Author Spotlight: Kimberly Mullican

Allow me to welcome author Kimberly Mullican to the Open  Vein. Her book, TAKING CONTROL is available now in  multiple formats. Read below for more details! EJ (me) – First, the dirty. Tell us about your book,  Taking Control. Kimberly Mullican (KM) – First of all EJ – thank you so  much for having me. I appreciate you taking time out of  your busy schedule to play Pimp for a Day! This is the part I hate. If you can tweet in 140 characters,  why is it so hard to shorten the description of the book?   My blurb for my book: Kat Trueblood, genetically engineered medium and former  CIA Agent, thought she had escaped the danger and drama  of her previous life. She has a stable job as a paralegal, is  dating her first girlfriend, and has plenty of time to spend  with her best friend and guardian – a ghost named Grant. In denial about missing the action of her former life, Kat’s  thrust head first back into it when the Russian mafia – the  same guys who raped and tortured her for two weeks during  active duty – targets her and her family. The CIA forces her  to choose between working with the FBI to catch a serial killer  who is slaughtering area drag queens or leaving her family at  risk. Distracted by discovering Grant is in love with her and her  girlfriend ending up on the suspect list, Kate finds herself as  the hunted instead of the hunter. Captured by the killer, she  must face her inner demons in order to survive and end the  serial killer’s mayhem. ME – The book description for Taking Control is unbelievably compelling, hinting at the story being a spy action thriller  with a paranormal twist. Was it a premeditated decision to  write a story using both elements, or did it evolve organically  from one into both? KM – You’re not going to believe how this all came together.   I had a terribly overwritten vampire book (Don't we all? :) … and it’s good, just horribly overwritten. After every single  agent said, “no thanks” or nothing at all I started looking at  what they WERE looking for. Strong female MC – check;  gay/lesbian overtones – check; paranormal – check;  Romance – well there is a little romance and sex, best of  both worlds. (Don’t gasp – we all love sex, it’s okay.) The  whole story started to form as I was reading what agents  were looking for. The funny part is – I decided to go the Indie  route instead. Who cares what the agents want really? I’m  not looking for an agent. Not now anyway. ME – Most of my blog followers being authors, aspiring or  practicing, we’re always interested in the nuts and bolts of  craft here at the OV: Tell us a little about your journey to  authordom.  KM – Well, I did way better with English and Literature in  high school and college than Chemistry and Math. It’s just  the way my brain is built. (I like and understand the way your  brain is built!) I have written several short stories, really  sucky poetry and a few good stand-up routines for a couple  of starting artists. I always loved a good book. I was a huge John Grisham fan  until his work seemed redundant to me. Then I discovered  Baldacci. I’ve been reading a lot of paranormal stuff and I  love vampires. Shoot me. I’m not enticed by the sparkly kind  though. I’m getting off topic. Blame it on my background in  sales. I talk too much. After the divorce from my first husband, I suffered from  insomnia. I got sick of tossing and turning and decided to  write the stories that were in my head. Though Goddess  Janet Reid would flog me for admitting it – I published my  first novel via vanity press. Yes – I learned my lesson. I have  an unedited book out there with my face plastered on the  back. Thank God it isn’t on bookshelves and my name has  since changed! Since 2006, I’ve been reading on the industry, following  authors and studying while writing. I joined a few crit groups  and finally, started TAKING CONTROL. I knew I wanted to  self-pub and that all responsibility was going to fall on my  shoulders. I have had 10 separate pairs of eyes on this book  through all stages. Editing is so important, and very difficult.   Each critter found something different or suggested  something different. Again, in the end, it’s all on the author. ME – What’s your writing process like?  KM – Oh hell, I’ve tried to be a plotter. I find it stifling.  I’m a type B though and the fewer the rules the better.   Each WIP gets however much time it needs. If it’s shit,  I scrap, rewrite, rework and give to betas. Depending on the  scene I’m writing I switch up my environment. Dark scenes I  write at night, usually with a cocktail (careful using this  process, you need to reread it in the a.m.) Light stuff I write  during the day with a boat load of coffee in my system. I do have one WIP that I never connected with and it never  made it to the Betas. It upset me so much I even erased the  digital file. It just stunk. It’s okay to write garbage. Someone  important once said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” The  important thing is to keep writing. ME – In the current climate, it’s almost impossible to talk  about writing and not talk about THE business. You  published Taking Control independently. What went into  that decision, and what can you tell us about the process? KM – I touched on that a little above. I read Konrath’s blog.  (NOTE: J.A. Konrath is an author who staunchly advocates  DIY publishing, and gives lots of tips on how to do it  successfully. You can read his blog, here.)I’ve also read  some of his books. I think the man is onto something. While  he may upset some people, I can see how passionate he is  and I don’t think he’s wrong, I just think the industry is  changing and why not have control of your own work  product? After all, I have a piece of garbage out there that  I don’t get control over until 2014. If I had self-pubbed, I  could correct my error and move on. ME – Any tips for those of us considering the Indie route? KM – Edit, Edit, Edit. (Amen, sister!) Get as many readers as  possible and as much feedback as possible. If you can afford  an editor (and I couldn’t) get one. Buy Kristen Lamb’s book  on marketing. I think of her as my guru, whether she likes  that or not, I’m not certain. But I talk about her so much,  Klout says I’m an influencer on Lambs… Your cover art can  make or break you, so choose wisely. Read as much as possible. Read books, blogs, industry  news, author web pages anything you can get your hands on.  Stay on top of the industry. Please, look before you leap.   Educate yourself on what you’re getting yourself into. This  industry isn’t for the faint of heart. Do your research. I wrote about drag queens in my book. I  spent a lot of time with a drag queen and he was very helpful  making sure I didn’t misrepresent that sector of the population . I certainly didn’t want scores of drag queens out for my  head! That would just be weird. ME – Change is constant in the publishing industry nowadays.  Put on your prognostication hat: What does publishing look  like 5 years from now and, perhaps more importantly, where  do you think authors fit in? KM – I really do see the big 6 suffering in the long run. It’s  slow, and today’s world is fast paced. We get everything  on-demand nowadays and they just haven’t gotten on board.  We are going to have to sift through some self-published crap  to find the gems. Who knows, someone might not like my  work, and that’s ok. After all, you can be the tastiest green  apple in the world, but not everyone likes green apples. So  far I have received positive feedback and one 5 star rating on  Amazon! The reader even wrote a review that nearly made  me pee! (No one said I'd need diapers to be a writer ...  must. read. more.) ME – Enough shoptalk! Tell us where we can find Taking  Control. You can find it here: Barnes & Noble & Amazon Paperback will be available shortly through CreateSpace.   If you want to be slightly disturbed and/or enticed,  TAKING CONTROL is for you. Thanks again for having me! It’s been a pleasure. ME - Pleasure is all mine. Best of luck to you in the future! ~EJW~