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In August, Kimberly Kiegel’s short screenplay “The Fortune”, won first place in the Southwest Writers annual competition, and she expects to turn it into an actual short movie in the next few years. As a stay-at-home mom who turned to writing in an effort to create something that didn’t involve a stove, Kimberly also recently completed her first erotic romance, The Summer of Flowers, under the pseudonym Phoenix Indigo. Currently she is working on a series of magazine articles involving the emotional issues she is experiencing while helping an aging parent find new living accommodations.

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What motivates you to write and how did you get started?

I feel good when I write, so that alone is a motivator. If there’s a lot going on in my life that I find draining, writing lifts my spirits. I’ve always done journaling, but I’m being more focused in my efforts now.

What’s most rewarding about writing?

I love – love, love, love – the wordsmithing process! To take a scene or an idea and craft nuanced language so that it becomes a complex, living entity is extremely rewarding for me.

What’s your favorite genre and why?

Currently I’m really enjoying historical fiction, particularly books about sixteenth- or seventeenth-century England that focus on strong women protagonists.

Who is an author who inspires you and why?

I find Philippa Gregory to be a very inspiring author. She takes various times in history where women were essentially chattel – or at the very least, pawns – and puts world-altering events in their perspective, illuminating how they might have touched humanity. I love the way she paints her protagonists, making them very human with weaknesses as well as strengths, even if they are national leaders.

What do you look for in other people’s books or plays?

I like books that transport me to other cultures, times or places. I want to be able to identify with the main characters and whatever they’re dealing with in their story and, I have to admit, I prefer to read positive books with a positive ending. Not necessarily “happy”, but definitely positive in nature.

What are you writing now?

Currently I’m putting the emotions I’m going through with finding my aging mother-in-law a new living situation into a series of, what I hope will be, published magazine articles. I also have an idea for another novel that I’d like to get started on, in the genre of women’s fiction.

What has writing taught you about yourself?

As a stay-at-home-mom where you give so much of yourself to others, writing initially started as something that I could do just for me. But over time, I realized that I loved the process of crafting a story, I felt that I had potential if I continued to work with it, and that I had enough discipline to actually complete a novel. It is very rewarding.

What encouraging advice can you offer new writers?

Just write and don’t judge yourself! If you have a story to tell, tell it. Epublishing makes getting your narratives out there so easy; there are no more excuses if you want to be a published writer.

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Kimberly would love it if other authors would read and comment on her novel. If erotic romance is your thing (or you just want to dip into the genre) go to the link https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/317983 and type in coupon code DR69K to download the book absolutely free! (Make sure you have the Adult Filter at the bottom of the page deactivated.) Balanced reviews detailing what you liked and didn’t like about the book are so helpful to a new author. THANK YOU!