Talkshow Thursday: Meet Kathy McKinsey
Linda: Welcome to my blog. It’s such a pleasure to
have you. Congratulations on your upcoming release next week, Millie’s Christmas. This seems very different from your first
book, All My Tears. What was your
inspiration for this story?
Kathy: I wanted to
establish a project to make me write every day. It was December, so I chose to
do a Christmas story. I started without any plan of what the story would be,
except that I decided to write it in the POV of a kitten. Then God gifted me
with this fun story.
LM: Research is
an important part of writing any book. How do you go about doing research for
your stories?
Kathy: I am growing
in doing research. I use the internet, and I’m getting better at asking other
people to give me information about things they are expert at.
LM: What do you
do to prepare yourself to write (e.g. listen to music, set up in a certain
location)?
Kathy: I’m still trying
to get myself to write daily. So, as soon as I’ve finished whatever first
things I need to do in the morning, I’m working on just sitting down in my
armchair and writing.
LM: What was your
favorite book or author when you were growing up?
Kathy: Whoa,
that’s a long time ago to remember.:) I had to think about it. I learned to
read braille when I was eleven, and then I could read as much as I wanted.
Before then, my mom read to me, and she was a busy lady, a farmer, and mother of
four. Plus, she had to work with me on my school work. So she couldn’t read
just fun books to me a lot.
A fun memory I have is when she read MY FRIEND FLICKA. She would often read things from the book to my
dad the next morning, things that had to do with farmers’ lives.
LM: What is
something you have always wanted to learn how to do?
Kathy: this is
another tough one. God has given me the gift of doing many of the things I
wanted to do. Such as writing.
But also, as a blind person, He has given me the opportunity
to do things I may have feared I couldn’t do, such as raise children, have a
job, cook and bake, make pretty things—by crocheting and knitting and drawing
tactile pictures using braille characters.
I have been allowed to do so many of the things I wanted to
do.
LM: Here are some
quickies:
Favorite Season:
Favorite Movie:
Favorite place to visit:
Kathy: Summer,
because I hate to be cold. The Sound of Music. I love to visit my children’s
and my mother’s homes.
LM: What is your
next project?
Kathy: I am
working on another collection of women’s fiction novellas, to be published in
2021.
LM: Where can
folks find you on the web?
Kathy:
Website: https://www.kathymckinsey.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathymckinsey
Email: Kathy.mckinsey@gmail.com
About Millie's Christmas:
Millie, an orange kitten, shares about her first Christmas. Her best friend Ruthie, six years old, teaches Millie about Christmas-food, decorations, music, presents, and Jesus! Millie's friend Bruce, the family dog, also helps her celebrate Christmas, and sometimes gets her in trouble.
When Ruthie's big brother Jake breaks his ankle, Millie learns about sad things, like divorce, when Jake can't visit his mommy for Christmas. Millie watches Ruthie's family love each other through the sadness and find joy in Christmas.
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/327m6pb
Kathy, you ARE an inspiration to me! Keep writing.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the idea of getting braver about asking people research questions. I'm fairly shy, so that's a learning curve for me. But worth it. My first two books are Oregon Trail stories and I got off easy, there's nobody alive now who went on the Trail! But I know I can't hide out forever.
Kathy Bailey