Please welcome debut author Kris Dinnison today for our spotlight taking about her new novel You and Me and Him.
Kris Dinnison has spent nearly two decades as a teacher and librarian. Nowadays, she helps run the retail and café businesses she owns with her husband, hikes, and spins classic vinyl. This is her debut YA novel. She lives in Spokane, Washington.
1. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet and why?
I am a big fan of the letter “K”. My first name starts with “K”, so it’s one of the first letters I learned to write. But I also love it because lots of weird, unusual words start with “K”: kangaroo, kumquat, kayak, kapow, and kamikaze are some of my favorites.
2. What do you want readers to know about your latest book?
My latest book, You and Me and Him, is my first book! It’s very personal for me because the main character, Maggie, goes through a lot of the same things I went through as a teenager, struggling with her body, her friendships, her parents, and being different. However, she’s smarter than I was, and Maggie handles some of those challenges in ways I wish I had. My favorite part of the novel is the friendship between Maggie and her best friend, Nash, and how they get through the times when they let each other down.
3. As an author, how do you know when you have discovered an idea for your next book?
I’m still learning when an idea is just an idea and when an idea has the potential to be a book. The novel I’m working on now started as a short story, but the main character kept talking to me, so I felt I needed to write more of her story. I have a couple other ideas like that, ones that keep coming back around and poking at my brain.
4. What was the catalyst for creating your latest book?
I actually started writing You and Me and Him as a way to teach myself how to write a novel. But as I said, the story was very personal. I wanted to write about a friendship like the ones I had in high school. I had a couple friends who just got me, they understood who I was, and even when we messed up, we figured it out and were there for each other. I also wanted to write about a character who doesn’t look like everyone else, but who understands her body is just one part of who she is.
5. What’s next?
I’m revising my second novel with my agent right now, hoping it will be ready to send out soon. I’m also doing a lot of short story writing. I love short stories, and they’re a great way for me to work on my writing and how to tell a story. I’ve learned so much in the last few years, and I just want to keep telling stories the best way I can.
To learn more about Kris Dennison, please visit her website!
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