Today, we're talking to Anne Kimberly.
My characters all reflect someone I have known or a part of myself. The main character, Zoe, is a direct reflection of who I was and how I felt as a young girl.
What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
Ask the governor of Ohio if he was a Christian in a big town meeting. I was scared out of my wits!
When did you first discover that you were a writer?
I have enjoyed writing since I was young. One of my schoolteachers loved one of the stories I submitted to her so much that she sent me around to read it to other classes. I forgot all about that as I grew older, married and had children. One day a friend of mine made a comment in one of our emails that I should consider writing a book, explaining that my way of describing things and events made her feel as if she were there, that it allowed her to clearly picture in her mind what she was reading. The Lord used her that day. She saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
Some of my favorites are fantasy books such as the C.S. Lewis series The Chronicles of Narnia and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Ingle, true-life adventures such as Follow the River by James Alexander Thom and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, animal stories such as those from James Harriot and John Katz. I guess you can see why my first book was a YA!
What other books have you written, whether published or not?
Dark Well of Decision is my first and only book, so far. I do have several sequels in the works.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
The only way to keep my sanity and my priorities in line is to make God the center of my life. Everything else branches off Him. Nothing is more important than He is.
How do you choose your characters’ names?
The names I chose for my characters are actual Biblical names with appropriate meaning for each one. One example is Areli, Zoe’s huge canine companion. His name means “Lion of God” and in Dark Well, she needs God’s lion to protect her from the roaring lion of the enemy.
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
If others can see Jesus and His love for them through what I do, that would be my greatest accomplishment.
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
I would be one of my cats. Man they have the life! No worries or responsibilities, their food appears on time, they can sleep and play all day!
What is your favorite food?
I would have to say pizza.
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
One of my greatest roadblocks was believing that my work was good enough for an agent to pick up or a publisher to publish. I still struggle with a fear that I shouldn’t be titled an author at all. I’m just an ordinary person trying to follow God closely and use whatever talent I have been given to the best of my ability. I have faith to know that God will use Dark Well for His kingdom and purposes. I do my best to follow His lead and leave the rest up to Him.
What advice would you give to an author just starting out?
Commit your way to the Lord and He will bring it to pass. This whole writing process requires hard work and a great deal of time. If you get discouraged, remember you’re not in it alone and God has a way of opening doors for us that no man can close.
What would you like to tell us about the featured book?
Thirteen-year-old Zoe is confused and frightened with the unfamiliar thoughts and emotions of becoming a teenager. Things she wouldn’t have thought to question before come under scrutiny, including God. Was the Bible true? Did God exist? If so, did He care about her? Exploring an ancient well one summer morning was the beginning of her adventure. In one frightening moment after peering into the foreboding opening, she finds herself pulled by a strange force down into its liquid depths. Trapped and completely alone, she cries out to the God she’s not sure exists. Out of the darkness a tiny balcony suddenly appears, softly illuminated by flickering lanterns. Where did it come from? It wasn’t there before! And where does it lead? In the midst of another world, she is faced with the biggest decision of her life while pitted against a powerful evil that seeks to destroy her.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
Readers can go to my website at www.annekimberly.com or find me at http://www.myspace.com/myannekimberly or my publisher’s website www.highlandpress.org. They may also contact me personally at myannekimberly@yahoo.com.
Thank you for spending this time with us, Anne.
Readers, check our her web sites. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book.
