Wrapping up my trio of quick interviews with writers featured in the big Speculative Fiction giveaway on Instafreebie, I’m pleased to introduce Kimberly Iverson, the fantastic lady who is hosting the giveaway and a pretty awesome author.

In line with my unplanned trend of featuring west coast authors, Kimberly fits right in, hailing from near Seattle, Washington. She is a prolific writer with numerous books in several genres, such as the Dark Illusions, Dynasty of Moirae, and Guardian of Life series. If you’re looking for some good reads, check out her books. Now to the chat:

LW: Please tell us about the book that you’re featuring in this amazing giveaway and what inspired this story.

KI: I’m combining these two because this is a multi-part answer for me. They go hand-in-hand. By that I mean that Hope of the Future was two different books. The first book that I wrote was inspired by simply the idea of what would happen (mind you, I was very young for this idea – 12 to 16, I think) if in the future, humans kept other humans as pets. The other idea I had was similar to that, but I wondered what would happen if women could no longer bear children, but because they were so desperately afraid, their bodies changed and prevented it? What would happen if that had such repercussions that even generations down the line, that was so ingrained it changed humans? Next thing I knew, when I was editing the second book, which was Hope of the Future, I felt it was lacking, and a friend offered me a tip, which then led me to remember the “Future Story” I had from when I was young. I removed about 90% of that story, and combined the other 10% into the first Hope of the Future. After that I thought of humans living longer and the rest came to light.

LW: Awesome. I love it when something that didn’t work out long before becomes relevant in a new project and can be incorporated. Nothing is ever lost when writing. But when you sit down to write, what is the one thing that you absolutely have to have?

KI: Water. That sounds so odd, but I can’t. I can go without music, without sitting at the desk, without pretty much everything except…water. I will even drink coffee or hot chocolate, sometimes green tea (Arizona Green Tea with Honey is what I love the most), but I will always have water. I was a mermaid in a past life, I’m sure.

LW: Very interesting and maybe you were a finned-female in the past. While you’re sipping on your water and plotting, do you slip any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? (Drop a hint, I’m a Pisces myself, so no secrets among fishies, right?)

KI: I do! But then…if I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets now, would they? For those readers like myself who love books so much that unless they truly hate it, they’ll read it again, I have little secrets in the majority of my books. Some are obvious, some come through double-entendres, but most you have to pay close attention to the stories and all my books to find.

LW: Guess I have a lot of reading to do, but that’s okay. I’m intrigued. What is your process for choosing names for your characters?

KI: This depends on the person and story. Many times the name is there. There’s no other name it could be. Like with Hope. She is the epitome of the term so for me, her name couldn’t really have been anything but Hope. When I struggle, I may make one up, grab one out of thin air, or do what I did back when my mom bred Shih Tzus when I was young. Go to the baby name books. Nowadays it’s baby name sites. I research the pronunciation, the terms, what the name means, all of it. Some names go through a few changes before it’s settled. Like Ronin in Hope of the Future. Not sure how many names that man had before I chose Ronin.

LW: I hear that! You try out a few then one day a name just clicks. Actually I’ve done that with my pets when naming them. And with that thought in mind, what’s your favorite paranormal creature and why?

KI: Has to be the werewolf. I think it’s because I grew up seeing them a lot. I watched planet of Body Snatchers and zombie movies, but I was always drawn to werewolves. My love of wolves in general could be a clue, and that I constantly dream about them, but I am also drawn to Beauty and the Beast and I think that contributes. Their strength, power, and presence. That they could be beast or human. Walk in day or night. To me, they have a lot of the great attributes of vampires without the desperation for blood so they are in many ways still alive and can LIVE like a human.

LW: Definitely cool characters those wolves. I thought maybe you’d go for a sea creature. When you have time to relax and read, who are your favorite authors?

KI: My favorites are always the people who make me forget everything. I start reading and then I’m late to bed because I thought . . . just a few more words, annnndddd I’m five chapters in. Those people are: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, Keri Arthur, George R.R. Martin, and J.K. Rowling. I only just read Harry Potter for the first time in 2015 so I was late to that game, but I love it. I also recently read Alianne Donnelly’s Wolfen and that story sucked me in.

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this and for hosting this great giveaway. You can learn more about Kimberly’s work on her website and forum:

Speculative Fiction Writer & Occasional Paranormal Romantic
kimberlysueiverson.com
Come by the new forum!
kimberlysueiverson.boards.net

So, those of you who haven’t read anything by Kimberly Iverson yet, this is a great opportunity to pick up a free copy of Hope of the Future and maybe find a new favorite author. By the way, she’ll be releasing two more books in the next few months.

Just click the picture for the link to the giveaway page where you’ll find over 80 books for free downloads, including one of mine and my short story as well. Hurry. This giveaway ends on March 4th!