BK: Hi Katie and thank you so much for having me. Well, my name is Brandi but I write under the pen name of BK Walker. I work as a pediatric home care nurse which I enjoy so much, the kids are just great. I have three children, Brittney age 20, Hunter age 13, and Daniel age 11, who also does reviews for childrens books for me. We all have a love for animals, my daughter can't seem to stop bringing them home. She even brought home a baby pig at one point, but the lil' oinker has since gone back to the farm lol. We now are down to a pit bull named Rancid, a dachshund named Sadie, a cat named Whiskers (who only answers to shitigan), and a goldfish named Fat Albert.
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?
BK: I don't know about a quirk, but I love to have a cup of hot coffee, (makes me feel all grown up lol) and I like to listen to my favorite bands, Shot In The Dark 357 or Mia Mania while I write.
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
BK: I don't think I've ever realized it. I've always had a niche for telling tales since I was a child. I used to play school with my stuffed animals, I wasn't much into dolls as I was more of a tomboy, and I would write stories to tell to my "students". I'm still not convinced I'm a "writer" as much as just a story teller. My first novel actually came to me as a surprise. I was a nursing student and my muse decided that it was time to get some of the ideas out of my head and onto paper. I guess they had been sitting dormant long enough lol. Anyways, I had this idea in my head of a very troubled girl that had to face many obstacles in her life. So I developed the character and found we had quite a bit in common. So I infused a lot of my own past experiences and added to what happened to "Kacey" and tada! Death Upon Me was born.
K.S. What genre do you write?
BK: I don't really stick to one genre, but right now I have written Romance, Paranormal Romance, and Young Adult Fantasy.
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
BK: Everything inspires me. Everywhere you look you can find inspiration. Sitting at a stop sign and seeing some girl bopping her head to music, my kids saying the darndest things, so much inspiration all around us that anything could be made into a story. My favorite author though is Nora Roberts as JD Robb. She has such a fantastic writing style and the characters are so developed, she has inspired me most.
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
BK: My kids love that I'm a story teller. My daughter is always reading my work and hurrying me to write more or another book. They all help me critique and edit, and we have fun tossing ideas back and forth for whatever I'm working on at the time.
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book?
BK: That I actually had it in me to finish an entire story. I've always had these ideas and they would be short to put to paper, but to develop an entire plot....well that is much more than just writing down an idea.
K.S. What inspired you to write your novel?
BK: Immortyl Kisses actually started out as a short story that I wanted to do for Halloween. The characters had another idea though, and 200+ pages later, after editing, resizing fonts and reformatting lol, Immortyl Kisses was published. There were so many ideas to go with this book that it was hard to fit it all in, but after reading some reviews and listening to feedback from others, the one part that is missing is Raine's detailed background. So I just want everyone to know to watch for the next installment, you will get what you seek.
K.S. Can you tell us a little about your novel?
BK: Absolutely. Here is the blurb.
"You are a Warrior, you just don't know it yet." ~Jin Cao
Raine was an average girl with an average teenage life. Always loving anything to do with vampires, she never expected they would be real. When a Rogue vampire hunts her, she not only learns that vampires are real, but that the two boys that her heart is caught between are in fact a vampire and a werewolf.
As both boys vow to keep her safe, Raine learns of her true destiny...she is a Shijin Warrior born to win the war against an evil Warlock named Fala. Fala is creating half vampire half shape shifting creatures to take out all of immortal kind.
Will Raine be able to fulfill her destiny and save immortals, or will her hearts desires make her lose everything in the end?
K.S. Where can we find your novel?
BK: It is available on Kindle at Amazon, Lulu.com and of course you can get a signed copy from me or a signed interactive CD.
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?
BK: The Book Website is http://immortylkisses.weebly.com , Fan Site is http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Immortyl-Kisses/152002154847846 My blog is Immortality and Beyond http://immortylcafe.blogspot.com and you will be able to follow my ebook tour that will be starting Jan. 23.
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?
Read, read, and read some more. I think the best thing to do as a writer is read as much as you can so you can see the different writing styles out there. Then develop your own style, and write only for yourself. If you write to please others you may not get any further than the first page. If you write to please yourself, the story will flow so smoothly and you will be surprised when you have a finished product.