Kristi Ann Hunter ~ Interview & Giveaway!

Feb 10, 2017 by Rachel

Welcome back to Rachel’s Back Talk! Another Friday interview!

Today’s interview is with Kristi Ann Hunter. I had the opportunity to review her newest book An Uncommon Courtship earlier this week.

So without further ado, on to Rachel’s Back Talk – Special Edition!

RR: Hi Kristi! Thanks for joining me on Rachel’s Back Talk today! To start, when did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

KH: I was in elementary school and an author came to visit. He said the book we’d read started as a project in his English class. Being a kid, I heard “I wrote a book in 4th grade” and started thinking I could do it. Several years later, I actually did.

RR: That sounds like me! So how would you describe your writing process? Are you more of a planner or free-writer?

KH: Yes. I create a basic skeleton before I start writing because otherwise I’d waste too much time in edits, but I have no idea how to get from point A to point D when I start writing. I just know where I need to go.

RR: It’s great to have a mix like that! Everyone certainly has their own way of writing. When is your best time in the day to write?

KH: Logistically, morning and mid-day while the kids are in school. Creatively? I seem to get really revved about 11:00 at night. It’s annoying.

RR: Those late night spurts are annoying indeed! How do you know when you have a great story?

KH: When I’m able to finish it. That’s sort of a joke and sort of not. I honestly don’t really know until it hits the shelves and I start seeing readers react. Because the story is only great if the message gets conveyed.

RR: So true! Let’s move on to you newest release. How did you come up with the idea for An Uncommon Courtship?

 KH: Trent is such a charming, kind man that having him simply meet someone and pursue them would be too easy. In order to really push Trent to grow he had to be thrown out of his element. Taking away the choice of who he would marry did that.

 RR: I loved how that’s how you fashioned Trent’s romance! You are so right in that’s not what readers would’ve thought would happen. 🙂 Are the characters Trent & Adelaide based off of anyone you know?

KH: Not directly. Every character is a mash up of characteristics from lots of different people. I have a friend that could charm scales off a snake, so I gave that aspect to Trent. I know people that would bend over backwards and sacrifice themselves to keep anyone from getting upset, so I pulled a bit of that for Adelaide. But then those aspects were combined with things from lots of other people, some I don’t even know just saw in a store one day. So, no, they aren’t based off of any one person.

RR. So people-watching! It’s certainly fun, isn’t it? What drew you to writing in the “Hawthorne House” series?

KH: The first story I ever completed eventually became A Lady of Esteem, the free eBook prequel to the Hawthorne series. When I started that story, Miranda was my first real established secondary character and the family grew around her. I loved them all so much I knew they needed their own stories.

RR: And I must say, I absolutely love the Hawthorne family as well! What was the level of research involved with this series?

KH: Different books require different amounts and types. For An Uncommon Courtship I spent a lot of time digging through Google books, looking for books Adelaide would have had access to to collect her quirky collection of random trivia. I’m constantly reading history blogs and snippets from books about the era in general, but each book has particulars I have to look up. I do my best to be historically accurate on anything I reference so sometimes the research trail gets long.

RR: Yes, those little tidbits that Adelaide kept coming up with were fun to read!! So — do you think you can you tell us a little bit about the last book in this series?

KH: Griffith has a plan. He thinks everything in life would go smoothly if people would just think through things first.  Trying to apply this same logic to love, though, is going to blow up in his face because nothing is quite what he thinks it is.

RR: Yay – what an exciting story for Griffith! Well as we close here today, what do you hope readers will take away from Trent & Adelaide’s story?

KH: That they can choose to love. It isn’t a feeling because those change on a whim. Love is a choice that the Bible lays out for us in 1 Corinthians. Love is kind, patient, etc. Choose to love.

RR: And that is a great way to end! And I just have to know, only because I love to have a hot beverage while I write. Do you write better with coffee or tea? 😉

KH: I do occasionally drink herbal tea, but I’m not a big drinker of either.

RR: Thanks for joining me here, Kristi!

If you have any questions for Kristi or remarks about the interview,  please leave a comment. I love hearing from you and I know Kristi will too!

 

AND — I’m offering a giveaway of An Uncommon Courtship. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw a winner next Saturday February 18th!

 

Kristi Ann Hunter graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Computer Science but always knew she wanted to write. In addition to several pre-published contests, Kristi is a Rita award winner and has also been a finalist in the INSPY, Christy, and GRW Maggie Award of Excellence. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.