Interview With Kristine Goodfellow

  In 2011, I was lucky enough to attend a writing convention in Dallas called DFWcon. It was Amazing! I attended classes about my craft. I mingled with agents and editors. But, more importantly, I met fellow writers and authors. I have kept in touch with several of these authors and it has been a blessing to watch them grow and see their successes.

  Recently, a friend from DFWcon had her book published! Her book has received several amazing reviews. On top of that, she is also a Best Seller on Amazon's Gothic Romance list!

  Because of her success, I asked her if she would let me interview her, so that everyone could get to know her and check out her amazing book. Luckily, for me, she said yes!

  So, without further ado, I would like to welcome Kristine Goodfellow, author of “Phantom: Edge of the Flame” to my blog.

A little about Kristine...

  Kristine is a 1990 graduate of Cal State and currently lives in Texas wither husband, her contemptuous cat and a formally-stray, sickly Chihuahua that someone dumped at her husband’s office building. She’s the mother of two grown sons who attend school in South Dakota and Pennsylvania. 

  Kristine has written nine novels and is working on her tenth.Only Phantom: Edge of the Flameis currently available.Another gothic romance will be released in early 2012.

Visit her blog at kristinegoodfellow.wordpress.com

Kristine thanks for doing this interview and welcome to my blog.

Thanks for interviewing me, Sarah.  I’m flattered to be on featured on your blog.  I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I enjoy keeping up to date on you, your writing and of course, your wrestling obsession.  I’m glad we met at the conference last year. 

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing novels for the last ten years, but I’ve been writing stories since the third grade. We had an assignment that was an essay entitled: “I wish I was…”. I wrote three different versions and couldn’t decide which one I should turn in for a grade. At that time I understood just how much I enjoyed writing. Since I never liked having homework before (math was a form of torture for me), I realized that writing released a creative side in me that I had not quite discovered—not in written form anyway. My childhood games were quite resourceful; I had a vivid imagination for make-believe. In fact, I had a whole kingdom in my backyard made from overturned lawn furniture and picnic blankets. My poor dog survived having scarves tied around her head, a few strands of fake pearls hanging from her neck and doll dresses foisted on her. (She was a princess.—what can I say?) And that essay that started it all? I only got an “S” (Satisfactory) grade because in such excitement over verbal creation, some things might have suffered—like spelling and grammar. You know the things that nuns take rather seriously. The only piece of encouragement I received for that paper was the word “Imaginative” written in red across the top—right next to the words “Watch your margins!”

What is the inspiration behind Phantom: Edge of the Flame?

I loved the main character.  In the original novel, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, “Erik” (the phantom) is a dark, tortured, genius with a disturbing past.  I get chills just thinking of all the depth this character has.  However, I could never get over the love (or in my mind obsession) that he had for a young, beautiful soprano.  I never understood how the hideously ugly genius who’d been hiding in the bowels of the opera house (who surely had seen plenty of beautiful women!) suddenly became insanely fixated on this young teenager.  I just didn’t see the appeal of his love interest, Christine.  I wanted something more than the obvious connection of their mutual love of singing and the even more obvious connection of her being beautiful and him being lovesick.  That wasn’t convincing enough for me.  I went in search of answers.  After reading Susan Kay’s fantastic novel Phantom, (which is the prequel to Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera) I still needed more answers.  Not finding any real answers there either, I decided to pen my own “short story” giving the Phantom a new love interest more in line with his age, intelligence and personality--someone who would not only challenge him, but perhaps give him a taste of actual mature love.  That “short story” became an 81,000-word novel.

Is the Phantom dark and sexy like the Andrew Lloyd Webber movie starring Gerard Butler? Or is he more like what is described in the book?

He is definitely NOT handsome. Nothing like the 2004 movie where he’s really hunky except for that little bit of his face that has some sort of skin-disorder. In the Schumaker movie, the phantom was still damn-handsome even with that bit of flaw. I liked the movie in and of itself as a form of entertainment and I also loved the Broadway production, on which it was based, but in Phantom: Edge of the Flame, I stuck with the original version of the phantom—a guy who was described as living death. Gaston Leroux depicts him as being extremely ugly, emaciated and well, smelling kinda weird. What I wanted to do was keep the original crazy, ugly character and make him sympathetic, and also give him a love interest. I absolutely love the idea of a crazy, love-starved genius!

