K.S. Brooks Stops By

My guest today is K.S. Brooks, truly a mystery herself. When asked about herself, she responded:“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” – The Wizard of Oz.  "That’s what I like to say when people ask me that.  I’m a full-time writer, and I like to hide behind my characters." 

Intriguing, indeed. Here is the rest of the interview:

How many books have you written, K.S.? 

I’ve written or at least started writing a lot of books.  Six have gone to publication:  Lust for Danger, The Mighty Oak and Me, The Kiss of Night, Postcards from Mr. Pish Vol.1, Night Undone, and Mr. Pish’s Woodland Adventure.

What books or authors have influenced you? 

I read a lot when I was younger.  Bookworm would have been the perfect word to describe me.  So the impact that these books had, to stand out above the rest, I think says a lot – to me anyway.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (pere) taught me how to round out characters; pretty much anything by Oscar Wilde inspires painting with words; Rudyard Kipling magically provided a moral to the story; and Warren Murphy’s Pigs Get Fat was a fantastic lesson in writing better suspense.

Tell us about your latest release, Night Undone.  

I feel like I took a big risk with Night Undone.  I stepped way outside my comfort zone with this story.  I’d never written something so character-driven, so personal...while it reveals a lot about Agent Night I feel like it sort of leaves me standing naked in the middle of a busy intersection.  The story follows former Special Agent Kathrin Night as she tries to come to terms with her career-ending injury, civilian life, and her Russian lover after he reveals his deepest, darkest secret – turning their lives upside down. It’s available online and at Amazon.com in print, e-book and Kindle formats.

Were any of your books more challenging to write than the others?  

My educational children’s books are hard work because I want to make sure everything is absolutely correct.  A lot of verification has to be done.  My “Agent Night Adventure Series” books have been the most difficult to write – but that’s really my own fault.  I write faction, and I set these books in locations so exotic that they’re difficult to research. 

What are some of the problems you faced while plotting a series with ongoing characters, K.S.? 

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, actually.  I’m daft enough to be writing two series with the same character simultaneously – the Agent Night Adventure Series features Special Agent Kathrin Night during the height of her career as a field agent (2000-2009).  The Cover Me Series follows Agent Night after an injury in the line of duty, as she struggles to deal with ‘civilian life’ while trying to resurrect her career (2010 and after).  At first, I found writing the latter was helping me improve the first series immensely.  It was making me think ‘cause and effect’ and enriching the first series by helping me plant the seeds that would bloom in the Cover Me Series.  Then I got an idea for a possible love interest who I could introduce in the early series – but I’d already limited myself as to how many “relationships” she’d had during a Cover Me session with a shrink. 

How do you develop characters?

My characters tend to develop themselves.  But if I have anything to do with it, I pile obstacles in front of them and see how they deal with them, pushing them to grow and learn in the process.

What are your protagonist’s strengths? Flaws? 

Special Agent Kathrin Night is complex, yet simple at the same time.  She’s dedicated her life to serving justice and protecting the innocent, at the same time isolating herself socially.  This makes her an extremely effective agent, but a somewhat inept human.  She has difficulties relating to the emotional and psychological needs of others since she’s closed off that part of herself. 

Can you tell us about current or future projects? 

I’m nearing completion of Postcards from Mr. Pish:  A Cross-Country Journal Volume 2.  This installment will take kids (and adults) on a journey through Mr. Pish’s (the traveling terrier) eyes from Washington State all the way to Maryland, including neat locations in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada; Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois...and so many more I can’t list them all.  I’m also working on the sequel to Lust for Danger, which I started back in 1991.  Yikes!  Some of the locational research really slowed me down, but now, thanks to the internet, and my fantastic research assistant Kyle Londagin, I’ve gotten what I need to get this action-packed thriller done.  I’m hoping to have the drafts of both these books completed this year. 

Where can folks learn more about your books and events, K.S.? 

Facebook is such a handy tool.  All my books, and whatever else is going on, is posted on my author page at http://www.facebook.com/KSBrooksAuthor.  My website, http://www.ksbrooks.com, has a lot of biographical information as well as some writing tidbits and links.  A fun place to learn about what’s going on with my children’s books is at http://www.facebook.com/MrPish.  We have lots of trivia and give-aways which promote outdoor learning and literacy – geared towards adults.

Thanks for stopping by, K.S. Continued success!