I'm very happy to welcome T.S. Krupa on Dreaming With Open Eyes today. She was so kind and anwered a bunch of my questions. Thank you very much for taking your time. It's a pleasure to have you on my blog. I recently reviewed her wonderful debut novel Safe & Sound. Read my review here
I sure can! Hello everyone! I want to first thank you all for reading and being big supporters of reading and this genre. I would not be able to do what I do without readers and passionate people like you. So a little bit about me, I live in North Carolina with my husband and Beagle puppy dog, Chase. I was born and raised in Connecticut and have also lived in New Hampshire and Texas. I just graduated with my doctorate degree from North Carolina State University (Go Wolfpack!). In my free time, I coach a club field hockey team for High Point University. Safe & Sound is my debut novel and I am super excited about this new journey!
Safe & Sound is your debut novel. For those who haven’t been lucky enough to read it yet, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Safe & Sound is story about Jill Greenfield. A fairly newly married bride who finds herself facing a terribly tragic situation when her husband suddenly dies. Jill must face challenges and situations she thought she had a lifetime to figure out. But Jill is not alone, she has her two best friends from childhood, Stella and Lanie to help her through this difficult process. Along the way Jill realizes her husband had several secrets he was hiding from her. Her journey takes her from Greensboro, North Carolina to the beaches of Oak Island, North Carolina where she makes an unexpected connection. Safe & Sound is best described as a journey of hope, friendship and love.
If you want the more official synopsis, you can find it on my website at www.tskrupa.com.
Where did Jill’s story come from? Is it entirely fictional? Did you have to do lots of research for the novel?
Jill’s story originated out of a conversation I had with my husband over creating our wills. I tend to overthink things so I asked all these crazy questions like, what happens if someone dies and then remarries then who do you get buried with? Neither of us are from NC so if we get buried here who will visit and what if someone moves? So needless to say there were lots of what if’s on my part. I then thought about what would someone do in that situation and Jill’s story developed from there. Then later that year, we vacation on Oak Island and after seeing the beautiful beaches and location I knew that is where I wanted her to end up. For this novel, I did very little research. I did try and go back through during the editing process and check on some things to make sure it didn’t sound ridiculous.
The book is crammed full of emotion, was the writing process a very emotional one for you too?
I rely on music when I write, so my playlists would be very telling as to what type of scene I was trying to write. There would be times when I was writing the beginning chapters that I would warn my husband that I might be emotional or cranky so that he wouldn’t think it was him! But I did feel as I was going through the emotions with Jill on her journey.
What was your favorite part of writing this novel?
I have been working on my doctorate for the last five years and that style of writing is very structured, very little of what you write is your own and you have to cite everything you do. I found this process to be so freeing. It was great to be sit down and just write and see where the journey takes you without worrying about finding a source or making sure every other sentence was cited.
What was your road to publication? How did you react when you found out your book was being published?
The road to publication is very challenging. I got several rejection letters as I’m sure most writers have received. I then researched different methods from self- publication to traditional publication. I finally settled on Advantage Media Group. It was an amazing and surreal feeling being told your book is going to be published. I think I freaked out a little more the first time I saw it on Amazon!
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
I don’t know if there is subject but I don’t think I could ever write science fiction. I am very much about writing from real places and potential real situations. I give writers like J.K. Rowling or Suzanne Collins a lot of credit for creating entire alternate worlds and making up their own words and cultures.
If you weren’t a writer, what else would you be doing?
I would be a college professor.
Who is your biggest writing inspiration?
When I was kid, I was in love with the ‘The Babysitters Club’ series books. I couldn’t get enough of them. But I also need to create all my middle school teachers. I remember doing lots of creative writing assignments about Vikings, Camelot and the Wild West. These assignments really spurred my imagination.
Finally, are you working on something new, can you tell us something about it?
I am about to start my next project, hopefully by the end of this month. The book will start out in New Hampshire and focus on Andy and her wildly talented teenage daughter, Hayden Grace. Andy of course is the sister of Drew who made an appearance in Safe & Sound.
Thank you for reading this interview!
1 Kommentare
Fun interview! I will have to check out this book!
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings