Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a fantasy author who writes Children’s/Young Teen’s fantasy novels. I have just published my debut Children’s/Young Teen’s Fantasy, The Magic of Geo.
I spent many years teaching and lecturing, English, and Literature in a variety of classroom settings. I have also had the wonderful privilege, and experience of being a voluntary reading mentor for children in a public library. I know how important it is for children and teens to read stories that can reflect on some of the issues they face in real life and that’s what I try to do in my stories as well.
The Magic of Geo is my first children’s fantasy book. I am currently working on my second which is not really a sequel as the story happens long before the tale within, The Magic of Geo, but does take us back to the land of Geo… way back.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Magic of Geo was inspired by my love for reading fantasy and Sci-Fi, and for my love of children’s books.
As a child and teenager, I loved to read and explore new worlds and fantasy adventures from books like Robinson Crusoe to The Chronicles of Narnia. As an adult I want to share my own worlds and fantasy adventures with today’s children/teens and hope they get as much enjoyment out of them as I did as a child.
Even in later years, my love for Fantasy/Sci-Fi never waned. My greatest inspirations come from C.S Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Terry Brooks, and of course, J.K. Rowling among many others. I finally gave in to the inspirations of my mentors and with the aid of my muse created, The Magic of Geo.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write what comes to my mind at the time. I do not plan or work from a template, or make an outline. For me these tools sometime stagnate the creative process and I find that outlines tend to create themselves as I write, anyway.
I edit what I’ve written when my muse stops talking and thats when I find myself switching chapters or moving parts of chapters as the story develops and things fall into place. Usually in the middle of editing, my muse starts up again and I write some more and then edit some more. This can go on for hours, sometimes.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love C.S Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, and his space trilogy; JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit; Philip Pullman’s, His Dark Materials trilogy; Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom of Landover series, and all the Shannara series; and of course, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
There are many, many other books that have influenced me, such as Madeleine L’Engle’s, A Wrinkle in Time, and Katherine Patterson’s, Bridge to Terabithia which I refer to as soul-touching books. Those are the main one’s that spring to mind.
I could write a book, if not a series on all the books that have touched me in some way throughout my life if I paid a mind to it, so I’ll settle for the ones I’ve mentioned so far.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on another Geo book at the moment called, Unicorn Magic. The story is set in the land of Geo, but long before the tale within, The Magic of Geo. It’s more of an, “in the beginning…” type story and is the story of the unicorn that is mentioned in The Magic of Geo.
It tells of the rise of the shadow and how troubles first came to Geo long, long ago.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is: http://huffingtonbooks.com which is the main site I operate from.
I use facebook and twitter mainly and have recently done ran a promotion on my facebook page to see if advertising on facebook works. I am still exploring twitter.
I’m also on LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Stumble, and am trying some other sites, to see what I can do. I’m on a very limited budget as I’m sure most authors are, so that limits how far I can go with advertising etc.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Promote your book wherever you can. Do interviews where you can and contact anyone who promotes books on their site… try not to be too shy. If people don’t know your book is out there, they can’t buy it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I adhered to was getting a proper editor to go over my work. Despite having studied advanced grammar and even taught English, one doe not see all of one’s own errors.
It’s not enough to have friends and family look at your work, even though it helps to have those extra eyes. Get a professional editor to go over it… but send them your best edit first.
No one wants to read a book full of errors and children deserve to read, well-written works, especially since what they read may influence how they write.
What are you reading now?
I’m starting on Phillip Pullman’s, His Dark Materials Trilogy again because it’s been quite a while since I read it and I do so love it. Plus I have hard copies… I love holding a book in my hands.
I’m also reading a couple of new books written by indie authors whom I have promised to review. One’s Epub and the other’s Kindle. Both are in the drama genre. I do love a good drama. And, I’m slowly working my way through, George R.R. Martin’s, A Song of Ice and Fire series… also in paperback format.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My main focus right now is to market, The Magic of Geo wherever I can while I juggle reading, and blogging with writing my next book.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Definitely Robinson Crusoe. (grin) I might take Gulliver’s Travels as well… just in case I run into any iddy-biddy folk. After that, a survival book of some kind, and a compilation of some sort containing a variety of works in several different genres, the main ones being fantasy and sci-fi.
Author Websites and Profiles
K.C. Huffington Website
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