About Kim Carter:
Kim Carter is an award-winning author of suspense, mystery and thriller novels.
She was a finalist for the 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award and a recipient of the 2017 TCK Publishers’ Readers’ Choice Award for her book Murder Among The Tombstones. This is the first book in her Clara and Iris Mystery series. The characters in this series are a couple of overly curious widows who become private investigators. These funny women were inspired by Kim’s mother and her mom’s best friend.
Her other titles include Sweet Dreams, Baby Belle, When Dawn Never Comes, Deadly Odds, No Second Chances, and her latest, And The Forecast Called For Rain.
Kim’s writing career started after she suffered an illness that made her housebound for a couple of years. An avid reader of mystery novels herself, she embarked on writing as a means of filling her time. She began to share those early writings with friends and family who encouraged her to pursue writing professionally. Her health struggles and successes have been chronicled on The Lifetime Television in early 2000, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Women’s Day Magazine, and Guidepost.
Prior to her illness, Kim worked in many different capacities in county government as her “Day Job,” but ultimately, it was her job as a correctional officer that provided her the opportunities to talk and interact with a diverse group of people. Her experiences ran the gamete of inspiring success stories to tragic endings, much like her mysteries.
She self-published her first book No Second Chances. One of the guest speakers at the launch party she had at the Performing Arts Center in Newnan, Georgia included her close friend retired Atlanta Police Chief Eldrin Bell. This connection would become helpful as she started doing more research for other books, this time working with a small publishing house.
Kim began networking and made connections with numerous homicide detectives, medical examiners, and prison officials. Her research has taken her many places including morgues, death row, and the occasional midnight visit to cemeteries.
Kim is a college graduate of Saint Leo University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She and her husband have three successful grown children and reside just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
Kim’s books can be purchased online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, and Indie Bound.
What inspires you to write?
I'm inspired by beautiful and sometimes haunting places.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have the strangest writing process. My books always begin with inspiration from the location where the novel will be set. I initially have a few characters in mind, but they quickly take on a mind of their own, and walk all over me! I never have an outline or ending in mind. I allow the characters to do all the work. As the characters become more complex, I write down details about them on wipe off boards that cover every wall in my office, along with any chronological dates that I may need to refer back to as the book progresses. I also post enlarged photos that will help with detail as I write. I also have a lot of inspirational quotes tacked up everywhere. My office is a disaster, but it works for me. My husband, however, is mortified, and quickly shuts the door every time company arrives.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I do listen to my characters. Many times I have had all intentions of a character being a certain way, either a villain, or a person with upstanding character, but that often goes out the window as they show their true colors. I allow them to be who they want to be. No, I'm not as big of a nut as I sound… LOL…I do know that they don't ACTUALLY exist, but I respect them just the same. I cry with them, I laugh with them, and I grieve with them at the end of the book when we must say our good-byes. It is a very hard day for me when I must wipe off the boards and put them away, only to begin anew.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don't rush your writing…. I don't have set times to write or a quota for the day. I have to be in the right mind set to make it work. I suppose we are all different. And most importantly, NEVER write in uncomfortable clothes. Pajamas work best….. who cares what the UPS or Postman thinks if you go to door in the afternoon still in your pj's????
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I have done both self-publishing and gone with a publisher. Both have their pros and cons. Do your research and only sign with someone after you have checked references and get a good 'gut' feeling!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I can't begin to predict the future of publishing, and ebooks are wonderful things, I just keep my fingers crossed that actual, physical books don't go by the wayside. By far, they are my preference. #oldschoolandproudofit I put old school and a hashtag together. My grown children will be mortified! Ha!
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Mystery/Suspense
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Kim Carter Home Page Link
Link To Kim Carter Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
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.
