Pre-order Amazon After attending her baby sister’s destination wedding, Shelby Worthington decides she’s ready to do some husband hunting of her own. The only problem? She’s still insanely attracted to Declan Enright, her high school and college crush. He’s now a wildly successful painter who’s temporarily back in Magnolia Bay, but Declan should be Shelby’s last choice for possible husband material. He didn’t earn the reputation of runaway groom for nothing… Declan has worked hard to make his mark on the New York art scene and has succeeded at everything he’s ever done…except love. But Declan has come back to the Bay to change that and care for his dying father, even if he’s still never forgiven Declan for leaving the family business. Shelby is determined to steer clear, but while her lips keep saying no, her heart is pounding out yes each time she and Declan are together. While she can’t deny her attraction, Shelby’s convinced that Declan’s track record means he will break her heart. Or has Declan changed for good, and made love worth the risk? Where to Find Kim Online