Today I’m conducting a session with…Kizzie Waller!

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Me: Tell me about an experience that had a profound impact on your life.

Kizzie: There are so many I don’t even know what to choose from. I joined the Army right after high school and grew up very quickly. After I left the service, this maturity helped me with every subsequent job and often times I was a superstar employee. I was working at a law firm as a real estate paralegal for about five years when they real estate bubble burst. Used to being a superstar at work, I was laid off and it stung deep. Months passed and I couldn’t get another job. Dealing with that loss of sense of worth is what pushed me into writing. I’m not grateful for what happened, but without it I wouldn’t have found my love of writing.

 

Me: It’s always nice to find that silver lining after the storm.
What personality trait of yours helps you most as an author?

Kizzie: I’m very organized. This helps a lot with keeping notes and reference materials within reach when I’m writing. It also goes a long way towards prepping for book releases.

 

Me: What personality trait of yours hinders you most as an author?

KizzieOkay, there are two. First, I’m a huge procrastinator. I have a little plaque in my library that says, “Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.” I’m great at setting deadlines, but unfortunately I like to wait until they are closing in on me before I get busy. It’s almost like I get high off of the stress created by knowing I might miss a deadline. The second is that I’m an extreme introvert. Even filling out this interview is making me sweaty in the pits. I’m terrible at being social and that’s okay when I’m writing, but not so great when I need to market my books.

Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute. @Kizzie_Waller #AmWriting Click To Tweet

Me: Procrastination and being an introvert are typical answers to that question. You are not alone!
What was your high point as a writer?

Kizzie: My mom is my biggest fan. I know that having family as fans isn’t supposed to mean anything to writers, but my mom handed me my first romance novel when I was around fifteen or sixteen. We’ve read the same books, and we’ve reread the same books. When she read my first published book and told me it was “like she was right there in the book” that’s when I’d felt my happiest as a writer.

 

Me: Aww…
What was your low point as a writer—a time when you questioned your path?

Kizzie:  This happens all the time. I suffer from imposter syndrome. Even though I’m published, I still feel like I have so much left to prove as an author. I don’t think imposter syndrome is something I’ll ever get over. I could have fifty books published and deep down I’d still be waiting for someone to point at me and call me a fake/wannabe writer.

 

Me: I think that’s why certain bad reviews hurt so much–they hit upon our own deepest fears.
Which of your characters are you most like? Why?

Kizzie: 
In my first shifter book, Bearly Living, the heroine, Bobbie, has some troubles accepting her faults and finding someone to accept her as she is. I feel like I identify a lot with this character.

 

Me: Who is your book boyfriend? Why?

Kizzie: Ranger from the Stephanie Plum series! He’s so alpha with a soft spot for Stephanie. I really like a guy who has an air of mystery around him and has a military background.

 

Me: Ranger! I love Ranger!
What is a story your family always tells about you?

Kizzie: That I was the slowest kid in the world. In fact, they say that I’d walk barefoot across asphalt and would rather let my feet burn than hurry up. My friends picked up on this in middle school and I acquired the nickname turtle.

 

Me: Tell me about your paranormal romance, Bearly My Valentine.

Kizzie:

The lines of friendship and loyalty are blurred when two shifters are snowed in on Valentine’s Day.
Payne Stepanov needs to prove that not everyone in her family sucks, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity. An outcast since her brother created havoc with the townsfolk of Foxhollow, Alaska, she is determined to regain integrity in her family’s name.

Not easy to achieve when her brother is on the run from the mysterious Council, and a pack of werewolves are blackmailing her, and the man she wants more than anything sees her as nothing more than a friend. But when love is in the air, anything is possible.

Kel Hargrove is in Foxhollow for one reason—find Gregor Stepanov for the Council so he can exchange the escaped werebear for his own misguided brother. Kel knows all too well that family comes first for shifters, and he has no doubt Gregor will eventually seek the help of his sister, Payne.

So what if Payne is innocent, or that she’s the closest friend Kel’s had in years, or that at night he dreams of pleasing her like no other man could. Kel’s loyalty must remain with his brother and the Council. But when his growing attraction for Payne interferes with his mission, can he find a solution where he secures his brother’s release and wins the heart of his Valentine?

 

Me: Share with us a favorite paragraph or two from your newest release, Bearly My Valentine.

Kizzie:

He moved close beside her, snowflakes catching in his dark, wavy hair. “We’ve been over this. You’ll be fine.”

She ignored the way his husky voice sent shivers plowing through her body and instead focused on the task in front of her. “What if they tell me to leave?”

Kel pushed the door open wide, and shoved her hard enough to propel her inside. “Then we’ll leave. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and it’s too damn cold to debate it any longer.”

Years of figure skating lessons allowed her to catch her body weight on her toes before she slid through the wet puddles in the entryway. With a steady hand, she brushed the fresh snow off of her jacket and shot him a dark look. “Thanks a lot.”

“What are friends for?” He stomped his boots on the thin black rug, flashing a dimple-framed grin. After a final stomp, he removed his coat and held out a hand for hers.

I love this short excerpt because it shows the fun friendship formed between Kel and Payne. There’s something she doesn’t want to do, and he pushes her (literally) into doing it. Best friends should support us while pushing us out of our comfort zone.

 

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Abbie Roads writes dark emotional novels featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages. RACE THE DARKNESS and HUNT THE DAWN are available now! SAVING MERCY Book 1 in the Fatal Truth Series is now available for pre-order.

About the author: abbieroads