About A.K. Smith:
A. K. Smith is the author of the debut novel, “A Deep Thing” from The Wild Rose Press. Release date 12-19-2016. Pre-order is coming soon! She is a freelance travel writer under her real name Anita Kaltenbaugh.
Anita has lived in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Arizona and abroad in London and Mexico. She is a graduate of Conemaugh Township High School, Shippensburg University (BA) and has a Master of Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University and Western Maryland College in Student Affairs and College Administration. She stopped negotiating hospital contracts for Corporate America and moved to Mexico, after the death of her father, focusing on writing and Real Estate.
She holds a broker license, real estate instructor license and is a Realtor for the State of Arizona. Anita has written for various national and international publications and blogs including Flight Network, Examiner.com and has been a monthly travel columnist for Rocky Point Times Newspaper for the last six years. Published in various print publications including two cover features in Mexico Living Magazine she continues to trek the world to experience off-the-beaten-road destinations. She has written a travel book called, Travel Secrets- Insider’s guide to planning, affording and taking more vacation. The 2nd edition out on Amazon in 2017.
She is the youngest of six children all raised in Johnstown, PA by her mother Grace Kaltenbaugh and the late Peter Kaltenbaugh, a proud Pennsylvania deer hunter, coal miner and steelworker.
Fascinated by the ‘What If’s’ in life, she still wonders if Shangri-La and The Holy Grail exist—hidden somewhere—waiting to be discovered. Her favorite question, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” led her to both marriage and writing her first book.
Her big loves are her husband, family, friends, and kindness. Her goal is to step foot on every continent on Planet Earth—she’s slowly getting there.
What inspires you to write?
Storytelling. I love a good story, and I have since I was young. I remember when I was around eleven, at a family picnic, I gathered a few of my younger cousins and told them a legend of “The little old lady in Grey.” Yes, I got in trouble and a stern lecture for scaring them, but I learned that the power of words is amazing.
Tell us about your writing process.
Sometimes, I plot before I begin. And, sometimes I just write and then I go back to plotting. It’s a happy marriage of opposites attract.
I love to find photos of my character, print them out and look at them.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes, I listen and I talk….and they listen and talk…
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published a non-fiction Travel Secrets book for the experience of self-publishing, before it was as easy as it is now.
I decided I wanted someone to contract me for this book. The first person who read my manuscript offered me a contract.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Hybrid. Authors who have successfully contracted with a large publisher will continue this road for some books, but self-publish others. I think it will be a combination.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Suspense, Travel
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
A.K. Smith Home Page Link
Link To A.K. Smith Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Instagram
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
