Uncategorized

I was recently interviewed for Hollywood Monthly, and the experience was such a nice opportunity to reflect on some of the good things that have happened in 2020, and what brings me happiness. Read on to learn more about me, what I’ve been up to, and what makes me smile.

Q : You’ve now written two books, the bestseller THE PROPHECY and now NEVER SAY GOODBYE. How was your experience writing your second book versus your first?

Writing Never Say Goodbye was a completely different experience. I had a new business (being an author and cultivating my brand), a team I was working with, a deadline looming, and a slew of obstacles that were hard to navigate and ultimately overcome. Through the process however, I found myself again and realized where home and heart is.

Q: We hear you love linking music to what you are writing. What were the top three songs that formed the “soundtrack” to your novel NEVER SAY GOODBYE?

The books’ characters Amanda, Alexander, and Callie had been with me for years, which is why I have three soundtracks related to the book on my website (authorkimsakwa.com), not to mention the countless playlists I created while working through the final iteration. If pressed, however—like now—I’ll pick one for each of them. “Dream On” by Aerosmith (Alexander), “Secrets” by One Republic (Amanda), and “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus (Callie).

Q: Who are your go-to authors?

Julie Garwood, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Cherry Adair, Karen Marie Moning, Lori Foster, Lynn Kurland. Seriously, I could go on!

Q: When you need a break from writing, what do you do?

I’m smiling just thinking of it. I go for a walk and listen to music.

Q: You got to visit New York’s Hamptons for the first time this February. What’s your favorite memory of your visit? 

Pinch me, I’m attending an author weekend in the Hamptons! I was instantly embraced within the folds of Bedside Reading founder Jane Ubell-Meyer, my fellow authors, and their families which was a life-changing experience of its own, so it’s hard to pinpoint a favorite. The entire weekend was incredible, from the kickoff at the The Topping Rose to our final event at The Maidstone hotel. But if pressed, I’d have to say sitting within the spectator 1650 Baker House—enveloped in warmth and exceptional hospitality (thank you, Antonella!)—while author Hank Phillippi Ryan mesmerized the crowd (me included). Our late night intimate dinners at local spots happened to be off the charts too. It was extraordinary and an experience I would repeat in a heartbeat.

This blog post originally appeared on All About Romance.

Music is one of the most important elements in my writing process. And the music that inspires the stories of my characters differs vastly from one book to the next. I’m not sure why this is so. It just is. While other authors might not experience this, for me, music sets the tone and the pace, making my characters move.

When I began to write my debut time travel romance The Prophecy, the music that enlivened my characters changed throughout the story. In The Prophecy, one of my favorite scenes is where my hero Greylen comes home and is reunited with his love Gwen. The song “You and Me” by Lifehouse is what I listened to while writing it. While of course the lyrics are important, there’s something beside them. The rhythm of that specific music opened up that courtyard reunion scene for me into an entire world.  And “Your Body Is a Wonderland” by John Mayer played in my mind while I wrote about the days Greylen and Gwen spend together while Greylen recovers from injuries, and Gwen recovers from the fear of almost losing him. Yes, there too, it was partly about the lyrics—if you know this couple, they’re very intimate—but in this case that song and that music—the tone and beat—created the atmosphere for what Greylen describes as “some of the most incredible days he and Gwen would have together.” That idyllic feeling made the writing come very easily to me.

In my new romance novel, Never Say Goodbye, I had a similar experience with “Such a Simple Thing” by Ray Lamontagne. While my book’s couple Alexander and Amanda never actually break up or disappoint each other as one might think from listening to this song, the song’s haunting beauty mirrors, in my mind, how Alexander feels as he struggles with Amanda’s amnesia and their resulting interrupted love. And “One” by U2 carried Alexander and Amanda through the chapters towards the end of their story. It’s funny, but I just listened to that song again, and with the first notes, it brought me right back to those moments!

I’m working on my third book now, and I can’t tell you how exciting it is to hear a song on the radio that’s ‘it’ for my characters. It’s thrilling as I add it to my new playlist, press play, and my muse comes to life.

Some people might say they are cheesy and sappy. But I love Hallmark’s movies! My favorites have included Paris, Wine, and Romance, The Wedding March, and Snow Bride. And don’t get me started on the Christmas-themed marathons. And why not—who doesn’t love a happily-ever-after story? Did you know there’s a Hallmark Sirius Radio channel that’s basically songs you’d play at a wedding? Talk about love—it’s perfect for romance authors, and romance readers.

The films they produce are so feel-good, and I am definitely a positive, glass-half-full person. They are extremely satisfying stories. Plus, they feature a lot of actors who were big in the 1980s and 1990s (I’ll admit it, I was a huge Dallas fan—both the original, and the recent remake). It was great to see Linda Gray and the late Larry Hagman in action again. Of the remake, my new favorites were Josh Henderson and Julie Gonzalo.

At the end of the day, these movies tap into my goals as a writer, truly. I want to write stories that make people happy and give them a place to escape to. Stories that they don’t want to end, and featuring characters who they think about long after they’ve finished reading my books. I’m off to curl up with a good Hallmark movie now—Love and Sunshine is just about to start!

Some people like books that focus extensively on the heroine’s own life, and the hero’s own life, as discrete, independent tracks. They delight in the hero and heroine meeting, separating again, interacting here and there, and feeling some great “will they or won’t they?” tension when the two do come together. This sort of romance often features a true coupling near the end of the novel. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love to read about—and write about—that tension too, and I too take great pleasure in a strong happily-ever-after. But as I begin my publishing career, I find that I gravitate towards writing stories that focus on the couple together—even where they get together earlier rather than later in the book. I’d rather write about them and their story than build slowly to a culmination where they are together at the finale. This way, I can show so much about how the couple interacts and how they affect and change one another. And, as an intensely loyal person who puts family above all else myself, in my writing I really relish the opportunity to write about my story’s couple taking on the world together, building each other up. 

If I had a mission statement for my writing, it would be that I want to give my readers the kind of stories I love, about strong characters who are fiercely loyal to each other and always win in the end. I hope you love these stories as much as I do!