Kimberly Fish's Blog - Posts Tagged "texas"

I'm writing to welcome any and all (hi Mom and Dad!) to this blog. It's my lifelong dream to write and publish, and as someone who has juggled many details in this journey (wife, mother, freelance writer, community activist, civic volunteer/leader, traveler, and herder of big ideas) it's been my mental salvation to carve time to write. Now, I'm at a place where I've set aside other responsibilities to explore what it means to write full time.
I'll let you know how this goes.
In the mean time, please enjoy the Big Inch, a novel about a woman trying to recover herself in the midst of chaotic WWII dramas in Texas--who knew, right? Because few of us get recovery just right, it might take a second book to find hope, and the more elusive, peace.
Blessings!
Kimberly

One of my favorite stories I’ve ever concocted is now let loose in the marketplace. I’m not sure an author should say they have favorites–that’s a bit like a mother saying she prefers one child over another–but Comfort Plans has been in my heart, imagination, and computer for many years. It’s evolution is one that I hold dear. My agent and I shopped this story (in an earlier version) because it was a fun story with memorable characters, but it wasn’t until I told the story that the old German farmhouse wanted to tell that the novel really took on some grit. As a fan of “house stories” –because who hasn’t thought that walls could talk??–I was able to tap into limestone of this Comfort location and mine it for new layers. The dust from that story added a new level of tension to the one going on with the house’s remodel and before long the architect and the contractor were getting remodeled too. The book’s cover is so dreamy that I’ve had strangers comment on the colorful design and wonder about the handwriting in the background. You’ll just have to read to find out why the cover is so perfect–thank you, Holly Forbes at Forbes and Butler Graphic Design. The book is on Amazon and local Longview stores–Barron’s and Louis Morgan. It will be formatted for Kindle soon, so if e-readers are your format, hang on, it shouldn’t be much longer until it’s up at Kindle. I’d value your kind reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, so enjoy the story and tell all your friends.Comfort Plans

Not that I’ve found one, but I could really use a Dummy’s Guide to Making a Map. My novel, The Big Inch, is a WWII historical fiction and it utilizes real places in the city of Longview, Texas. Imaginary characters climb the stairs, stare off the rooftops, and gaze over lake surfaces in the very places that actual people walk every day. As I write the sequel to The Big Inch, called Harmon General, I’ve decided to add a map to the front of the new book–just as a reference for those who are curious about the context of the plot and locations mentioned. So, here are my questions. How much detail should go on the map? How accurate to mileage and longitudinal details does it need to be? And, if buildings sited in the 1940s no longer exist, how do I place them on the map? Do I create a walking map for readers to go to actual addresses, or just a loose approximation of location so that folks reading the book can visualize a general area?

You can see I have a problem that needs noodling, so if you have a suggestion for map creation, feel free to let me know.

I've been working with a professional actor, talking through characterization, place, and nuance about the characters of my debut novel, The Big Inch, as we prepare to go into production for Audible. Because many of the characters in The Big Inch are Texan, and many have southern roots, you'd think it would be easy. Au Contraire. This roster of distinctive voices would give any actor a challenge. Since a listener can't see who's talking from the sentence structure, it's up to the narrator to give vocal cues and--here's the kicker--maintain those cues through hours and hours of a dialogue-based novel. God Bless the woman who's taking on this opportunity and her knack for mimicking the distinctives of a regional accent that needs just enough variation between the old and young women, those that are celebrating their southern roots, and those that are hiding from them.

To be fair, when I was writing The Big Inch, I never dreamed it would one day become an Audible book that would rely on a strong vocal actor bringing the characters to life for those listening while stuck in traffic or on an extended road trip. I trusted my reader's imagination. Now, though, I'm trusting someone to give sass and vigor to people that previously existed in my head. Stay tuned, I'll keep you in the loop as to how this is progressing, and what some of the tips I'm using to inspire the narrator to hear the characters as they sound inside my imagination.

How exciting to share the big news about Comfort Plans' big win! Thanks to the group Texas Authors, Comfort Plans was awarded 2018 Best Historical Romance award. This is my second novel, and quite the departure from the WWII fiction of The Big Inch. Because I love historical context, Comfort Plans has a rich backstory of early immigration to the Texas Hill Country, and the imprint left by those needing to reinvent themselves among the limestone and prickly pear cactus around Comfort, Texas. Twenty-five years ago I used to drive those hilly roads peeking into a landscape that was foreign to this Georgia girl, and fascinated by the grit of the German settlers who chose to get off the wagon trails in a land filled with cougars, bears, and Mexican soldiers. The testament to that era was still seen in the architecture of the farms and small towns, and I would run my fingers along those limestone walls and listen for the echoes from the past. I'm weird that way.

The idea of turning one of those farmsteads into a modern family retreat is not unique--it's done countless times a year in the Hill Country, and I chose to set a mulish builder and a historical preservation architect (one who had been derailed from knots coming undone) among one of those old houses needing restoration--just to see what would happen. What happened was a fun ride through the ins/outs of historical preservation, home construction, and power struggles, but also the reinvention of a woman who needed to prove herself. Comfort Plans is as much about a woman finding her own identity, as it is about a house shedding it's secrets. Family dramas, charming characters, and treasure also keep the story hopping and I hope that you as a reader, enjoy it as much as I did in writing it. This is the first time in my life I can say I've written an award-winning book, and I'm honored and thrilled that Comfort Plans opened that door.

I had the privilege of revisiting an inspiration location for my novel, Comfort Songs, yesterday, and all the feels rushed back reminding me why I invented a location just like Blue Moon Gardens in my story.

Have you wondered where authors get their ideas for places? I'm sure so many writers create houses/buildings/storefronts from their imaginations, but in this case, I borrowed from reality. The town of Comfort, Texas is real, but the place Lavender Hill where my main character, AJ Worthington, has crafted a destination lavender farm and gift shop is based on my days spent shopping and wandering a garden center in Edom, Texas.

I hope you'll feel a sense of authenticity in the novel because I had photographs and specific memories to guide me in writing the scenes at Lavender Hill. Let me know what you think.

Visiting with readers these days is a tricky thing, but I'm thankful that creative retailers are finding ways to maintain social distancing and germ warfare. The folks I met this weekend in San Antonio were lovely, kind, and definite book fans! I was stunned folks drove so far to find me and it gave me a shot of encouragement to keep on writing. Even from behind a mask, the human heart seeks out the community found from a love of books.
While in Comfort, Texas at the 8th Street Market, I talked with someone who asked my why I write stories set in that Hill Country town and I replied "because I want to write about a world I'd want to live in." Not sure what that says about me, but the friend groups in the Comfort stories are expanding and my mind drifts back there often, wondering what the characters are doing and how they'd react to circumstances. I think of the series of novels and novellas of "At Home in Comfort" and who doesn't long for a sweet home?
Hope you all stay safe and healthy this Thanksgiving week, and that you are surrounded by books that open new worlds to you.