Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour 2008

Today is Day Seven of Kaza Kingsley's Blog Tour and her stop at MY blog! (Isn't that a great birthday present?) For those of you that are not familiar with Ms. Kingsley, she is the author of the Erec Rex Series, a Young Adult Fantasy series.

If you have read her books, I'm sure you loved them!! After reading the first book (review is to follow), I've found Erec Rex to be an excellent character!! The book is fun, fast-paced and full of magic. Although I won't even bother to compare the books, I know a lot of Harry Potter fans that are looking for a new character to follow. Erec Rex would be a good place to start!!

Fantasy books have become a staple in my household these days. Not only for me, but for my son Chad. (He wasn't too thrilled that I read his Christmas present first! But I figure he will get over it!) Chad loves anything with dragons and magic, so this series is right up his alley. And it's nice for me to FINALLY have someone in the family to share books with!!

Now, on to the tour:



"Stephanie, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today! This blog tour has been a fun adventure so far. It's fun traveling through cyberspace! I hope your readers enjoy the kid picture of me - they can watch me grow older on the other blogs on this tour! I'll be here to answer any questions that come up.

Do you have a daily writing routine? What is it like?

I do! My heavy writing days are so methodical, it's ridiculous. Get up. Run. (Under a mile. I'm happy with that.) Shower. (Too much information?) Check email. Eat something: grapefruit a lot. Then I get all set up at my desk with good organic chocolate with yummies in it (nuts, dried cherries, you name it) and a cup o' green or herbal tea, and I'm all set! I get up for a quick lunch and a few small breaks. And that's it!


How do you deal with deadline pressures?

I'm one of those weird, type-A, Virgo types that feel best when they're ahead of schedule. That said, I still get behind schedule regularly. The way I deal is by setting huge, undoable daily deadlines for myself and then actually trying to do them. I break down the work into big daily chunks. Once I get a lot done I start to relax. And I spend so many hours a day writing that it's really no problem once I get going. It actually helps me get into it more.

If you ever have "writers' block," how do you deal with it?

You know, I've never had it. I won't be so smug as to say it doesn't exist (I know, from life, saying things like that guarantee it will happen to you!) I've always heard just write through writers block and it goes away. I do know that when I've been away from writing a while it gets harder to do. I tell kids when I talk at schools that writing is like lifting weights. The more you do it, you get in "shape" creatively. I think when you're in the writing mode it's hard to get blocked. It also helps that I've plotted out my series. There is always more to plot “ so much in each book“ but I generally know where I'm going.

Do you have up and down days? Can writing be stressful?

I definitely have up and down days, but more from the same mundane things that everyone goes through than from my writing. Things like headaches, getting disappointed about something I was looking forward to, the usual thing we all deal with. Writing can be stressful, but it's kind of a good stress. When my characters are in danger, or sad, I feel it with them, but I also know where they are going, so it's different. Overall, writing is a stress release, a creative outlet for me, so it doesn't cause stress. Okay, if I had a computer glitch and lost a chapter's worth of writing I'd be stressed. Very. But not from writing itself.

What do you do for stress relief?

I run in the mornings “ not far at all “ but I find it helps me a lot. Simple things like taking a long shower make me feel better. And chocolate. I'm a big fan of chocolate! If I really need a pick-me-up a big mug of hot chocolate is the best!

Thank you so much for stopping by, Kaza!!! And to all the readers, just post any questions you might have for Ms. Kingsley!!

If you'd like to follow her through the rest of her tour, here's the schedule:
1/14 A Year of Books,
1/15 Author Chris Rettstatt's blog
1/16 Deliciously Clean Reads,
1/17 Into the Wardrobe,
1/18 Real Gurlz Magazine,
1/19 Chauceriangirl,