Guest Post from Krista D. Ball, author

I had the fortunate opportunity to ask author Krista D. Ball about her writing. She has recently started writing full time this past year. From the perspective of the DIYer, it's fabulous to see people chasing their dreams with such gusto! Here's what we discussed:

1. How long have you been writing?
My parents bought me a typewriter for my 13th birthday. I haven't stopped writing since.

2. What and who has influenced your writing?
I've been asked this question several times and I have yet to have an answer. I have many different authors that I like. There have been lots of people who have encouraged me. However, I can't say that there was one person that stands out in my mind.

One event, however, does. I turned thirty and had a crisis, realizing that I had spent most of my life either having someone else dress me or angsting over whether or not a guy liked me. I had barely written. In my teens, I thought I'd have a book published by 27 (just in time for my high school reunion, of course), wearing a mink fur coat (ewww), and wearing dark sunglasses. Putting aside the asinine and stupidity of all that (it takes an average of 6-8 books before you can support yourself off just the royalties and you still need to keep writing), I still wanted to be a writer.

So, during the midlife crisis and half a bottle of vodka, I said to myself, "Self, shit or get off the pot." I'm not sure which option I associated with writing, but I decided I needed to get serious. And I did.

Normally, I'd say at this juncture that it was the bottle of vodka that changed it for me. But considering the reputation writers have for being alcoholics, it's best to leave that part out.

3. So many DIYers say they “never have enough time for their projects” But everyone knows that we’re all given the same hours in the day, it’s all in how you organize them. How much work has it been to organize your life to make time for writing? What sacrifices have been made? Any delightful discoveries about your now career path?

I'm still figuring out the entire day organization thing. Right now, I'm gearing up for the release of my novelette, Harvest Moon (October, 2010) and that's consuming a lot of time that I would have been writing. I was good at balancing work and writing; I'm less good at balancing working, writing, and marketing. I'm still learning, though.

The largest sacrifice is that I don't do as much as I used to. I see my friends less, I go to movies less. There are shows on TV that I've never heard of, let alone seen. My house is messier than what others would prefer, and my step-kids think their lives suck because they have to do chores. We eat more take-out than I'd prefer, but we're all tired at the end of our days.

I try to balance that with making routine. I try to see a good friend of mine every other weekend, even if it's only for a couple of hours. My partner and I go to the off-leash park every Sunday morning with the dog. I have a vegetable garden. These aren't loud, screaming events like when I was twenty, but they are cheaper and I know where I am when I wake up. I see these as positives.

4. Do you have any other hobbies? Do you find the need to do more hobbies since you’re now writing more time? Or do you just never have spare time (like the rest of us)

I don't have a lot of hobbies. I crochet whenever I watch TV or a movie. Lately, though, I've barely worked on my blankets. I also garden. My goal is to eventually grow enough produce to feed us through the winter. We might starve to death this winter.

5. Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have an office? Do you like to take your laptop and go?

I have an office. Lately, I've found myself practicing sleeping down there, so I've taken to working on the kitchen table. I've just had so much work to do that I could easily spend all of my waking hours in front of a computer. I don't want that, so I try to work around my family as much as I can.

6. What is your favorite unwinding activity after you’ve spent a long day writing?
What's the rating on this website again?

7. What is one of your favorite children’s books?
"Once Upon a Lifetime" by Danielle Steele. I almost never read children's books. I hated the kids books they made me read in school. My parents weren't readers themselves, so they didn't buy me anything beyond Christian books and that wasn't until my teens. So, I was reading adult books at the public library when I was quite young.

8. Tell me all about your current project.
I am finishing off my science fiction novella, Road to Hell. Captain Katherine Francis risks being labeled a traitor to bring an end to a bloody war that her side is losing.

I want to thank Krista for taking the time to talk to me today!

This is Krista D. Ball’s debut novel. Her short fiction work can be found in Absolute Xpress Publishing’s Flash Fiction Challenge, The Country Connection, and Bards & Sages Quarterly. Her non-fiction can be found in Magickal Ink and Merge Magazine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f8AeNY1khY