Kimberly Belle
Unfortunately, tragedies like the one like in The Last Breath happen every day, so finding a story spark can sometimes be as easy as turning on the news. For me, though, what makes a story compelling is not the tragedy, but how it affects the people left in its aftermath. How do they cope, how do their relationships change? In the case of Gia, when her father swears he didn’t do this awful thing everyone says he did, how does she decide who and what to believe? These are some of the questions I loved exploring in The Last Breath.
As for where I find my characters, Gia was a gift from the writing gods. She came to me almost fully formed, her name and physical attributes, her strengths and weaknesses already in place. Lexi and Jake, too, to a large extent. I had to work a little harder for the others, mining my memories for some of the more colorful folks, embellishing them to really make them pop. Folks like Fannie, for example. I’m not exaggerating, not even a little bit, when I say there are a million Fannies puttering up and down the hills of Appalachia.
As for where I find my characters, Gia was a gift from the writing gods. She came to me almost fully formed, her name and physical attributes, her strengths and weaknesses already in place. Lexi and Jake, too, to a large extent. I had to work a little harder for the others, mining my memories for some of the more colorful folks, embellishing them to really make them pop. Folks like Fannie, for example. I’m not exaggerating, not even a little bit, when I say there are a million Fannies puttering up and down the hills of Appalachia.
More Answered Questions
Debi
asked
Kimberly Belle:
Hi Kimberly! I just finished listening to Dear Wife (thank you, hoopla!) a few minutes ago and just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it! Totally didn't see it coming - you are a master of weaving a story and I can't wait till your next one. Do you see this one becoming a movie?
AMY
asked
Kimberly Belle:
Do you have plans for a sequel to The Marriage Lie? I just finished reading it and I was very impressed. You kept weaving twists and turns in this one. Every time I thought I had it figured out, there was something I did not expect. I want to know what happens...after the end. There HAS to be MORE!!! This was awesome.
Leanne Hardy
asked
Kimberly Belle:
Just wanted to say I finished Dear Wife at almost 1am I had to finish reading, you did a really good job of hiding the ending from me, not an easy task I can nearly always 'work out' what will happen pretty early on, it wasn't until one of your characters said one word very close to the end & I then figured it out, very clever! I enjoyed your writing & am now looking on Amazon for my next KB read :) Thanks ?
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