If someone has not read “The Phantom of the Opera” will they still be able to follow your book?

Absolutely! I wrote it so the reader did not have to be familiar with the 2004 movie or the original novel. In fact, I’ve noticed several of the positive reviews I’ve received have specifically said they were not familiar with the book or weren’t “Phantom Phans” at all. I wrote it to be enjoyed as a stand-alone piece. All anyone needs to know is the rudimentary idea of a disfigured magician/ventriloquist/musical genius “haunting” the opera house because he has withdrawn from society and has disdain for mankind.

What advice would you give an unpublished writer?

The thing that helped me the most is joining online critique groups. My writing seemed to improve ten-fold by having it critiqued by different writers with varying levels of talent and experience. All kinds of people with different ideas for strengthening our craft read my work and offered their opinions. That’s incredibly useful. Granted, you have to take what you find helpful and dump the rest, but I learned a lot. If I could give one piece of advice, I would say get out of your comfort zone and let other people look at your work--that is people other than your family and friends. It might be hard at first, but after the initial shock, you will grow and learn by having your mistakes called out time and time again. One of the first critiques I ever received told me that I used ‘filtering’ and that I ‘distanced myself from the reader’. First, I was crushed. Then I became angry. I reread my work and thought it was awesome. After that, I concluded the guy was a jerkwad for saying such a negative thing about my precious baby. BUT…after the fourth and fifth person said the same thing, I realized I was being the jerkwad. I have since learned not to use any ‘filtering’ such as “I heard, I saw, I thought…etc.”

What is the best advice you received as a writer?

Grow a thick skin. I’m still working on that one. It’s hard to have someone dislike your work. It’s like someone not liking your kids…but, it happens. I’ve learned that not every story is for every person. As my best friend likes to say, “Honey, not every shoe fits every foot.” That sounds really cute when she says it with a southern drawl, too. So, when I feel down because someone didn’t like something I wrote, I hear that expression in my head and it cheers me up.

Do you have any books coming out?

Yes. I’ve got another gothic romance set to be released at the end of March and a horror with romantic elements due out in early fall of 2012. As soon as I get the okay, I will write more about those upcoming novels. Right now they’re being edited within an inch of their spines.  

Thanks for interviewing me, Sarah. I appreciate the time you took to do this. I can’t wait until DFWcon this year!

Again, I would like to thank Kristine for allowing me to interview her. I hope you all check out her book!

Phantom: Edge of the Flame

Welcome 2012!!!!

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!!!!!!!

May it be filled with blessings and joy! And I hope the Mayans were wrong with their 'end of the world' prediction lol.

I don't believe in resolutions, but I do believe in making goals for the new year.

 

My goals for 2012:

* Get an Agent/ Get book published

* Take a fabulous vacation with my family

* Spend more time with my friends

* Be more honest with my loved ones

* Spend my money wiser (lol, this means less shopping)

* Go to more Author signings in my area (I already go to a lot, but my goal is to find more to attend. I found a local bookstore that hosts signings that I never knew about, so I am sure I will be there!)

What goals or resolutions did you make for 2012

10 Random Things You May Not Know About Me

I got this in an email and thought it was interesting. I hope those of you who read my blog will play along!

You just put 10 random things that people may not know about you. Simple!

1) “Smooth” by Rob Thomas instantly makes me happy. I don’t care how bad a day has been… when I hear the song I smile

2) The word ‘dookie’ (as in poop) grosses me out. My Grandma used to say it all the time and i would gross out. Not sure why it bothers me, but it does.

3) I have a horrible fear of Spiders crawling through my window screen. I won’t even sleep with the window open.

4) When I was six, I wanted everyone to call me “CeCe Bloom” because I loved the movie ‘Beaches’

5) I believe in supporting local authors, artists, etc. I go to book signings when I hear of them and have met several talented people this way. I also go to art shows, craft fairs, and anything else like that.

6) I read “Gone with the Wind” when I was in the 4^th grade, “Little Women” in the 5^th, and “Scarlett” in the 6^th grade. My teachers were impressed lol

7) Although I LOVE traveling… I HATE flying.
I have a rule: Do NOT talk to me until the plane has been safely in the air for five minutes. I literally sit back with my eyes shut until this time. If there is ANY turbulence, then forget about talking to me! It ain’t happening lol!

