Welcome to what will hopefully be the first of the Annual Authoress’ Success Story blog tours! Those of us who have owed our publishing successes, at least in part, to the
Miss Snark’s First Victim contests and blog have decided to come together and help cross promote each other’s work. Every day in the first two weeks of August, a different author will be posting an interview of one of our fellow Success Stories, so make sure to tune in to everyone’s blogs.
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Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Kristi Helvig. Welcome, Kristi!
Hi Amanda, thanks so much for having me today. I’m so happy to be part of the MSFV Success Story group!
And we’re excited to learn more about you! Could you tell us a little about yourself first?
I’m a YA writer by night and Ph.D. clinical psychologist by day. My novels fall mainly in the sci-fi/fantasy realm, and include some speculative elements. I can be found musing about space monkeys on my blog at www.kristihelvig.blogspot.com, and rambling about various other things on Twitter. I reside in sunny Colorado with my hubby, kids, and behaviorally-challenged dogs. When not writing or rescuing dogs, I’m usually watching Discovery channel documentaries and eating chocolate.
Sounds awesome! I’ve noticed the space monkey theme on your blog. ^_^ So how did participating with MSFV blog get you where you are now?
When I entered the Miss Snark’s First Victim contest, I was mainly looking to get feedback. I had no idea I would end up with an offer of representation from the judging agent. I also had another agent contact me through MSFV after reading my entry, so basically, the contest gave me confidence that my writing didn’t totally suck. I ended up lucky enough to have a choice between agents, and love, love, love my agent Jessica.
Wow, that’s a great turnout for sure. Congrats! Could you tell us what you're working on right now? What's your current WIP and why are you excited about it?
My current novel, BURN OUT, is a YA sci-fi novel about the solar apocalypse and the last girl on Earth. I mentioned above that I’m a documentary geek, and I spent hours watching science documentaries and corresponding with astrophysicists. I had such a blast working on the book. My new one, which I promised to have to my agent very soon (if you’re reading this, Jessica, I swear I’m almost finished :) ) is set in an alternative world and involves ballerinas. That’s all I can share about it right now.
Oo, exciting! I LOVE the idea of a solar apocalypse YA novel. And who doesn’t love an alternative world involving ballerinas? Can’t wait to hear more about it when you can share!
On your blog, you have weekly query critiques. We'd love to know--what was your querying experience like? Any words of wisdom to impart on those querying?
I actually had a very positive querying experience. I learned quickly that I’m a decent query writer and got a ton of requests for my first book (the one before BURN OUT). The book itself needed some work, but I can’t wait to get back to it soon. I received a bunch of personalized feedback and “revise and resubmit” requests on that one, but felt strongly about moving on once I got the idea for BURN OUT.
As far as advice for those querying, I’d say to do your research, take your time, and query in batches. I have numerous posts about query tips on my website, and I do the query critique giveaways as a way to give back to fellow writers. I also recently started offering query critique services, since some people wanted a critique ASAP without entering the contest (see my blog for details).
Sounds like a great opportunity! So now that we’ve talked queries, what is your writing process like? Are you a morning/evening writer? Do you need anything in particular to have a great writing session?
I really wish I had a set writing schedule, and one of my goals for this year is to have a better routine. My youngest starts school next week, so it will be the first time I have daytime writing hours—woo hoo! I envy those that can get up at 4am before the sun rises, but I just end up asleep in my coffee. I’m definitely a night owl by nature and write a lot after the kids go to bed. My writing environment involves my laptop and couch, with a beagle crashed on either side of me. And did I mention chocolate?
You did, and I might need to get some in a minute. ^_^
Before you go, can you tell us something about yourself we'd be surprised to know?
I was a pre-school dropout. Seriously, I couldn’t stand pre-school and thought I could learn to eat paste just as well at home. My mom let me quit, and I hung out with her until Kindergarten. In the apple not falling far from the tree department, my youngest never wanted to go to pre-school and has been home with me for the past few years…until next week! Since I ended up getting my Ph.D., I’m not too worried about her becoming a chronic slacker. :)
Haha, nice to see the pre-school dropout tradition continuing. ^_^ Here’s the final Bonus Question: What are you reading right now? Which authors inspire you?
Right now, I’m reading Hold Me, Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride—I love when main characters have some snark. I also love anything by Libba Bray, Gayle Forman, and Amy Reed.
As far as YA books that blew me away, Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is one of my fave all-time books, as is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Great choices! Thanks so much for stopping by today, Kristi. It’s been great to get to know you better!
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To celebrate this leg of the blog hop, Kristi is giving away a
FIRST CHAPTER CRITIQUE to one lucky winner!
To enter, fill out the options you'd like in the Rafflecopter below. More entries mean more chances to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tomorrow’s stop on the blog hop will be
Kristi Helvig’s interview of
Leah Petersen. We hope you’ll follow along on the tour! And don't forget the official hashtag of the tour,
#MSFVSuccessStory.
