Interview with Kimberly Derting

Kimberly Derting is the debut author of THE BODY FINDER, which I will review here tomorrow. You might have seen her around the net before, however. She's even been a visitor to IBWB. So read on for the mind behind this excellent new thriller.

--

1. Myself, and probably many others, are familiar with your blog, The Road to Publication. How do you feel your blog affected your road to publication?

Since I started my blog after my book was already out on submission to publishers, it was a great tool to begin connecting with potential readers, other bloggers, authors, etc. I love meeting people, and my blog has just become another way for me to make new friends, as well as keeping up with what’s going on in the YA community.



2. Parts of THE BODY FINDER are written through the killer's point of view. What sort of research did you do on serial killers to create such a convincing voice?

Apparently, I’ve unknowingly spent my life studying serial killers because those sections of THE BODY FINDER from the killer’s POV were extremely easy for me to write. I would love to say that I interviewed serial killers from prison, but I didn’t. I just read a lot of books and watched a lot of true crime TV. Plus, the internet is invaluable!

3. In one of your blog posts, you mentioned how your biology degree helped you to be a better writer. Of course, a biology degree implies plans other than becoming an author. What are some other things you're interested in doing with your life?

Wow, very perceptive! You didn’t figure out who the killer was before the end of TBF did you??? I was actually pre-med when I was in school, and had every intention of becoming a doctor. Fortunately, I realized before I actually applied, that I wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to juggle a family and med-school…a realization that saved me a lot of energy and grief. Besides, if I’d been honest with myself way back then, I would have admitted that what I really wanted to do was write!

4. Before selling THE BODY FINDER, you tried to sell a horror novel. Do you think you'll ever rewrite that novel and try again?

Absolutely not! If I have it my way, that book will never, EVER see the light of day again. Let’s just chalk that up to a learning experience about the publishing industry, and more importantly, great practice on what NOT to do!

5. Some parts of THE BODY FINDER are pretty dark. Did you worry about how far you could go in a YA novel? Did you ever have to reel in some of the darkness?

I was actually very worried about that (again, very perceptive!). In fact, when I sent in my first draft, there were far fewer scenes from the killer’s perspective because I really thought that might be too creepy for YA. When my editor came back and said they wanted more, I was thrilled, I LOVED writing the killer’s sections. I know, I know, that just sounds sick and wrong!

6. You knew that you had sold THE BODY FINDER for awhile before you could announce it on the blog. How does it feel to contain such big news? On a semi-related note, anything you can currently share about DESIRES OF THE DEAD without making your editor mad?

It was SOSOSO hard to hold that news in. It was about three months before I could announce it publicly…or what I like to call “forever!” The day I was told I could announce it, I was in New York , but I broke out my laptop and blogged it anyway. It was so great to finally get it out there!!!

As far as Desires, I will tell you that there will definitely be a dead body. Shhh! ;)