8) I collect glass dog figurines. My Dad started the collection when he was little. It then was passed onto my cousin. It was passed onto me when I was 12. I have added about 10 figures to it, but they have a special meaning behind it, like my ‘Lady’ from ‘Lady and the Tramp’ figure.

9) I love sending out Christmas Cards. If I have your address, you will get a card from me. My old high school friends always seem to get a kick out of this

10) I have known that I want to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I recently found a ‘book’ I wrote in the 4^th grade as an assignment. In it, I stated that when I grew up I was going to be a writer. (I also misspelled my middle name two different ways, both wrong, which my sister laughed about)


There ya go! 10 things about me! I hope you all play along!

The Great State of Abraska…

The other day my niece came home from school. As usual, she was full of chatter. Each day I get to hear about the current gossip in the 6^th grade, which student is sick, and anything exciting that happens in class.

My niece rattled off some gossip and then she exclaimed, “Oh! We also learned about crazy laws that some states have.”

Her eyes sparkled with interest, so I asked, “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well,” she began as she flopped down on the couch, “In Oklahoma there is a law that says it is illegal to spit on the sidewalk!”

“I remember hearing about that one. There is also one where it is illegal to curse in front of women and children on a Sunday.” I replied.

“The best one was from Abraska! Did you know it is illegal to flick a booger?”

I looked back at my niece and tried not to laugh. Clearly, she misunderstood.

“Um, I think you have a fact wrong.”

“No! It’s true! In Abraska, you can go to jail if you flick a booger! Isn’t that gross?”

“Abraska?” I asked.

“Yeah!” My niece said, nodding her head.

I am trying not to laugh, “Um… do you mean Nebraska?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face, “No, it’s Abraska…”

I do laugh now, “There isn’t a state called Abraska. There is a state called Nebraska.”

“No, I know it started with an ‘a’.”

I smile, “I’m going to name off some ‘a’ states… Arkansas, Arizona, Alabama…”

“That’s it!” she exclaimed. “It was Alabama!”

I laughed. The mystery had been solved.

“What grade are you in?” I asked with a smile. I was only teasing, though.

She didn’t reply, but opened her book to read instead.

Abraska, eh? Oh my. It gave me a good laugh anyway.
　

　

"Sir, we DON’T play pranks at this Hotel!”

  In a previous post I talked about how I have met some of my best friends through wrestling events. The really great thing is when I am able to travel with my friends and, of course, go to an event. To me, that is where the true memories happen.

  In 2007 my two friends and I decided to go to a PPV event in St. Louis, Missouri. We flew in the day before the PPV so that we could go to a House Show, which we love going to.

  Yousef and I both flew in from Oklahoma and Terrica flew in from Arkansas. Since Yousef and I arrived first, we went to our hotel to check in. The hotel was amazing and was located in an old train station. And our room was on the club level, so it was extra fancy.

  The hotel room was large with a bathroom to die for. We had a window that overlooked the mall that connected to the hotel. Everything in the room was meant for luxury. Yousef pointed out that there was a phone by the bed. There was a phone on the desk. And there was a phone in the bathroom.

  After Yousef and I checked in, we went back to the airport to meet Terrica. We got our rental car and drove to Rolla, MO for the House Show. After the event, we drove back to St. Louis and then called it a night.

  The next day Terrica and I were lying on the bed watching TV while Yousef was getting ready for the PPV.

***I have talked to him about the moment several times, so I am going to go into his point of view for the next part ***

I was in the bathroom getting ready while the girls watched TV. I looked over at the phone and the urge to play a joke took over. I picked it up and dialed #422. Nothing happened, so I hung up and tried again.

This time the phone began to ring and a man answered the phone.

“Front Desk. How may I help you?”

I licked my lips, “Um… can you connect me to my friend’s room?”

“What is the name of the guest you are trying to reach?”

I tell them Sarah’s name and I can hear the man typing.

“Sir, do you know the room number of your friend?”

I reply, “Yes, 422.”

There was a long pause and the man finally says in a dry tone, “Sir, you are IN room 422. We cannot connect you if you are IN the room.”

