In which Anita Klumpers writes a novel.

Anita has been my friend here in the Madison area for over ten years.  I knew she was a wonderful mom and devoted wife and I knew she had great organizational skills and was a tireless worker for the soccer team and Flame.  But I didn't know she was a fantastic writer with a vibrant imagination!

She published her first novel this week and it is really a great read!  She writes beautifully and her story grabs you right from the start!!

I am so thrilled for her and inspired by her.  Writing a novel is a dream for so many people ....and Anita did it!!  I was very curious about the whole process so I wrote her and begged to ask her a few questions!  She was delighted to answer for us.

So here is my mini interview with the author of Winter Watch, Anita Klumpers;

Have you always wanted to write a book?

 I used to make up long, involved, open-ended stories when I was young and read them to my parents. They gently encouraged me to simplify. And to finish the stories. Instead I just married everyone off in the middle of whatever disaster they were in and signed off 'The End.' So yes, I always wanted to write a book and actually finish it. My parents would have been so relieved that I finally did!

Where did this story come from?

 The homeschool soccer team gave me a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast so my husband and I went up to Bayfield, Wisconsin, as far north as you can get before you hit Lake Superior. And we went in February. We ate at a great little restaurant and a young lady was sitting by herself eating. I thought she was so pretty and poised, but when she turned to look around the room I noticed something odd about her eye. That gave me the idea for Claudia. AND! My dad told the story about his grandpa who was blind. He would go into town to hand out tracts and feel his way home along a fence, but one night he got caught in a blizzard and froze to death. I always wanted that story to have a different ending and in my book I made it all come out OK.

How long did it take to write?

 Well, your Emma was still on the soccer team :) It took several years. I would work and then set it aside. It started out to be a tragic tale of revenge and has been rewritten so often that it metamorphosed into a suspense with some romance and humor.

Did you keep a certain writing schedule?

 Yes. Once a month, when I was supposed to have a new chapter ready for my writers' group I would write like crazy for an entire day. Self-discipline is foreign to me and I stink at sticking to a schedule. But I hate to let people down and I have enough of an ego that I didn't want to be the only person at the writers' group with nothing to contribute.

Do you have a second book floating around in your brain?  Will Claudia make another appearance?

 I started the second already! It actually picks up a week after 'Winter Watch' (I told you I have trouble finishing a story) and focuses more on Philip, the teenage boy, and some new folks who will make an appearance. There is another mystery and there might be blood. Or at least blood will be alluded to. My murders tend to be off-stage.

What books do you recommend for aspiring writers?

 Hmm. That is a good question. Read books on how to write if you want. More importantly, just read good literature, in any genre. Stretch yourself and read out of your comfort zone but read GOOD writers. Get the feel of how they make words work together, how they set moods, create characters, pull you into a story that sticks with you. Then just start writing. And please, if you aren't super disciplined and self-confident, consider joining or starting a writing group. You share your work of the past month and critique each other's offerings. Make sure everyone in it is honest. And very very kind.

Who are your favorite authors?

 Dickens. C.S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, Agatha Christie. In the romance/suspense genre—Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels (who also writes as Elizabeth Peters) Josephine Tey. Susan Cooper for children/youth. I better stop there. I almost headed to my bookshelves and would have come back with two dozen more.

Thank you Anita!!! I loved reading your answers!

Winter Watch by Anita Klumpers

You can read a sample on Amazon and the book is available as a hard copy and as an ebook.

Congratulations Anita!

I'm proud to know ya!!!

Encourage one another,

Donna