I find funny books to be a breath of fresh air in an
incredibly difficult world. Also, I tried and cannot seem to write serious
books, ha! I suppose each of us has our gifts and mine do not include creating
literary epics to boggle the mind. But the Lord did make me capable of causing
you to spray coffee out your nose and that is nothing to sniff at … unless of
course you actually did spray coffee out your nose in which case sniffing is
both acceptable and expected. Why don’t you grab a tissue while you’re at it. But
as far as Spider Gap goes, I wrote this book because of a phone call and
an answered prayer. My editor-in-chief, Nicola Martinez, called me up hoping
that I would write something for the Pure Amore imprint. It sounded really
difficult and I had no story ideas. So, I told her that I would pray about it.
I hung up the phone and prayed. “Dear Lord, if You want me to write a book for
this line, You’ve got to give me a story idea because I have nothing.” That
same day, I had this fabulous story idea out of nowhere! The Lord is so
amazing. He is there for life-shattering events and simple worries like coming
up with a story idea. That was a life-shifting moment for me, as I realized the
depth of His concern for the in and outs of my day.
I had that happen
with my book, The 12 Gifts of Christmas. A
call from my agent, my prayer, within two days, God dropped the book idea into
my head. Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in
your life?
I don’t know if I can pick … but there was this amazing moment
last Christmas. The house was a crazy mess, deep in torn wrapping paper with partially-eaten
scones and half-full coffee cups on every flat surface. Our thirteen-year-old was
playing his new Skillet CD on the radio. The turkey was in the oven, filling the
room with savory goodness and our three sons had just settled down to put
together their new Legos. The rock music quieted for a moment as the band sang
a love song. I grabbed my husband’s hand and we stood in the piles of wrapping
paper and danced together and cried and laughed because that single slice of
life was just so crazy and so achingly perfect all at once.
How has being
published changed your life?
Hmmm … it has given me more things to do, like fill out blog
interviews, ha! But as a mom, my life is pretty much wrangling kids and keeping
life going. I write early in the morning so that I can do both more easily. But
most of my time is spent with my family and taking photos for the Bible camp
where we live and work. I am so grateful to have the chance for a creative
outlet in the midst of all the craziness. There is something about creating
that brings us close to God, I think, and writing provides that for me.
What are you reading
right now?
I just finished up The
Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson and The
Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner which were both hilarious
Christian RomComs! I also enjoyed The
Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson and am beginning The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah which was given to me by my
sister-in-law. My sons have a stack of books that they want me to read, from
fanciful middle grade adventures to terrifying Sci-fi war books set on Mars
that I intend to get to soon as well.
I really loved and The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, too. What is your current work in progress?
I am working on the 15th revision of a middle grade novel about
prehistoric creatures rampaging through summer camp and am starting the 2nd
revision of a RomCom about a young woman who is asked to drive a trailer full
of beloved pet chickens over a mountain pass to their new home. Of course, she
swerves to miss a bear, crashes, and chickens go everywhere. She must locate
each special hen in the wilds of the forest before their young owner realizes
her terrible mistake. I was told that I need to write a story as a giveaway on
my website and so I am hoping to get this crazy tale whipped into shape to give
something fun to my readers for signing up for my newsletter!
What would be your
dream vacation?
Well, one of them was camping at Yellowstone National Park ,
which our family did in 2016 and while there I of course got a book idea and
that story just released this year! The second dream vacation would be to
actually take my family on the hiking trip that I described in Spider
Gap! It is such an amazing journey and I long to share the toil and
victory of traversing the glacier and seeing the fabulous scenery with my husband,
three boys, and our dog. I especially want them to get to ride on The Lady of The
Lake on Lake Chelan … but our dog needs to
lose 10 pounds to do this … so we will see if we can make it work, ha! I know
that the vet casually mentioned she could be a bit lighter, but resisting the
puppy eyes is easier said than done. I will include a photo so that you
understand our dilemma!
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
In the case of Spider Gap, I knew that I wanted my
heroine to be mercilessly teased by Jr. High students and so I needed to trap
her with a bunch of Jr. High students. What better way to stretch a person to
the breaking point, form lasting relationships, and build her beleaguered
confidence than a 21-mile backpacking trip! I went on this very hike when I was
about fifteen and it was a remarkable experience. I took a few incidents from
various backpacking trips for inspiration and then threw every possible thing
that could go wrong at poor Lily!
If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
Well, I already got to meet Francine Rivers at a writer’s
conference, which was a dream come true! Since I can’t use that … my sons got
me hooked on ginormous books by secular author Brandon Sanderson. Seriously,
they are 1,000 pages long and my youngest blazed through one in about three
days. I would love to sit down and chat with him about how he develops
characters.
