About Kim Krisco:
KIM KRISCO continues in the footsteps of the master storyteller, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by adding, yet another, Sherlock Holmes novel to the canon. In Irregular Lives, Kim tells the untold story of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures, and his amazing relationship, with the Baker-street irregulars. Holmes employed this tribe of street urchins in some of his better known cases—and also, in some new unpublished cases contained in this new novel.
Meticulously researched, Krisco’s stories read as mini historical novels. His attention to detail, which includes on-location research, adds a welcome richness to his exciting stories.
Prior to writing full-time, Kim served as a consultant, trainer, and coach for business and non-profit organizations, and their leaders. You can find out more about Kim and his current activities at: www. kimkrisco.com.
He and his partner, Sara Rose Ferguson, live in south-central Colorado (USA) in tiny homes that they built themselves on the North Fork of the Purgatory River.
What inspires you to write?
Writing is, for me, the ultimate form of creativity — imagining, shaping, and (for a time) living in an alternate reality. So, I write as much, or more, for me, as I do others. It is the path I have taken toward perfecting myself as a human being. Some choose religion, others yoga, other’s gardening or music. For me, it’s writing.
Tell us about your writing process.
A book starts with either a new character or story. Once I have a concept, I let it percolate for a few weeks of months. Then I write and outline. Now, this outline usually falls by the wayside, but it allows me to begin to peck away at the keyboard. As the process continues, I tend to follow the characters in my story — they pretty much dictate what will happen, and how it will happen. This is important, I believe, for writing fiction.
Once I plow through to a very rough first draft, only then do I go back to make significant changes. I focus the second draft on the story itself — the plot, flow, pacing, etc. Then it goes to some of my trusted readers for feedback. I have found that when a reader says something isn’t working for them, they are almost always right. I digest the feedback and make adjustments to the story.
The third draft is focused on improving descriptions, dialogue, backgrounds – since I write historical mysteries, this is where I do research to accurately describe the places and people surrounding my story.
After that, it’s polish, polish, polish – the last pass only after I have put it aside for two to three weeks, in order to gain a fresh perspective.
All this happens in 9 to 12 months for me.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Once my characters are developed in my head, they pretty much show me what they want to do, and how they want to do it. For example, in my newest book: Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars, I had a rough, over-sized, young man – Snape have an ill-fated love affair. But once I got to know Snape, he pretty much told me that he would never even declare his love for this female character — fearing rejection. He would preserve his fantasy. He beat himself up about it by taking up bare-knuckles boxing.
What advice would you give other writers?
Let me pass on one piece of advice I received from a good writer, and add one of my own.
A good writer once told me: “Kill all your darlings.” He meant get rid of overly poetic descriptions, clever dialogue, and/or ANYTHING that takes the reader out of the story and focuses their attention on you and your writing ability.
The one piece of advice I would add is: Get a hold of your ego. To hone your skills, and produce a good book, you need plenty of feedback. But that feedback will only be useful if you can take it in. Never try to defend your writing when you are getting feedback.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I had publishers for two non-fiction books in years past — via years of persistence, and a little good luck. I followed up with a self-published book of non-fiction – which did not do well.
When I decided to move to fiction, I decided I wanted a publisher — to get good distribution. Money was/is secondary for me. I got some advice from a published writer of fiction who told me to: write, not only a specific genre, but a niche within that genre. Being a fan of Doyle, I decided to try writing Sherlock Holmes pastiches. I read dozens of them to get a feel and write to several of the authors seeking advice. One author was very kind and gave me a lot of good advice. I asked him to introduce me to his publisher — he did, with necessary caveats, and the rest his history. My second book will be out in month: Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
If your define books as electronic and audio, as well as print, then I think the future looks great. The foreign markets are growing rapidly. About 2.6 billion books a year are published. Not bad in a world of 7 billion.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Historical mysteries
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Kim Krisco Home Page Link
Link To Kim Krisco Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
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.
