Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! This week, I am pleased to have Kathy McKinsey as my guest. Anyone who lists chocolate as a favorite vegetable is someone I would be proud to call friend! I hope you enjoy Kathy’s interview as much as I did. Read on to see how you can enter to win an ebook of her latest release, Gifts of Grace!
Tell us a little bit about yourself: I have been married to Murray for 34 years, and I am the shamelessly proud mother of five. I’ve worked as a rehabilitation teacher for the blind, and now I work fulltime at home as a writer and editor. My favorite vegetables are chocolate and cocoa beans, and I enjoy reading, knitting, and crocheting. I have loved having cats and dogs in our home.
Tell us about your current release: Gifts of Grace is a collection of three novellas, stories about women with different concerns. I gave myself a couple of challenges with the stories in this book. I grew up on a farm, but it’s been more than 40 years since I moved to the city. I wanted to write a story where the setting was on a farm.
In “Gifts of Grace,” Judy returns to her family farm after an absence of twelve years. She needs to grieve the loss of her baby and find what other plans God has for her life.
Since I am blind, I wanted to write a story where the main character was blind. This is not as easy as you might expect.
In “Am I Invisible,” Iola searches for her own identity as a professional as she strives to be the mother her teenage daughter needs in a hard time.
If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it? Yes.
How do you push past the fear of your writing being average and be bold enough to sell it to a publisher? When I was a teenage writer, I had no fear. I worked on a manual typewriter, so at that time, as a blind writer, I had no way of editing or rewriting the documents. But I still sent out many stories and poems to magazines, and I had a number published.
When I took up writing again in my 50s, I’d lost most of that gusto. However, with gentle encouragement from people at ACFW, I started sending out new manuscripts to publishers again.
Who was your first Screen/Musical Crush? Tony Orlando
Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write? I have a very basic story in mind when I start, but scenes and the depth of characters come to me as I write.
What is your inspiration for writing? I want people, including those who are already Christians, to know that God is a loving father, waiting and searching for us, ready to receive us as soon as we take one step toward him.
Enter to win #womensfiction collection GIFTS OF GRACE by @kathymckinsey #christianfiction #christfic #amreading
TweetDo you write your books for your own enjoyment or more for what you think people would want to read? Having just answered the question right above, I still write the kind of stories I’d like to read.
Which of your characters most reflects your personality? I closely relate to Tammy in “As We’ve Been Loved.” Tammy’s main goal in life was being a stay-at-home mom and teaching her children to love Jesus. Now she has to learn how to be a parent of adults, as well as find forgiveness for her heart.
Find Kathy online:
https://www.facebook.com/kathy.brinkmann.mckinsey
https://twitter.com/kathymckinsey
Kathy is giving away an ebook of Gifts of Grace! Here’s how you can enter to win:
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Thank you so much, Hallee, for letting me visit with you today.:)
Author
It was a pleasure having you here. Thank you for being my guest!
Lived this interview!
Thank you, Paula. Happy New Year!:)
Loved this post
Thank you, Julie. Happy New Year!:)
Nice to meet you! You are a new to me author. 🙂