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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Won’t you be my neighbor—Emily R. King


Do you have on your comfy sweater? Did you change into your sneakers? Because I did, and now I’m ready to start. (I almost sang you all a song, but it didn’t really translate to the blog :)

Angie: So, lets get started. Welcome Emily R. King to the first post of "Won't you be my neighbor." I got a whole slew of questions that may or may not be writing related. And isn't she cute! I never have a collar bone when I'm pregnant!

I love Emily! She just the nicest sweetest person, and such a talented writer. I know because she has let me read her wonderful manuscript. 

Emily: Let you? I thought I bribed you by reading yours. : ) Thanks for having me, Angie!

Angie: So let’s start with the question everyone is dying to know. What are you wearing right now? LOL. That sounds pervy. I don't mean it to be.

Emily: Bawhahaha! It's 10:17 am, I've been blogging for two hours, and I'm still wearing my bathrobe. I have bedhead and all. Yeah, I'm one hip lady.

Angie: Ha ha! Me too! Jammies and all. But if you were wearing say...your junior prom dress at 10:17 am then that would really say something. But a bathrobe just tells us you are laid back and casual!

Emily: Or just lazy. :D

Angie: No, never lazy. Okay, question number two... If you were a candy bar, what candy bar would you be?

Emily: A Reese's Peanut Butter cup, because I'm sweet AND salty.

Angie: Nice. I love those. Now I'm hungry. Ooo, here's a goodie... What is your best physical feature? And don't say eyes. Eyes are a cop out.

Emily: The truth? My butt—or so I've been told. It's the one part of my body that gets oogled the most. Unfortunately, it's not as nice as it used to be. Sitting and writing all day has seriously depleted its niceness.

Angie: Writer butt! Ya, I know what you're talking about. I can totally relate. Here is something I've always wanted to know... How do you get around to so many blogs every day? Every time I go to comment you've already been there. What is your secret?

Emily: No sleep? No, really, I'm a fast reader and Google Reader helps me scroll through new blog postings quickly. If you don't use it, get on it! It'll save you a ton of time.

Angie: I'm must be slow because I can't figure Google Reader out. I may need a tutorial. What about this question... Tell us something about your MS or WIP that is unique.

Emily: The demon hunters in my MS arm themselves with Taser guns and pepper spray. They don't want to kill hosts (the mortals possessed by demons), so they use non-invasive ways to disarm them and then dispel the demons with the help of their mightiest weapon, a Sun Stone ring.

Angie: Your demon hunters kick butt. I'd want them with me in a dark alleyway. What is your biggest strength as a writer and your biggest weakness?

Emily: My biggest strength is my determination. I will NOT give up.
My biggest weakness is my pride. I wait too long before asking for critiques, and have shot myself in the foot many times because of this. If I had reached out to other writers for help, I would be much further in my writing career than I am now.

Angie: Those are great! Determination is a must. But I also have to say that you rock at writing action. Action is hard to write well. Any tips?

Emily: Don't add too many details and descriptions. Make it move along quickly, just like in an action film. Movement is key! Oh, and keep your reader guessing. If they know your MC is going to win, it lowers the suspense.

Angie: That is great! I love to learn from other writers and books, so...What was the last book you read and what did you learn from it?

Emily: I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, again. What I learned is paragraphing. J.K. Rowling opens her dialogue by pushing it to the next paragraph. For instance:

Finally, his large purple face crumpled with concentration. Uncle Vernon stopped in front of Harry and spoke.

"I've changed my mind," he said.

Some writers wouldn't start another paragraph, but I prefer J.K. Rowling's style and have adopted it as my own.

Angie: I do that too. White space. White space. White space. Right?

Emily: Yep!

Angie: So a few times a year I get to be a judge for local and state scholarship pageants, and I can't let you go without a pageant question. How would you broker peace in the Middle East? I'm just curious whether you have a plan or not. 

Emily: Ha! No, I can't say I have a plan. The hatred is so inbred, the children are taught it from birth. Even if I dethroned every leader and installed better leadership, the lessons the children have been taught by their fathers would still reign.
I don't mean to be a pessimist, but I doubt the Middle East will have peace until the Millennium. No one, save God Himself, can stop the hatred there.

And on that happy note, thanks Angie! This was a ton of fun. Now I'm going to get dressed for the day and find myself a peanut butter cup, then get back to revising. Love you, girl!

