Interview with novelist Kim Smith

This is an excerpt from my post on Focus on Fiction. Click here to read the full interview.

Kim Smith is the author of the Mt. Moriah Series, a collection of romantic women's fiction, as well as fantasy, mystery, and YA. Her books have made Amazon Top 100 lists, climbing as high as #1. A devout coffee addict, Kim is a full-time author living in Central Florida with her husband and their charming Chihuahua dog, Lady Darby Doolittle.

In the following excerpt from my interview with her, Kim answers a few questions about her latest book and her use of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube to reach her fans.

Let’s start with your newest book, The Little Theater, that just came out. Tell us about it.

It’s the fourth in the Mt. Moriah series—an uplifting small-town romance where two opposites attract. And the fact that they live close enough to see each other’s home, certainly helps. It’s all fun and games until a celebrity comes to town and ends up in your salon. Sarah Greene knew better than to get involved. Men were the bane of her existence. Asher Shelton, a well-loved movie star, moves to Mt. Moriah to get away from stardom. He never expected to fall in love.

Building an author platform and expanding your fan base is a challenge for virtually all the authors I have spoken with. What were some of the strategies you used to get your name out there and generate buzz about your books?

I am a screamer. I got on every social media network who would allow me to sign up and I started talking about my books. Then, I decided to get a podcast, and a YouTube channel, and went to differing formats to get new ways to gain friends.

Once COVID hit, in-person events came to a grinding halt. How did you handle the pandemic restrictions and still promote your books?

Well, I am always online so that was really not too hard. I did go through quite a lot of health debacles during that time, so NOT being in person worked to my advantage. I participated in an online creatives conference so that I was still being "Seen."

You are on TikTok. How does that platform stack up against the “older” ones: Twitter and Facebook, for example? What do you like about using TikTok as a way to reach readers?

I love TikTok. Not only am I on it for writing purposes, but I am a huge fan of the platform. I left Facebook this year, due to the lack of participation for writers (you have a hard time being seen there). I filled all that time I spent on FB on TikTok and it has been a great move. Twitter also has proven to gain me a lot of traction.

You also have a YouTube channel called Writer Groupie. How are you using it?

Writer Groupie is so much fun. I started out using it to help other writers. I love to chat about writing and learn other's processes. Then, I decided to go solo and see if I could do YouTube as a sort of writing guru. Now I am producing short videos there and I JUST LOVE IT!!!