I feel my face flushing red and I stammer out, “Uh, I wanted to play a joke on her. Sorry.”

I hang up and begin laughing.

His tone clearly implied one thing:

“Sir, we do NOT play jokes at this hotel!”

****

When Yousef came out of the bathroom he was laughing. He told us about the joke he tried to play and Terrica and I begin laughing, too.

To this day, whenever there is a phone in the bathroom at a hotel we all giggle a little. It is moments like this that always shine through and give us all something to remember and smile about. J

Bloody Mary

  The other day my niece came home from school talking about a few of her classmates. They apparently played the “Bloody Mary” game at a slumber party. She said it sounded lame and she didn’t know why they thought it was scary.
   My sister told my niece that she played Bloody Mary at a slumber party when she was about 10 and it scared her so bad that my Dad had to come and get her and take her home. Well, my niece is starting to get this excited look in her eyes. She loves being scared even though she claims she's not.

    So I tell her about playing the game with my cousin. In my defense, I was seriously like 5 when we played and, of course, it scared me. My niece is begging to play now, so finally I agree.
 
Before we play, I look up the history of the game and read it to her.

Here is a brief description of the game, for those of you who have never played.
From castleofspirits.com
  Bloody Mary is the children’s game of summoning an evil and vengeful witch through a mirror. The person (or people) stand in front of the mirror with a candle or flashlight. They say “Bloody Mary” three times in a row to summon her.

   The belief is that by summoning her, she will appear in the mirror and try to pull the person (or people) into the mirror with her. Of course there are many variations of the game, with different things that happen when you say the name.

   By now my niece is really excited to play. She loves being scared, so this is something she knows she will like. On the other hand, she is 12 and asked before we played if I thought it was real. I laughed and told her no.

   So we go into our small bathroom. I tell her that I am going to turn off the light so her eyes can get used to the dark and then turn on the flashlight (we thought it was safer than a candle lol) just so she can see what it looks like.

   I do this and when I turn on the flashlight she has a death grip on the hand-towel hanging on the wall. Well, now I know this is going to be fun, so I turn off the light.

   “Are you ready” I ask her.

   I can barely see her nod, but she is silent.

   “You have to say it, or she won’t show up.” I prompt my niece.

   She is still silent and I can hear her breathing. Oh yeah, she is scared.

   I lower my voice and say, “Bloody Mary. Blooooddddy Marrrrrryyyy. Blooooooooodddddddyyyyy Maaaaaaarrrrryyyyyyyy!”

   And then I turn on the flashlight. When the light comes on, she is standing with her hands covering her face so she doesn’t have to look at the mirror. (She later explains that she figured if she couldnt see Bloody Mary, then she couldnt be trapped in the mirror lol)

   I think I am being funny, so I let out a little scream.

   My niece starts screaming at the top of her lungs and swings around, knocking the flashlight out of my hand. Then she shoves me back so hard that I almost fall into the shower.

  I am laughing so hard at this point that I can barely stand up to turn the main light on.

   By this time, my niece is starting to calm down (and uncover her eyes). She sees me on the floor and starts laughing, too. Then she tried to play it off, like she wasn’t scared, but we both know the truth.

Oh the “Bloody Mary” game. Traumatizing children from one generation to the next.

Old Poem and old memories

I was cleaning out my closet when i came upon my old poetry notebook. Yes, i dabble in poetry. Sometimes it helps me clear my mind or helps me get something out of my system. I'm not claiming to be a poet laurent here, but i like them lol.

Anyway, here is one that i wrote when i was a teenager. I am pretty sure it was about my crush and how he didnt notice me (but i dont remember his name, so must not have been love ;) ) Gosh, i was so angsty!

ANGST

I was stupid for wanting

Stupid for feeling

Stupid for hoping

Stupid for needing

When will I learn

When will I see

That no matter what

Some things will never be

It was fun while it lasted

It was too good to be true

I should have known

I wasn’t good enough for you

I try not to take it personally

I try not to take it to heart

But you have it down, you see

Almost like a painful art

I was stupid for wanting

Stupid for feeling

Smart for growing

And somehow I am dealing

LOL i hope you all enjoyed this little sample! Maybe one day i will publish a poetry book, but i seriously am not holding my breath lol!