What are your
hobbies, besides writing and reading?
There are hobbies besides writing and reading??? Well, I do chase
campers around all summer, taking photos for the camp page so that parents can
get a glimpse of what their kids are up to during their week of camp. I love
capturing smiles and action and fun. Our dog features in many of these photos
as she is always visiting the kids and getting pats. I also volunteer at local
schools and a nursing home with our 110lb Newfoundland , Princess Leia Freyja. She does
reading therapy and general therapy dog work and brings a lot of joy into
people’s lives.
What is your most
difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
Besides rushing from scene to scene at too fast a pace,
which I talked about with you earlier, I would say that digging down to get to
the heart of a character has been difficult. I have to make myself pause the
action so that my characters can think and struggle internally and learn. Once
I force that character to take a good long look at themselves, the growth
comes, but it is not my natural tendency to write these quiet moments. I keep
wanting to have them chased by bears instead!
What advice would you
give to a beginning author?
Write every single day! Don’t just dream about writing, talk
about writing, learn about writing, or argue about writing … actually write!
You will get better the more time you spend doing the job! It can be terrifying
to face that blank page, but do the work, the skill will come with time!
Tell us about the
featured book.
I promised my sons that I would include a kiss, a
concussion, and a crazed animal in every book. Now, they do not care about the
kiss, but they make certain that I include the other two. For Spider Gap, I
needed a crazed animal. I modeled my heroine’s pup, Strudel, after my mother’s
spunky little Havanese named Maggie. She weighed all of six pounds but was a
force to be reckoned with in every way! I also included a game our pastor
always brought on hiking trips. Pass the Pigs! You roll a pair of rubber pigs instead
of dice. It’s hilarious! Add a 21-mile hike, a blushing first-year school
teacher who thought backpacking was a walk around the park with her dog, a
handsome ski instructor/river raft guide/smoke jumper and I was ready for some
fun!
Lilly, a first-year school teacher is roped into chaperoning
a backpacking trip over the Spider Gap glacier. Unfortunately,
she cannot find a sitter for her purse-dog and must smuggle him along on the
trip. All her friskiest 6th grade students are participating as well as a
handsome ski instructor who resists her efforts to organize their trip in a
mathematically pleasing manner. Can Lilly evoke a thirst for learning within
her skeptical students, when she herself can barely survive the rigors of the
trail?
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Chapter 1
Sixth Grade Psychosis
Lilly completed another head count. Twenty-five, still one
shy. Had she directed anyone to the bathroom? She checked the yellow basket on
the corner of her desk. Five hall passes on bright yellow lariats stared back
at her, their laminated edges crisp and perfect. If only the rest of life were
just as faultless.
“Miss
Park , I’m finished!”
Lilly glanced up and started. She smoothed her expression
and addressed a girl in a purple hoodie who had draped herself across her desk
so that she hung upside down with her long blonde hair pooled across the
carpet.
“Thank you, Emily. Would you please place your page in my
turn-in basket and use the remaining time to read, while upright?”
Emily rolled her eyes and unhooked her toes from the back of
her chair. Without something to brace against, the girl slithered to a heap on
the floor.
Lilly waited.
Slowly, oh so slowly, Emily righted herself and proceeded to
the turn-in basket. How the twenty-six students of class C could all
universally despise mathematics after only a single week of instruction, Lilly
couldn’t fathom. But despise they did, and this often took the form of
agonizingly slow obedience whenever she was blessed enough to get student
compliance in the first place.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
My website: http://www.kristenjoywilks.com/
Instagram: kristenjoywilksauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kristenjwilks7/
Thank you, Kristen,
for sharing this book with us. I look forward to reading it.
Readers, here’s a
link to the book.
Spider Gap
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3 comments:
Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be here!!! I just wanted to let you know that the dog featured in this blog is my mother's little Havanese, the one I modeled the dog from the book after. Our own Princess Leia Freyja is 110lbs and just a tiny bit larger. I believe I have a photo of her on my website ... maybe even a video, ha! Thank you so much for having me here to talk about books!
I never had the desire to teach or herd a group of children for any reason. But, I have been a parent chaperone on class trips and that has been difficult enough. Adding a rambunctous little dog, I am sure, would cause all sorts of disasters. I'd love to read about it. Sounds fun. lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I have been a class chaperone and it takes a lot of patience and energy!
Connie from Kentucky
cps1950ATgmailDOTcom
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