About Riley Kilmore:
Kilmore has worn many hats, clocking in as a firefighter, cop, world traveler, and homeschool mom. Her fiction and poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies. She earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction in 2022 from Seton Hill University and won the West Virginia Fiction Writing Competition judged by author Ann Pancake in 2023. Her debut novel, a middle grade fantasy adventure centered on themes of friendship and intercultural relations, will be out in January 2024 from Wild Ink Publishing.
What inspires you to write?
Writing has always been my way of trying to understand what makes people tick. Creating characters and living inside their heads forces me to think deeply about the hidden motivations behind the visible actions humans undertake.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Isabel Allende, Marisa de los Santos, Mark Twain, Mark Haddon, Jean Auel, Dodie Smith, Naomi Novik, Lewis Carroll, Silas House, Ann Pancake, Marie Manilla, Edna St. Vincent Milay, Frank X. Walker…how much time do we have?
Tell us about your writing process.
I am what I call a "plantser," meaning I fall smack dab in the middle of being a planner and what some folks call a "pantser," or a writer who writes "by the seat of their pants." Basically, I plan what I intend to write the following day as I am settling in for the night. It's entirely cerebral work.
I don't use outlines, but occasionally do jot notes and thoughts to myself about a scene or a character that's important, if it's something I fear I might otherwise forget. The one thing I have written extensively are character profiles. For instance, I have over 100 pages of character sketch details for the characters in one of my works in progress. Much of that detail may never make it "directly" into a novel, but knowing your characters deeply will definitely inform the unfolding story in critical ways.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Oh my! All the time. When I am writing, I dwell in the world of my characters. I eat, sleep, breath the universe or society I've created. Luckily I have a very understanding husband, who can always tell when I am "someplace else" when I ought to be standing on Earth! I constantly "write" side scenes or adventures or conversations in my mind that are not actually going in the manuscript–mostly because I want to figure out what my characters would do in every kind of situation.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write what inspires you, then edit mercilessly.
Leave only those words on the page that are absolutely necessary to tell the story you are telling.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I spent many years trying to get an agent (I still am for certain projects) and amassed hundreds of rejections. Nevertheless, I had no interest in self-publishing. This is largely due to my feeling that every writer needs an editor, and to my recognition that many a self-published author eschews that critical step.
I didn't want to be that person.
Further, I wanted the validation that comes when others–specifically, publishing professionals–willingly put their time, effort, and financial backing behind my work.
Typically, there are two reasons writers opt too quickly for self-publishing, and I do understand both. First, hiring a professional editor when you're going it alone on the road to publishing can be a costly undertaking (conventional publishing routes will provide this service to you at no cost). The other reason some writers rush to self-publish avoids another kind of cost–one to their ego.
It's definitely challenging to subvert one's ego and original vision for a story to another person's advise, and let's face it, many writers just don't want to hear that their beloved manuscript needs to undergo heavy revision to be satisfactorily marketable.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The major markets keep condensing, and monopolies are again a bugaboo of commerce that will need to be addressed by existing anti-trust law. Meanwhile, indie publishing is making legitimate strides in bringing a wider variety of books to readers hungry for more options. If you find an indie press or a book put out by an indie press that you love, TALK about it. Post about it. Buy several copies and give them as gives. Ask you local libraries to shelve a copy. Your voice matters and you can use it to make a terrific difference for a writer struggling to have their work recognized.
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Family Saga, Sci-fi, Historical RomCom, YA
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Riley Kilmore Home Page Link
Link to Author Page on Wild Ink Publishing
Your Social Media Links
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.
