By Donna Campbell Smith
Seven Turns by Kim Beall is the story of recently divorced Callaghan McCarthy whose income from her best-selling book, a ghost story, is running out. So, has her inspiration for writing. In an effort to create a sequel she is bound for a ghostly bed and breakfast in a small Southern town, recommended by a new internet friend who promised she would once again find her muse within its walls. She learns there are more than ghosts residing at Vale House, and finding her way around is almost as difficult as finding her way through life.
Kim’s love of science fiction, fantasy and gothic romance came to her naturally as her parents had a huge collection of the genre. Kim says she started sneaking into the basement to read her parents huge stash of books when she was only nine years old.
Kim Beall started writing her own stories in Junior High right after she read Lord of the Rings. She thought there was a need for more books like J. R. Tolkien’s trilogy. She also admits that her only good grades were in English, which unfortunately was only for one hour out of the day. So, in the other classes she continued writing — on the sly.
When asked about who she pictures reading her book Kim said, “Women who are over the whole handsome-hunk-save-me-thing.” She went on to say she misses the kinds of books that don’t rely on the horror she usually finds in gothic romance. “I have a feeling there are a lot more of us out there than the industry realizes.”
You’ll find Kim writing at Wake Forest Coffee Company every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. She “rents a table” by buying a latte and works for six hours a day whether she feels like it or not. When asked about her writing process she says she starts with a rough outline but usually the story takes her off course. She says she is a “plantser” -working with a combination of planned plots and outlines, and by seat of her pants, winging it when called for.
Seven Turns has some ghostly and other worldly characters, but Kim says she doesn’t believe in ghosts, “let’s just say I have never met one personally,” she remarked.
Kim has seen an UFO. She was in third grade when she saw one outside her bedroom window in the wee hours of the night. The big glowing orb was grounded, and she saw people walking back and forth in front of it. Were they aliens? “Maybe, or government people trying to hide it.”
What does Kim Beall do when she’s not writing? For fun she raises chickens on the four acres where she and her husband and son live. She also hunts mushrooms and gardens. The lifestyle she envisions for her and her husband’s future is one of self-stainability, growing their own food and making as small as an environmental footprint as possible.
Kim started writing a sequel to Seven Turns immediately after it was completed– while she was looking for a publisher. So, if you’re in the coffee shop on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday you are likely to see Kim with her latte still hard at work.
Instead of interrupting her writing go to her book signing at Page 158, Wake Forest’s bookstore, 415 S Brooks St Suite B, on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Kim will be reading from Seven Turns right after the Fantasy Book Club meeting at 7pm.
Book Details
Seven Turns: A Ghost Love Story
Author: Kim Beall
Formats: Print, Kindle
Pages: 353
Print Price $15.99
Kindle Price: $4.99
ISBN: 1625267894
ASIN: B07CXVZW6D
Publication: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
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