Interview with Dina Keratisis, Author of New Novel, KICKING SIDEWAYS

Dina Keratisis announces her newest novel, Kicking Sideways, which will be released by Wings ePress in September 2006. She is also the author of Charlesgate (Wings ePress). You can visit her website at www.dinakeratsis.com.

INTERVIEW WITH DINA KERATISIS

TWL: When did your passion for writing begin?

Dina: That’s easy—in the womb. My mother has volumes of illustrated stories that I wrote before I can even remember. My first memory of writing because I had the writer’s need to create happened as a result of television. I was so inspired by “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” and a certain episode of (gulp!) “The Greatest American Hero” that I actually wrote spin-offs. Hopefully, she burned those but I doubt it.

TWL: Can you tell us what your typical 'writing' day is like?

Dina: No typical day anymore since I’ve had a baby, but I’m getting back into the swing of things. Now, I try to write at least an hour a day and longer on weekends. It’s slow going.

TWL: Do you write full time?

Dina: Ah, someday…My mantra is “I’m an office manager by day, romance novelist by night.” The truth is, like many other female authors, I’m a housekeeper, accountant, wife, and mother. Luckily, my husband is an ideal hero and cooks a mean dinner. Plus, he takes the baby every night, which gives me an hour or two to read or write.

TWL: Can you tell us a little bit about your book?

Dina: Kicking Sideways is about Mike Sullivan, a minor character from my first book. You can read about my inspiration for the book on my website, but basically, Mike has had enough of chasing happiness and decided to take a vacation from life, to chill for a while. He packs up and moves to sunny California, far away from moody New England and his life as a comic book artist. Since it’s a romance novel, Mike doesn’t get that relaxing break. Instead, he meets Cree Cabot, an independent woman who spends all her time trying to save those who need help so she doesn’t have to save herself. Too late, Cree realizes that Mike doesn’t need saving at all. She lets him into her life and suddenly, she’s in danger of falling in love…and losing everything.

TWL: Who published your book and how has your experience with them been?

Dina: Wings e-Press. Lorraine Stephens and the staff at Wings are phenomenal. They work very hard, and I’m proud to be one of their Wingnuts.

TWL: Can you tell us the inspiration behind your book?

Dina: A character, a place, a song, and a dog, in that order. Kicking Sideways started with the character Mike Sullivan. I just couldn’t get enough of him. Fell totally in love. So he got his own book. I also became obsessed with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk around the same time. In fact, when I visited my best friend in San Francisco, I dragged her there every day, poor thing. The plot evolved because I was inspired by a song another friend wrote, and my dog, Logan, was the inspiration for the rescue pup in the novel.

TWL: Can you tell us ways you are promoting your book? Have they been successful?

Dina: Word of mouth, postcards, business cards, reviews, interviews, maintaining a website…so far, that’s all I’ve found time for but I’m always looking for new ways to promote. I’ve found that booksignings are not successful. Word of mouth seems to be the best method at this stage.

TWL: Do you have a mentor?

Dina: Too many to mention so I'll stick with writing mentors. For philosophy, I’d have to say George Eliot, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and C.S. Lewis. For authors in my genre, Judith McNaught and Teresa Medeiros.

TWL: What future projects do you have in the works?

Dina: I’m working on a romantic fantasy series. I write slow and unlike many authors, ideas don’t rain down on me.

TWL: Can you give aspiring authors words of advice towards getting published?

Dina: Just what you’ve heard already: keep writing what you love or need to write and keep perfecting your craft.

TWL: What’s one thing about your life that you think is important, but nobody asks?

Dina: I'm an Aries, so I blurt out all my thoughts, thinking they are all important, so nobody has to ask. Yep, pretty sad.

TWL: Thank you for the interview, Dina, and many sales to you!

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