Author Interview with Kristi Ann Hunter

Heidi here. We are welcoming Kristi Ann Hunter on our blog today.

Kristi Ann Hunter graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Computer Science but always knew she wanted to write. Kristi is an RWA Golden Heart contest winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.

A Noble Masquerade, backcover copy:

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother's old school friend, the Duke of Marshington. Since she's never actually met the man she has no intention of ever sending the letters and is mortified when her brother's mysterious new valet, Marlow, mistakenly mails one of the letters to the unsuspecting duke.

Shockingly, this breach of etiquette results in a reply from the duke that soon leads to a lively correspondence. Insecurity about her previous lack of suitors soon becomes confusion as Miranda finds herself equally intrigued by Marlow, a man she has come to depend upon but whose behavior grows more suspicious by the day. As the secret goings-on at her family's estate come to light, one thing is certain: Miranda's heart is far from all that's at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

Kristi Ann, congratulations on your debut novel, A Noble Masquerade. I had the opportunity to read it recently and LOVED it. I loved, loved, loved the premise of the letters Miranda had been writing to the Duke for years, how did you come up with that idea?

Most of my books start with a "what if" premise. A Noble Masquerade began with the question of what would happen if you met the same person under different circumstances. The only way to do that would be if you couldn't see the person in one of those versions. Since texting would be a bit anachronistic for Regency England, I had to go with letters and those letters had to be sent in secret because Miranda could never exchange letters with the duke with any sense of propriety.

I saw on your website that you always listen to music. What do you listen to when you write? Does each novel have a musical theme?

When I'm actually writing I tend to listen to movie soundtracks. I can't do lyrics. During the plotting phase, however, I listen to quite a bit of music. It helps me with the themes and character development. I put up a playlist for each book on my website. I'm posting the songs for A Noble Masquerade for the next few weeks. The playlist for A Lady of Esteem is available here: http://www.kristiannhunter.com/#!music-muse/c13za

 Love the music! You like teeny bopper movies and cheesy RomComs, same here! Which are your favorite, at least lately?

Recently I've been rewatching some oldies lately. A Cinderella Story, She's the Man, Someone Like You, Penelope. Of course, Christmas isn't that far away and really, really enjoy cheesy Christmas RomComs so in another month or so I'll be happily gorging on those.

  

You have great taste in music AND movies!! What advice can you give to aspiring novelists to produce a sound novel that’ll sell?

Study good writing. Take classes from good writers but remember that everyone writes a little differently. Perhaps most importantly though, be willing to edit. The day you're willing to admit that those first 10,000 words are really backstory and have to be dropped, is the day you'll know you're almost ready for the next step.

Great advice! I love plotting and am always looking for tips. How do you plot a novel? How close to the final version does the first draft read?

I start with a concept and figure out either my basic story or my central character development. Then I start jumping around the story, writing the key scenes I know are going to exist in the book. Then I play connect the dots. This method means my final draft looks very similar to my first complete draft.

LOVE that advice . . . For fun, if you could take a plane to ONE place, where would you go? If you could bring one person with you, who would it be? And if you could eat only one kind of food during your trip, what would that be?

One place? Right now, I have a burning desire to take a research trip to England and I would, of course, take my husband, my partner in all things. As far as food goes, I remember really enjoying their jacketed potatoes when I visited as a kid. I'd get tired of them really fast, I'm sure, but they were the most distinct food I remember from my last trip.

Jacketed potatoes, I've never heard of them before. They sound decadent. Tell us about future books planned.

A Noble Masquerade is the first in a series of books, so right now I'm focused on getting the other three Hawthorne siblings to their happily ever afters. Georgina's book is next and I'm very excited to share her story because I think people are going to be surprised to learn what motivates her.

Kristi Ann thank you for your time today, it was fun! And congratulations again on your newest novel A Noble Masquerade.

Thanks! I enjoyed stopping by.

Grab Kristi's novella, A Lady of Esteem. It is free on the Kindle today!