Pump Up Your Book Chats with KJ Steele, author of “No Story to Tell”

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About KJ Steele

KJ Steele is an emerging writer who has learned that the process is not so much about choosing what to write as it is about having the courage to write what chooses to be written. Having spent the first half of her life creating an amazing family with her husband, Victor, she intends to spend the rest of it creating equally amazing fiction.

You can find out more about her and her book by visiting her website at http://kjsteele.com, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KJSteele4 and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Story-to-Tell/122592254511039

About No Story to Tell

Victoria Lackey, a once extraordinarily promising dancer, now finds herself mired down in a joyless marriage, tending to a heart full of secrets, her dream of being a dancer buried deep within her.

Buried within her, that is, until Elliot, a newcomer to the small, gritty town of Hinckly and a sensual artist, recognizes the dancer’s spirit within her. Believing in her abilities, he encourages her to open a dance studio, something previously forbidden by Victoria’s boorish husband, Bobby.

With Elliot’s attentions sparking the flame of desire within her, Victoria suddenly begins to receive softly seductive anonymous telephone calls. Encouraged by her best friend, Rose, Victoria slowly allows herself to start enjoying the calls, eventually creating a perfect fantasy lover in her mind. Eventually, she slips from listener to speaker and begins to divulge the intimate and profound secrets that haunt her soul.

Inevitable tensions begin to arise between Victoria and Bobby as he attempts to keep her newfound freedom from taking root. Desperate to resuscitate the woman she was truly meant to be, Victoria is in for the struggle of her life. With a burden of secrets collapsing around her and a life hanging in jeopardy if she embraces her own, Fate devilishly delivers her to an impossible fork in the road.

On No Story to Tell

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

I was compelled to! It’s kind of a funny story, really, how this novel came about. I hadn’t set out to write a novel. I had decided to take a writing class because I had always been a keen lover of the written word. Our first assignment for class was to: create two characters and a conflict, and write a paragraph. This 388 page novel is my paragraph (it might be argued that I am an over-achiever!) But, honestly, this story really did take over my life, and possess my thoughts for a few years after that initial writing class. No Story to Tell truly was a story that demanded to be told.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

The intimate scenes were the hardest. They’re also some of the best! I’m a very sensuous writer, and I knew they would take me to deep, dark places where I wasn’t completely comfortable to go. I knew those scenes would lay me bare, and that I had to be willing to write them without reservations. It took me a while to progress to that point, but I did.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

There are many underlying messages in this novel. It is richly textured in that way. However, I truly believe each reader will find the messages that are important for them. I never consciously wrote messages into the story. But, they definitely did emerge along the way.

On Writing

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I was not someone who kept a journal, or wrote poetry. Like I mentioned above, the bug really hit (and it was a big bug, and it hit hard!) when I took my first writing class. There was no question after that. There was a story coming through, and there was nothing I wanted to do more than to be faithful in my telling of it.

Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author and what’s the most rewarding?

I had a list of things that I was frustrated about after becoming published. But, I decided to mentally burn that list! It struck me as rather insane to be frustrated about the changes being published had brought into my life. I was frustrated when I wasn’t published, and now I was finding things to be frustrated about now that I was. That makes no sense to me. So, I try not to dwell on frustrations!

The most rewarding thing is much more agreeable to me! I love being able to interact with the people who have read my book. I truly value their feedback, as it is through their eyes that I get to actually experience my novel for the first time.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

Puke on the page and clean it up later! It’s not pretty, but I try to live by that thought when I write. Just get the story out. Don’t try to make it perfect at that point. You get in your own way as a writer when you observe your writing as you write. My best writing comes to me when I am able to just mentally step-aside, and let the story travel unfettered onto the page. The clean-up comes later.

On Family and Home

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

I live in a postcard! Well, that’s how I describe it. I live in a beautiful valley, with a large, deep lake that runs through it. When I’m not writing, I love to swim in the lake, road bike, hike, or ride my horse up the mountain. I have two horses. Ricco and Rocco. They’re full brothers, and nothing alike!

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I write on a large, round table which is right beside a floor-to-ceiling window. The window looks out across my yard to where my horses are. I occasionally have my writing interrupted to watch deer, or bear, wandering through my yard. Like I said . . . I live in a postcard!

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

I get on my horse (usually Ricco because he loves to run!) and I ride up the mountain behind my house. There is no one up there except me, my horse, the deer and bear, and every once in a while, a mountain goat. Apparently, there are cougar, too, but I’ve yet to see one. It is the most tranquil place in the world for me, riding through the trees, looking at the myriad of wild flowers that blossom so un-expectantly in such harsh terrain.

On Childhood

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

No. I loved to read, but unless someone made me get off, I was always on a horse! But, I invariably had some sort of fantasy playing out in my head as I rode–I was an Indian warrior, a circus performer, a race-horse owner–so I guess I was always lost in a world of my own making!

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

Fury and the Mustangs by Albert G. Miller. I lived that book as I read it!

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

I remember writing them in school, and enjoying it. I also spent a lot of time writing, producing, and starring in plays.

On Book Promotion

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

I hired an on-line marketer who could direct me in the most effective ways of interacting with my readers.

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

Yes, I’m somewhat familiar with most of it. I have an active website and blog. kjsteele.com I’m also on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. I have a Goodreads account. I really love interacting with my readers, so I welcome everyone to contact me, and share their thoughts on the novel, writing, reading, or just life in general!

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

The web has re-defined how books will be promoted. It has opened up a huge ocean of accessibility for both authors looking to promote their work, and readers searching to find it.

On Other Fun Stuff

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

Wow . . . that is an interesting proposal. I would ask for everyone else to have one wish that would make somebody else’s life just a little bit brighter.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

Rome. Without a hesitation. She’s calling me.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

I would thank all those people who saw the value in my work long before I did, and wouldn’t let me discount myself. There were many of them along the way, and they became the bridges that helped me across to where I am today.

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach