Hey everyone! Continuing our Blog Tour from yesterday, we have for you an interview with Kimberly S. Young, none other than the author of The Eighth Wonder! After the interview, we have a giveaway for an ebook copy of The Eighth Wonder! Liked the way it sounds? Why not enter?!
If you haven't seen our review for it, you can view the page for that HERE. Hope you enjoy!
Before the interview, here is some information about Kimberly.
Before the interview, here is some information about Kimberly.
About Kimberly Young:Kimberly Young is a licensed psychologist, an author, and an internationally-known speaker on Internet addiction. In 1995, she founded the Center for Internet Addiction and since then she has written numerous articles on the topic including four books, Caught in the Net, Tangled in the Web, Breaking Free of the Web, and Internet Addiction: A Handbook for Evaluation and Treatment.
She is a professor at St. Bonaventure University and her work has appeared in hundreds of media outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and ABC World News Tonight. She has written creatively on and off since she was eight-years-old, mainly working on poems and short stories. While recovering from retina re-attachment eye surgery, she was homebound for several months and decided to pursue her creative writing more seriously. The Eighth Wonder is her first novel.
Here is our interview:
1. Why did you choose Kinzua Bridge to be the "eighth wonder" for your novel?
Did you have to research a lot?
I had written the entire novel while homebound recovering from retina surgery. As
I wrote, I wanted Tom and Nicole to meet someplace. I was not familiar with the
landmarks or history of Bradford, Pa – the setting. I lived in Bradford but only for
a short time before I began the novel.
I started to search the Internet looking for a place where Tom and Nicole could
meet. That is when I found The Kinzua Bridge, once dubbed The Eighth Wonder
of the World as the longest and tallest railroad bridge when it was built in 1882. I
had a romantic relationship with the bridge when I read about that day. All at once
the entire story came to me. I saw the title, the way the couple could engage the
bridge, the cabin where they would later meet. It was rather sweet reading about
the history of the bridge, and it almost becomes a third character as the backdrop of the story.
All my research took place over the Internet and I just fell in love with the Kinzua
Bridge (this was before it fell). That is also why I compare The Eighth Wonder as
a modern Bridges of Madison County. It has some parallel but I would definitely
say that The Eighth Wonder examines the growth of the characters much more than
Bridges did and looks at the psychological underpinnings. It is that part of the story
I cherish as a psychologist – the motives and the conflicts.
2. Are any of the characters in The Eighth Wonder based on people you know?
My own life is definitely the inspiration for The Eighth Wonder. They say write
what you know, so I wrote about academia, being an academic for the last 20
years. I wrote about loss in death of my father, not making much of that up. I wrote
about being a career-driven woman who did not choose to have children, again, my
own choices in life and I wrote about loving someone that was unobtainable.
Dr. Nicole Benson was easiest to write as a career-driven, commitment-phobic,
and achievement-oriented woman who characterized so many women that I knew
and had met. At 35, Nicole’s age, I was very much like Nicole, the first generation
in my family to go to college. Like Nicole, I didn’t want to stop there but I wanted
to go all the way in getting my doctorate. I loved teaching and being an educator
as she did. Marriage and children were not my priority nor were they the priority
of most of my friends. It was a very “Sex and the City” generation. Most of my
characters are based on people I knew. Jennifer, Nicole’s best friend is very similar
to my own and Carol, her colleague is based on a woman I went to graduate school
with. There is a piece of me woven throughout the story, which made fun to tell.
3. We read on your website in the reflections section (http://kimberlyyoung.net/home/reflections/) about your retina re-attachment surgery and how it impacted
your novel. Do you have anything else you would like to about the surgery's
impact on your writing? Glad you are in good health now!
Yes, I wrote the entire novel while homebound as I recovered from eye surgery. I
used writing as my therapy. I was alone for hours unable to read, watch television,
or move much for fear of falling. The novel started off as a memoir that turned into
fiction. It was exciting to write as I had no outline or plan, and each day was a gift
as the words flowed. At some point, it stopped being about me and I started to feel
like a real writer. I was no longer just writing into my diary, so to speak, but I put
myself and my world in academia, romance, and self discovery into the story.
4. Do you consider yourself a city person like Nicole or a county person like Tom?
Definitely a New York City person! I lived on Long Island and still travel to New
York City a few times a year if possible. I live in Bradford, Pa – a very rural town
in Pennsylvania. I knew both worlds so it was fun to write. Still, I am a city person
living in the country and had to adjust to leaving my urban vices behind, much like
Nicole.
