Interview Kay Layton Sisk

by

Angela Verdenius

1. Tell me a little bit about your new book. What genre is it?

It’s a contemporary romance. If I had to pin it to a fairy tale, it would be a modern Cinderella. Two sets of families are on vacation in Crested Butte, Colorado. One, a harried aunt with her three charges of step- and half- brothers and sisters, whose parents have married and are off honeymooning, and two, a prince from a European country with  his best friend and his uncle's valet. It doesn't take long for the kids and the friends to start playing matchmaker.

2. The title of your book is King of Paradise. What made you choose this title?

Well… the hero is a future king of a fictitious European country. And ‘paradise’ is what he calls Crested Butte Colorado.

3. What gave you the idea for this story?

I have a friend who lives in Crested Butte and after visiting with her I knew it would make the perfect spot for this book.

4. What section did you find the hardest to write?

The non-sex. Which sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? When I finally made the decision that such intimacy was not what the hero and heroine would do, then writing intimacy "to a point" became the most difficult scene. I had to bond them mentally and spiritually, with the promise of the physical.

5. You have writer's block (curses!)--now what?

Write anyway, even if it's very bad. Or write something different by picking a topic and trying to make a newspaper opinion piece out of it.

6. Do you find you get emotional when writing a story, and if so, what areas affect you most? If not, why not?

Emotional? Sometimes, but not often. By the time I put the scene to paper, I've replayed it in my mind so much that I'm past my being emotionally involved and can channel all that emotion into the characters.

7. Do you think it's possible to write a story without becoming attached to your characters?

Yes. But I don't think it's a good idea. If the author isn't involved in her characters--in love with the hero for example, or why else would the heroine be involved with him?--it shows in a cold book.

8. Have you ever been sidetracked by support characters? And if so, what do you do with them?

All the time. I have to push them to the back and promise them their own book. The hero's best friend in KING OF PARADISE is just waiting in the wings for his chance at happiness.

9. Do you let anyone read your story before you submit it to the publisher?

Yes, I have a contingent of willing readers who love to find typos and inconsistencies. I'm quite fortunate because they'll then go buy the published book even though they've read it!

10. Can you write anywhere and at any time, or do you have a set place and time to write?

I have to have my nest made, ie, be at my computer in my study. I like writing in the afternoons and will only realize it's time for supper when my husband shows up and wonders where the meal is.

11. What authors do you enjoy reading?

Blair Bancroft, who writes Regencies for Signet and has a wonderful YA for Wings. Lorraine Heath, a fellow Dallas Area Romance Author, is now writing contemporaries, but I love her Texas historicals. Candice Proctor's Australian books, Pamela Morsi's women's fiction, and Kathleen Nance's paranormals. Looks like I read all over the place!

12. If you had one wish, what would it be?

To be able to hear someone speaking and immediately be able to talk to them in their language. If we could communicate with each other directly and not through translators and go betweens, then I think our level of understanding in this ol' world would be so much greater.