Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! My name is J.M. Kirkley and I’m an award-winning author of my debut novel, A Writing Upon the Sand. I write Christian historical romance fiction.
Though I’m originally from Southern California, I’ve grown deep roots in Texas for almost 50 years. I attended college here at Stephen F. Austin State University where I earned a Master’s degree in Counseling. I now practice faith-based therapy.
I’m blessed to call my spouse my best friend, and he and my kids and grandkids are among my favorite people. Our expanding circle includes those we choose to care about, whom we call family as well. Add to this mix, our granddog, Rey, who is a mini sheepadoodle, and a three-legged adopted stray cat named Stockings, and it makes for lively gatherings.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Writing Upon the Sand was inspirated by history itself. Years ago, I viewed a 1900 chromolithograph entitled 1900 Galveston Hurricane and Tidal Wave. The scene depicted waves the size of houses crashing, timber piling between toppled houses, people being pulled up onto rooftops, bodies tossed in the waves. I was spellbound, wondering how I had lived in Texas for more than a decade at the time and knew nothing about the Storm. I remember telling my spouse, “If I ever write a book, that would be the backdrop.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I keep notebooks handy throughout the house. I write down scenes and dialog as it comes to me. Ironically, it doesn’t always happen in chronological order.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Author Michelle Griep’s book, Writer Off the Leash: Growing in the Writing Craft, challenged me to edit out any scenes or chapters that didn’t move the plot along. I took her advice and bravely cut out chapter one, which bogged down my story. I sprinkled the necessary family background from that chapter into other chapters and it transformed my novel.
What are you working on now?
I am currently doing research for my next historical novel. This will be in a later era: the 1940’s.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love to give my ebooks away quarterly on Amazon KDP. Not only do I get the pleasure from sharing my work, but I’ve gained over 100 book reviews in the process.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Gather a group of advanced readers that will give you honest feedback on your unpublished book. I asked mine what they liked, what annoyed them, and what confused them about my story. I edited my manuscript accordingly. It strengthened my novel.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In Stephen King’s book On Writing, he wrote something that has stuck with me. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” These two things are like bookends for me.
What are you reading now?
Nicole Deese’s The Words We Lost.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m about to begin writing a sequel to A Writing Upon the Sand. It’s set in Galveston, Texas, in 1947. It’s the year of the greatest industrial disaster in US history. It happened right across the Bay from Galveston: The Texas City Disaster.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is my favorite among the classics.
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