Excerpt:
I returned to the room and knocked, entering at the direction of The Chosen One... who stood in front of the mirror wearing nothing but his Chosen underwear and the tyrian purple cloak wrapped around his shoulders. His chest was puffed out, and his enormous, muscular limbs flexed this way and that as he posed himself in dramatic battle postures with his famous great sword. Every inch of visible skin was hairless and glistening. He had worked up a sweat admiring himself, and I could still smell the liquor on him.
"Um..." I mumbled, wondering if I should return at a more convenient—and less embarrassing—time. Much to my chagrin, he didn't stop flexing on my account.
"Go ahead and pack," he grunted as he clenched his stomach to make all of his tightly bound abdomen muscles pop. "I'll wait for the pressed clothes." He turned to the side and threw the cloak over his shoulder so he could admire his hips and backside, casting daring glances at his tiny embroidered face on the seat of his underpinnings through the polished brass.
I was certain my own face was scarlet as I skirted past him to gather up everything and return the items to the trunks that seemed the most appropriate. The entire time I worked, he didn't break from his posturing, and I wondered if it was a form of exercise for him, or if it merely exercised his ego. My work was hastened by embarrassment, and when I was done, I silently took up the first Tome of Tiberius. I turned my back, ignoring his grunting and wheezing, and flipped to chapter 3, skimming for the most pertinent pieces of information. I needed to know how to handle The Chosen One's finances.
I quickly learned it was my duty to draw up contracts when The Chosen One agreed to take a deal, enforce the contracts, and collect the fees. It was my duty to arrange for appraisers, auctioneers, and moneychangers to convert any "spoils" of The Chosen One's labors—those that he did not keep for his personal collection—to coin. It was my duty to ensure there was sufficient coin for The Chosen One to live whatever lifestyle he chose and to fund any campaign. Incidentals incurred as a direct result of a campaign—such as bribing furious husbands—came from funds before they were deposited into a bank and Tiberius' percentage was calculated. There was a list of "lifestyle" actions that came from the bank and were not considered incidentals; "donations and women" were on that list. Thus, I assumed him throwing coins into the crowd was not an incidental, either, but came from The Chosen One's own bank holdings.
"You need to plot a course for Vevesk," The Chosen One said between poses. "They have vampire stoats."
"What," I asked, slightly startled by the break in silence. "What is a stoat?"
"I think they said it was like a long rat." He glanced over at me. "Find out. And find out how to kill it."
I stared at him until his self-admiration embarrassed me enough to look away. "You don't know how to kill them?"
"I assume I cut them up enough, they'll die," he quipped. "You need to figure out how it happened so I can stop it. Evil wizard, ancient curse, typical vampirism, that sort of thing."
"I have to learn what caused this outbreak of blood-sucking long rats?" I asked, incredulously. Surely he was jesting. That was his job.
"Chapter 2," he said, stripping off the cloak so he could better admire his shoulders.
I grimaced and turned to the second chapter in the Tome of Tiberius. This detailed how I was to conduct necessary research for a campaign and successfully translate it to The Chosen One, for him to then implement that knowledge to complete his feats of heroism. I sighed deeply. "There is no university here to hold historical works, and many of the larger temples do not have any books in them at all. I will need to visit the Wizards' Guild, the Questers' Guild, and the Scriveners' Guild," I explained.
"Go quickly," he ordered without sympathy. "We leave soon."
I gritted my teeth and rose from my chair, throwing Tiberius' quill and a stack of paper sheets into my shoulder bag. It was all but impossible to do the kind of research this would require in only a handful of hours. So, I ran.
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with . . . Kimber Grey . . .
How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
I am a very passionate writer. I am a big believer in “no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” I want someone to get lost in the story, to feel the struggle of the hero, to loath or pity the villain. I write with my heart, and I write what I love, and I think it shows in my work. I’m a fan of rich descriptions and language that quietly opens the mind to new expressions and ways of experiencing the world and describing the senses. I also really appreciate fiction that isn’t afraid to dig into the gritty and dark side of human nature, so I don’t shy away from or avoid subjects that get overlooked (example: the unglamorous truth about where they go to the bathroom if they’re riding through the woods for two weeks.)
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?
Like most things, I think it’s BOTH nature and learned. The more you read and the more you write the better writer you become. I have some fortunate traits that make me particularly good at writing: hyperfocus that allows me to become fully immersed in a project and lose track of the world, ravenous curiosity that allows me to deep-dive research, desire for understanding that enables me to view the perspective of others from the lens of their experiences to better write a differing perspective, among others. I also read a lot about grammar, punctuation, style, and word-usage. I am often referencing thesauruses, asking forums, and researching better ways to write. Who I am makes me a better writer every day, and acknowledging that there is always more to learn and ways to improve help me do just that.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page?
From the initial concept and all through the writing process, a character lives inside of me. I think about their history, their motivation, what excites them, what they stand for... who they are. A character’s backstory isn’t just a list of events; it’s all of the experiences that molded them into the person they became. What they’re doing has to make sense for who they are, where they came from, and where they want to go in life. Often, even the characters who only appear on a few pages in one chapter of a book are ‘real’ enough to me that I have an almost overwhelming urge to write their story of how they got there. This can be a real issue, because I can’t write an offshoot story for every side character in a book or I’d never finish a story arc. The main characters of books are so real to me, I mourn their loss when a story is over as if I lost a friend. It’s one reason why I’m always looking to write the “next book”, even if the novel was meant to be a stand-alone.
Do you people watch to help with character(s) development? Or do you build upon your characters during story creation?
I do people watch, but not to develop any specific character. I know it might sound lame, but I try to be a "student of life." I watch people and try and understand them. I try to imagine where they just came from, why they are there in that restaurant or store, what the people they are with mean to them. I try to read their body language and imagine how it might 'read' on the page if I were describing the scene. I listen to their cadence when they talk, pay attention to the subtle nuance of their movements. People, even in their everyday lives, can be infinity intriguing and enlightening.
Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?
In every review of The Chosen One’s Assistant on Amazon, people are asking for the sequel. Naturally, I’m working on that. My next project, however, is something I’m really excited about. I’m preparing to publish my first Paranormal Romance novel under the pen name Harlee Jordan: Demon of the Emerald Isle. The main character is a fiercely independent code-monkey named Celeste who falls desperately in lust with a dangerous and mysterious Irish businessman named Donovan, who turns out to be possessed by a demon from the Amduat (the Egyptian Underworld). The story is exciting, passionate, dark, and deeply emotional. Plus, I get to dive into one of the coolest settings you possibly can: ancient Egyptian gods and magic. This is the first book in the Amduat Demon Trilogy, and the first three chapters are available for free download here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/nkjm779pvt
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