A
past recipient of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart Award,
Kimberly Fisk is the bestselling author of Lake
Magic. She lives in the Pacific
Northwest with her husband, three children, and too many
four-legged critters to count.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
About the Book:
In
the town of Tranquility Bay, summer
is the season of second chances...
Single mother Hope Thompson has built a happy life for herself and her twins in
beautiful Tranquility Bay, Washington.
She doesn’t dwell on her painful past—especially not on the man who broke her
heart all those years ago. But when Hope’s beloved son needs help, she takes a
desperate chance and reaches out to her children’s father.
Nick Fortune lives life in the spotlight as a champion race car driver. He’s
shocked to hear from Hope and even more surprised to learn that he’s a father.
He immediately heads to the Pacific Northwest to
confront the past—and the woman he once loved.
There, on the quiet lakeshore, Nick and Hope must work together to save their
son—even if it means facing their complicated past—for a second chance as a
family.
PRAISE FOR BOARDWALK SUMMER
"It
was late. I only meant to take a peek but ended up reading BOARDWALK SUMMER in
one delicious gulp, and I'm still thinking about the characters. A terrific
read. Page turning and deeply emotional. You'll fall in love with these
characters who have so much at stake. Highly recommended."
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
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As a book bloggin’
and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the
ideas for their books. How did you come
up with the idea for your book?
Hi!! Thank you for
having me here today. It’s always
wonderful to connect with other readers and writers. What a great question. Like you, I also enjoy learning how authors hit
upon that single idea that sparks a book.
I am not a fast writer by any stretch of the imagination so
for me an idea needs to be incredibly strong as it will be the driving force
that gets me to the computer for the next year.
Quite simply, BOARDWALK SUMMER started with a single question: “What would a mother do for her child?”
My answer was instantaneous:
ANYTHING. Even contact the one
person she swore she never would. With
that premise, my story was born.
Can you tell us what
your book is about?
I’d love to! Boardwalk
Summer is my favorite type of romance:
it’s the story of true love and second chances. Of young love ripped apart by circumstances
and then forced back together years later by a crisis. It’s a story of how our past might shape our
future but it doesn’t have to permanently define it. I love reading about second chances because I
believe we are all worthy of another chance.
And, yes, as a contemporary romance, Boardwalk Summer is absolutely about
romantic love, but I think it’s about more, too. It’s also about a parent’s love and devotion
for their child.
Can you tell us a
little about the main characters of your book?
Ahhhhh. Hope and
Nick. Two of my favorite people. These characters have lived with me for such
a long, long time but that’s probably a discussion left for another day.
Hope Thompson is a woman I’d love to have as a best
friend. She’s smart, funny, fiercely
loyal and tries to find the positive in any situation. And like so many of us—a mother who will do
anything for her children. Even reach
out to the one person she swore she never would—the man who broke her heart years
ago.
As for our hero, Nick Fortune, well, he’s just plain yummy. (Is that okay to say?!) He’s handsome, sexy, smart but he’s also let
his past drive his future. Even if that
meant walking away from Hope. But
because of one phone call, his whole world changes and he has to struggle to
figure out if what he thought was important really was or if for the past
sixteen years he’s been placing value on all the wrong things.
If you could tell
your younger writing self anything, what would that be?
BELIEVE. A deceptively
simple word that holds so much power.
It’s also a concept I struggle with daily.
There are already so many obstacles blocking us from achieving
our dreams that we need to be our biggest champions; if we don’t believe in
ourselves, who will?
Belief will drive us to sit down in front of our computer
and write a story. Belief will propel us
to seek out help and guidance. Invest in
ourselves and our dreams. And when the
hard and uncertain times comes—as they surely will—believing may be the only
thing that keeps us from giving up.
What would you say is
one of your interesting writing quirks?
I’m sure my family has a long list they’d love to
share. 😊 But without a doubt one of them would have to be how I need silence
to write. I know a lot of writers
who develop playlists to listen to while working or they write in busy coffee
shops or even in their living room with the husband and kids nearby watching TV
and chatting away. How I wish that was
me! Unfortunately, the only voices I can
hear while working are those of my characters in my head. And boy the discussions we have!!
Do you hear from your
readers? What do they say?
One of the greatest gifts writing has given me is the
connection with other readers. Women
just like me who are crazy busy with jobs, families, LIFE 😊.
And, who
also like me, love to escape into a great book.
To realize that sometimes that book is mine…well, it’s incredibly
humbling. Social Media has provided such
a great, easy way for us to connect. I
hope if you’re on FB, you’ll drop by and say hello!!
What is the toughest
criticism given to you as an author?
I think I’m in the minority here but I’m one of those
writers that loves feedback. I firmly
believe in rewrites, edits and revisions.
I believe that looking at my work with a fresh eye can only make it
stronger. Now, having said that doesn’t
mean it’s always easy to hear what others have to say. I mean, how can it? You pour your heart and soul into creating
characters and a story that you hope will resonate with your readers and stay
with them long after they turn the last page.
Hearing that those characters or that plot isn’t working for some…tough. But in my day job as an assistant to an
amazingly talented author, I’ve learned that your work can also be better,
stronger, more engaging, if you embrace the revision process. So when I sit down to write a first draft—I
create that straight from my heart. When
revising/editing—I tuck my heart away (as much as possible) and work from an
analytical point of view (as much as possible).
What has been the
best accomplishment?
Without a doubt, the best accomplishment in life is my
family. Only because of them am I who I
am. They truly do make me whole. But my best accomplishment in writing?? That’s a tough one! Winning the Golden Heart (RWA’s highest award
given to an unpublishes author) has to be near the top. Because of that win, my career was
launched. But before that—before the win
and signing with my dream agency and receiving THE CALL—I think joining my
first critique group would have to be my best accomplishment.
It goes back to one of your earlier questions and my answer
of “believe.” If I hadn’t believed (at
least enough) I would never have found the courage to seek out and join that group
of amazing women/writers. (Hi Tracy,
Pipper and Suzanne!!) And because of
that step, I found the dedication, strength and courage to continue writing.
Do you Google
yourself?
Oh, wow! I never
thought of doing that. Now I’m both
intrigued (and a little terrified!!) at the prospect.
How many unpublished
and half-finished books do you have?
There are two ways I can answer this—none and six. I know, kinda confusing right?? But none because the first book I wrote is
the one featured here today—though it had a different title back then. (Finding Hope in case you were interested. 😊).
And six
because I wrote and rewrote that first book so many times (yes, too many)
before putting it away and starting on my second book—Lake Magic. Which also had a different title. As you’ve probably guessed by now, I can’t
title a book to save my life.
Do you have anything
specific that you would like to say to your readers?
THANK YOU!!
I am
incredibly grateful to each one of you who has—or will—take a chance on one of
my stories.
And to show my deep appreciation,
I’d love to send you some fun stuff.
Just visit my website (
www.KimberlyFisk.net)
and drop me note.
It’s been great spending time here at Book Bloggin’ Princess and if you take away one thing from our chat
today, I hope it’s this: I hope you
believe strongly enough to follow your own dreams and passions whatever they
may be!!
Happy Reading!