Angie: Thanks Em. You were awesome. If I was scoring your last question I would give you a 9. Well thought out and articulate! You rock!

Seriously, thanks. That was ton of fun :)

Emily: Thank YOU!

So there you have it the soon to be wildly famous Emily King. Go check out her awesome blog and give her a high five :) Now I’m changing out of my sneakers…but I will keep the sweater.

-Angie 


Daily reminder of the I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest starting next Monday :) You can always write your posts ahead of time and be all prepared and stuff.

45 comments:

Cristina said...

great interview. Emily ROCKS! and your story sounds awesome! demon hunters??? I'm sold!!!

Tara Tyler said...

it was like listening in on a phone call.
comfy, cozy interview =)
sounds like an exciting book, Emily!

Anonymous said...

Completely agree about paragraphing. When paragraphs are long and laborious to read, I find myself losing attnetion easily. My style is short and sweet. And sweet aqnd salty ... I suppose that makes me a Reece's too!

Trisha said...

Love the sound of this demon hunter story!!

As for the Middle East, I don't agree that hatred is inbred there, I do believe however that there are some bad apples who seem to be running things. Then again, I think I'd be pissed too if some foreigners came onto my soil & started bombing everything. But that's just my take on it. ;) Everyone is entitled to their opinion!

I can't stand huge paragraphs, they actually make my lungs constrict. haha

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Enjoyed this interview!

And I hear you, Emily, regarding waiting too long to ask for crits. For me, I don't think it's so much pride as fear. :)

Brinda said...

This is a great interview. Do you mind if I model all my future guest interviews after this one? No? Great. I too am not wearing my junior prom dress so I can so relate. lol

Thanks for posting such a fun interview.

Kyra Lennon said...

Lovely interview, Emily sounds awesome!

Theresa said...

Great interview.

I have the same weakness as you, but luckily I've discovered that critique partners want you to succeed as much as you do and they are not there to criticize but help.

You're MS sounds awesome and now I want a Reese's peanut butter cup :)

Anonymous said...

Great interview.

Melissa Sarno said...

Lovely interview. Do they really ask the 'Peace in the Middle East' question at pageants?! I'd like to be a fly on the wall for the judging. You need to write a post (or book) about that!

Sarah Tokeley said...

Thank you both for the fun interview. Emily is one of my favourite people :-)

ilima said...

Great interview. Writer butt...hahaha.

David P. King said...

So awesome that you have Emily on your blog today. And that was a smashing interview. I also start with new paragraphs, even though I get grief for it sometimes. It just feels more natural that way. Good job, guys! :)

Cortney Pearson said...

Great interview. I liked the pageant question, lol.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I use Google Reader as well but I'm not a faster reader!
And don't worry - excess description will never occur in my lifetime.
Good interview, ladies!

Emily R. King said...

Cristina, thanks! My demon hunters are one-of-a-kind.

Tara, it kind of was a phone call. We e-mailed back and forth for an hour.

Rebecca, sweet and salty is a good way to be!

Trisha, you are entitled to your opinion. Mine is that no man can fix the Middle East. It's going to take God to clean up that mess! Ha!

Madeline, I actually enjoy getting critiques, I just wait too long.

Brinda, didn't Angie do a great job?

Emily R. King said...

Kyra, nice to meet you!

Theresa, I've discovered the same about critique partners. I just wish I did it sooner.

Freya, thanks!

Melissa, I agree. Angie should totally do that.

Sarah, thanks for being supportive!

Ilima, someone needs to make a workout desk chair!

Leigh Covington said...

OH.MY.WORD! You girls are amazing. Loving the "Won't You Be My Neighbor" campaign and Emily is priceless! Seriously girl - you are so stinking cute! Actually, you both are. Love the questions... love the interaction... love it all!

Ruth Josse said...

Fun interview, girls! You're both lovely. :)

Emily R. King said...

David, I'm with you on the paragraphing.

Cortney, when I read her pageant question I thought, "How the heck am I supposed to answer this?" It's tough work being a pageant queen.

Alex, I'm a flowery descriptor, which is a hurtle when writing suspense.

Leigh, I don't feel cute. I feel like a whale. Ha! But Angie is cute.

Ruth, thanks for reading!

Cassie Mae said...

So much fun! I love Emily! She's all sorts of Fabulous :) and if she's comparing herself to Reese's, then she just became my new best friend :)

Neurotic Workaholic said...

Mmm, I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, especially when they're mixed in with ice cream, yum! I totally agree with Emily about the importance of reaching out to other writers for help. I've always been shy about just showing my work to other writers, let alone asking them for help. I'm not ready to do manuscript critiques with anyone yet, but I know that I'd like to eventually; I've thought about joining a writer's group eventually as a way to feel more comfortable sharing my work with other people.

Unknown said...

Emily does have a great blog, great interview you guys!

Coleen Patrick said...

Great interview! I completely relate to the weakness of not asking for help (ie critiques)--I am the same way. It is so frustrating!!
Oh and don't get me started on pb and choc-yum!

Unknown said...

Wonderful interview! And your story sounds amazing!

Carrie Butler said...

I can't get Mr. Rogers out of my head now...

Anyway, great interview! You guys have a fun chemistry, and I enjoyed it. :)

(Three cheers for the Empress!)

McKenzie McCann said...

You guys know how to make a great interview. It's fun watching the two of you bounce off each other. I never noticed Rowling's style of dialogue. Fascinating. Then again, I only read the last one. Before that, my parents read it to me.

Emily R. King said...

Cassie Mae, us Reese's girls have to stick together! (Like peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth. Ha!)

N.W, getting good critiques is essential to progress. I know this, but I still avoid it as long as possible.

Gwen, thank you!

Coleen, critiques are a hard thing to ask for. It's like saying, "Hit me here." :)

Caitlin, I'm working hard to make my story amazing. Someday, it will be (I hope!).

Carrie, Empress King thanks you!

McKenzie, Angie is such a doll. This interview was like chatting with a friend.

Emily R. King said...

Thanks for having me, Angie! This was the most fun I've ever had in an interview.

Anonymous said...

What a fun interview... That was lovely getting to know you both.
Xx

Susan Fields said...

Fun interview, ladies! Now I want a peanut butter cup, too...

Meredith said...

Ha, such a fun interview! Yay for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! And staying in your bathrobe for as long as possible. :)

Jay Noel said...

Awesome interview! I'm a big paragrapher as well when it comes to separating lines of dialog and exposition. I think it makes it easier to read. I first noticed this while reading Dean Koontz.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Your demon hunters sound really cool. Definitely nicer than the ones that are featured in "Supernatural" which is a series I love.

Nancy Thompson said...

Let's see: jammies til late morning, Reece's PB cups, persistence and pride, separating dialogue... We could have been separated at birth! Great interview!

Emily R. King said...

Michelle, isn't Angie's interview idea great?

Susan, I'm giving you permission to have a peanut butter cup. Does that help?

Meredith, gotta love the bathrobe!

Jay, you're right. Dean Koontz does that, too.

Michael, they're a lot more forgiving. I like to balance the dark with the light.

Nancy, are you my long-lost sister? I have three, but I'd love a fourth!

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Fabulous interview with fun and unique questions. Thanks, ladies!

Deana said...

Who doesn't love Emily! And you are cute with a cute butt?! I am soooo jealous:)So Reese's are my fave too...which adds to the writer's butt.
Angie, I love this neighbor interview stuff! I can't wait to see more:)

Oh, and I don't get google reader either. Emily, maybe you need to give the slow folk a lesson???

Lara Schiffbauer said...

Fabulous interview! It was nice getting to know you both a little better!

Kelley Lynn said...

Great interview ladies! So much fun. Loved being in on your conversation :)

Maggie said...

Emily is awesome. And man, I wish my butt was my best feature!!! It doesn't even make the top 20! (Not that the other ones are so great...but yeah, you get my drift.)

Alexis Bass said...

This was wonderful Emily! Yea for determination! Boo to writer's butt! :)

Unknown said...

Haha..to be quite sincere, it has been a long time since i read such a fun interview! Great post!

Stopping by from HER WORLD -
http://muruginjehia.blogspot.com/

Emily R. King said...

Cynthia, thanks!

Deana, maybe I will give lessons. I could do them privately. *wink*

Lara, I hope you learned something new (that wasn't about my butt!).

Kelley, it did feel like a conversation, didn't it?

Maggie, well, I wanted to say eyes, but ya know. Angie wouldn't let me. :)

Alexis, I'm booing with you!

Murugi, nice to meet you. I'm going to check out your blog now.

Kathryn Purdie said...

I love Emily! She is my newly discovered soul sister! (And I think she looks just like Reese Witherspoon, but way cuter.) Great interview, Angie and Em. I loved learning more about both of you through this.

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