Today on the blog we're visiting with author CS Kendall! Let's dive right in.
CS Kendall spent her formative years growing up in the small town of
McPherson, KS. As such, there was not much to do, so her imagination,
which always lagged behind her age, had free reign. From playing dress
up into her teens, recording radio shows with various voices and
storylines with her friends, to dabbling with the art of crafting a
novel, there were few dull moments for her.
Enter
adulthood, a day job, and the backburner. But story came calling, and
finally, her imagination woke up and answered. Though she loves and is
fulfilled by her job as a social work therapist, she equally enjoys
running away in her mind to imaginary lands with made up people.
She
lives happily with her husband and their two amazing children in
southwest Michigan. Her debut novel, The Killing Cure, comes out later
this year.
~*~
Welcome, CS!
Q1: Tell us what your perfect (non-writing or reading) day would look like.
Q5: *bonus question for everyone* Do you collect anything? If so, why?
CSK: A
perfect day for me cannot be had without my family. I'm a simple girl
and it doesn't take much to make me happy. The perfect day would be in
the summertime, probably on a sunny 80-degree day. I'd be with my family
and some friends at the beach. We'd spend the whole day there with no
particular agenda. We would intermittently play in the sand, walk the
shoreline, and swim in the water. We'd build sandcastles and bury each
other. We'd lay out and do nothing. No responsibilities would tug at us;
no stressors would eat at us. We'd just be. At the end of it, we'd get
cleaned up, grill out and enjoy some fantastic chow. We'd be so tired at
the end of it all that we'd fall into bed, full and sun-kissed.
Q3: Was there a favorite homemade meal you enjoyed as a child? Is it still a favorite food?
CSK: Did
I ever, and it's not something I've grown out of! :) In elementary
school, my third grade teacher encouraged us to create stories, complete
with illustrations. I think I wrote 102 that year. And besides that, I
was always pretending. I don't know if this is endearing or makes me a
freak, but my friends and I "played pretend" into our early teens. We
had a trove of Victorian gowns that were my younger sisters' dress up
dresses. We would dress up in those and have candlelit dinner parties
over subway and pudding improvising our made up life stories with
speaking in accents. I think most of us let our imaginations grow cold
far too early.
Q2: Where do you go/what do you do when you want to think something over?
CSK: I
don't know if I have to go anywhere in particular, but there is a
definite process. For me, I first have to mull things over in my mind
until I'm to a place that I'm ready to talk it through with someone
else. And then I absolutely need to do that. Whether it's my husband,
one of my sisters, or a friend, I thrive on being able to say what I'm
thinking to another person and soak up their feedback. This is always
effective for me when I need to think about something, particularly the
big somethings.
CSK: Hmmm....probably my mom's cheesy spaghetti casserole or her homemade
Fettuccine Alfredo. And yes, I love them still and make them for my own
family!
Q4: Did you have an active imagination when you were little?
Q5: *bonus question for everyone* Do you collect anything? If so, why?
CSK: Toe
nails. Just kidding, that's gross. As a child I collected unicorns, as
an adolescent I collected cows and porcelain masks. In my adulthood, I
don't know that I actually collect anything. I'm currently obsessed with
chalk painting furniture and finding old pieces that are repurposed. I
don't know if it's a collection per se, but I have quite a few pieces.
~*~
That was fun! Thank you so much for visiting with us today, CS.
You can learn more about the author by visiting her website: www.cskendall.net
See you all on Thursday, when my guest will be...well you'll have to tune in to find out, but I promise you, it's a great read! :~)
