Friday, March 04, 2011

NO SAFE HAVEN - Kim and Kayla Woodhouse - Free Book

I was privileged to spend four days last week at a writers' retreat in south Texas with Kim and Kayla. I love them. You will, too. Welcome, Kim and Kayla. I know that this is a collaboration. How did this story come about?

Kim: Our brilliant editor, Karen Ball, actually suggested that we write together. She also thought that for the first book it would be unique to have a mother/daughter heroine team – with Kayla’s character having the same nerve disorder that Kayla has. It all happened at a rapid pace: Karen asked for a proposal within a few days and we had to crank it out. But the result was amazing :-) and No Safe Haven was born.

Did you find it easy to work together on it?

Kayla: It took a little figuring out (and mucho chocolate!), but we finally got a system down so we both knew what the other was writing so everything made sense in the story. After writing about half of the book things got tremendously easier—and from then on it was just pure fun! :-)
Kim: Definitely. Kayla and I have an amazing relationship so it was so much fun, but it did take some good organization to figure out how to do it!

How did collaborating with this team impact you?

Kim: Kayla has always amazed me with her writing, but during this project there were many times I’d read her scenes and say, “Wow.” Her writing is so fresh and real, I kept wondering if maybe I should quit and just let her write everything. :-)


What is the hardest thing about writing as a team?

Kayla: Umm… I think the hardest thing is probably knowing the other’s characters. When writing as a “team” you have to make sure that such and such a character would say something the way she/he would in the other person’s scene, and act the same way. Also, you don’t want them to do TOO much of something. For instance, one time we were writing and had a character do a quirk ten times in two scenes. Our editor had fun pointing out our “pet phrases.” Consistency is so important, so we had to make sure we were really in our characters’ heads – especially in the same way the other person had the characters in their head. (Whew. If you followed that train of thought, I’m impressed.)

I understand completely. I'm sure the readers will, too. What are you reading right now?

Digitalis – by Ronie Kendig
Lightkeeper’s Bride – by Colleen Coble

I've read both of those books, and they're awesome, too. How did you choose your characters’ names?

Kim and Kayla: Andie was named after one of our friends from our writer’s group, Anesia was named after a girl we knew on Akutan (the island we lived on in Alaska), and a few characters were picked from our friends (i.e. Tammy the nurse is named after one of our dear friends- also a nurse-again from Alaska), and the others (Cole, Jenna, Zoya) we researched and to find just the right names. Race Against Time (book 2) and book 3 have a few more Athabaskan names in them as well, since several of our characters are Native Alaskan.

Would you want to work on another book together?

Kayla: YES! We look forward to the next two in this series as well as our next series. :-) We’ve loved the journey and I don’t think we’ll ever stop writing together, although we are doing things separately along with our books together.

Kim: Most definitely! This has been an incredible experience for us both and I love learning and growing together.

What do you want to tell us about the book?

No Safe Haven is really unique in several facets. Kayla is a very young full-length published novelist and she writes characters that are her age. NSH also tackled Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy which is a rare disorder that Kayla has. We wrote a mother/daughter book by a mother/daughter author team. It was amazing to see that translate to the page. I (Kim) wrote all the adult POVs and Kayla wrote all the pre-teen/teen POVs. I wrote in third person, Kayla wrote in first. The response has been amazing so far and we are looking forward to hearing what you think. Christian Retailing Magazine just chose it as their top pick and Romantic Times gave it 4 stars and a wonderful review. We’re just excited to see what the Lord does with it!

I was thrilled when I got home from the retreat and read my Christian Retailing Magazine and saw the up pick. Where can our readers find you on the Internet?

http://kimberleyandkaylawoodhouse.com/  is our website
www.twitter.com/kimwoodhouse twitter
Http://www.facebook.com/KimberleyWoodhouseFanPage Facebook Fan Page

Thank you so much for visiting me on my blog. We'll have to do it again with books two and three.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

27 comments:

Charlotte Kay said...

I am appreciative of this giveaway.
Thanks for the honest review.
Charlotte from Ohio

Unknown said...

Loved the interview, Lena! And thanks for the chance to win this book! It sounds great, and i love the fact that the authors lived in Alaska and the story takes place there! mitzi_wanham[at]yahoo[dot]com. i am in Arizona

Anonymous said...

I would love to win a copy of this book. Angela from Ketucky

Unknown said...

I can't wait to read this one! Looks so good! What a fun interview! Thanks for the chance to win.
Kari in Oregon

Kimberley Woodhouse said...

Lena, you are so much fun! Thank you so much for hosting us here.

If any of you have questions, we'll try to keep popping in :)

scottsgal said...

thanks for the chance - sounds like a good book
msboatgal at aol.com

collettakay said...

Thank for the opportunity!

Colletta from Pennsylvania

pepsi324[at]yahoo[dot]com

EJ said...

I would love to win a copy of this book. E. Jordan from Iowa

windycindy said...

What a great mother/daughter team...
The nerve disorder is new to me and
this young author is amazing!
Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
Illinois

Lourdes said...

Great interview. Would love to win.

Lourdes from Long Island

Linda Kish said...

I would love to read this book.

Linda in California

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Lorna Faith said...

Wow what great teamwork...a mother/daughter writing team! Awesome...I'd love to read your book:)

Please enter my name for a chance to win!

Lorna from Alberta

lornafaith(at)gmail(dot)com

Lady Araujo said...

I'd love to read this book. I read Woodhouse Family Welcome Home adn loved the way Kim writes.
Thanks for this opportunity.
Marta A. in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pam K. said...

It would be interesting to read this book written by a mother/daughter team of authors.
Thanks for the opportunity to win "No Safe Haven."

pmk56[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
Kansas

Cindy W. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cindy W. said...

What an enjoyable interview. It's awesome that you have bonded into a great writing team! Would love to be entered to win a copy of NO SAFE HAVEN. Thanks for the chance.

I live in North East Indiana.

Smiles & Blessings,
Cindy W.

countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com

Giveaway Lady said...

I have heard of this book and really wanted to read it. Hopefully I can win it on here:) Thanks for the chance!

esterried[at]yahoo[dot]com
Charity from Nauvoo, IL

Kimberley Woodhouse said...

What fun you all are! It has been wonderful to be here today and hear from all of you. Thanks for the encouragement and excitement for the book. Can't wait to see who wins :)
Joy to you all!
Kim

A J Hawke said...

I'm impressed with the mother/daughter team. I can't imgine what that would be like.
Look forward to reading the book.

Please enter me in the giveaway.

A J Hawke from Texas

Anne Payne said...

Sounds good. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.

Anne, rural NC

Coolestmommy said...

What a great duo the authors are. I enjoyed reading about their team.

coolestmommy2000 at gmail dot com
NE

dancealertreads.blogspot.com said...

Great Review! Thanks. Please enter me in the drawing!

dancealert at aol dot com

Melissa M. said...

I'm curious about this book--looks good! Thanks for the opportunity to win.

hismercysurrounding(at)yahoo(dot)com

Sarah said...

I would love to win this book. Thanks!
srupp1 (AT) embarqmail (DOT) com

Judylynn said...

I would love to win this book. Please enter me.

Judylynn in Tennessee

Kristen said...

How amazing to be able to collaborate on a book together!
Please enter me:)
Kristen from WA

Jeff said...

Just heard your story on Focus on the Family. Incredible!