5. What was the hardest part of writing The Eighth Wonder? Any particular scene?
The hardest part of writing is when things feel stuck, or those are moments when
they words don’t come easily. It’s lonely being a writer. You are just so in your
head all by yourself. No one else can help you find your voice. It is talent and hard
work to be a writer. It is that creative need to write. The process is just lonely.
But, (and it is a big BUT) there is nothing more satisfying than reading a chapter or
scene I wrote, knowing it was just what I wanted to say. It was exciting to see what
was going to come next with The Eighth Wonder. I had no outline or plan when I
started the novel. Writing the novel felt like I was connecting to the deepest place
of my heart. The hardest scene to write was the ending. I still cry reading it.
Thanks so much Kimberly for having an interview with us! Your responses are great!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Did you have to research a lot?
I had written the entire novel while homebound recovering from retina surgery. As
I wrote, I wanted Tom and Nicole to meet someplace. I was not familiar with the
landmarks or history of Bradford, Pa – the setting. I lived in Bradford but only for
a short time before I began the novel.
I started to search the Internet looking for a place where Tom and Nicole could
meet. That is when I found The Kinzua Bridge, once dubbed The Eighth Wonder
of the World as the longest and tallest railroad bridge when it was built in 1882. I
had a romantic relationship with the bridge when I read about that day. All at once
the entire story came to me. I saw the title, the way the couple could engage the
bridge, the cabin where they would later meet. It was rather sweet reading about
the history of the bridge, and it almost becomes a third character as the backdrop of the story.
All my research took place over the Internet and I just fell in love with the Kinzua
Bridge (this was before it fell). That is also why I compare The Eighth Wonder as
a modern Bridges of Madison County. It has some parallel but I would definitely
say that The Eighth Wonder examines the growth of the characters much more than
Bridges did and looks at the psychological underpinnings. It is that part of the story
I cherish as a psychologist – the motives and the conflicts.
2. Are any of the characters in The Eighth Wonder based on people you know?
My own life is definitely the inspiration for The Eighth Wonder. They say write
what you know, so I wrote about academia, being an academic for the last 20
years. I wrote about loss in death of my father, not making much of that up. I wrote
about being a career-driven woman who did not choose to have children, again, my
own choices in life and I wrote about loving someone that was unobtainable.
Dr. Nicole Benson was easiest to write as a career-driven, commitment-phobic,
and achievement-oriented woman who characterized so many women that I knew
and had met. At 35, Nicole’s age, I was very much like Nicole, the first generation
in my family to go to college. Like Nicole, I didn’t want to stop there but I wanted
to go all the way in getting my doctorate. I loved teaching and being an educator
as she did. Marriage and children were not my priority nor were they the priority
of most of my friends. It was a very “Sex and the City” generation. Most of my
characters are based on people I knew. Jennifer, Nicole’s best friend is very similar
to my own and Carol, her colleague is based on a woman I went to graduate school
with. There is a piece of me woven throughout the story, which made fun to tell.
3. We read on your website in the reflections section (http://kimberlyyoung.net/home/reflections/) about your retina re-attachment surgery and how it impacted
your novel. Do you have anything else you would like to about the surgery's
impact on your writing? Glad you are in good health now!
Yes, I wrote the entire novel while homebound as I recovered from eye surgery. I
used writing as my therapy. I was alone for hours unable to read, watch television,
or move much for fear of falling. The novel started off as a memoir that turned into
fiction. It was exciting to write as I had no outline or plan, and each day was a gift
as the words flowed. At some point, it stopped being about me and I started to feel
like a real writer. I was no longer just writing into my diary, so to speak, but I put
myself and my world in academia, romance, and self discovery into the story.
4. Do you consider yourself a city person like Nicole or a county person like Tom?
Definitely a New York City person! I lived on Long Island and still travel to New
York City a few times a year if possible. I live in Bradford, Pa – a very rural town
in Pennsylvania. I knew both worlds so it was fun to write. Still, I am a city person
living in the country and had to adjust to leaving my urban vices behind, much like
Nicole.
5. What was the hardest part of writing The Eighth Wonder? Any particular scene?
The hardest part of writing is when things feel stuck, or those are moments when
they words don’t come easily. It’s lonely being a writer. You are just so in your
head all by yourself. No one else can help you find your voice. It is talent and hard
work to be a writer. It is that creative need to write. The process is just lonely.
But, (and it is a big BUT) there is nothing more satisfying than reading a chapter or
scene I wrote, knowing it was just what I wanted to say. It was exciting to see what
was going to come next with The Eighth Wonder. I had no outline or plan when I
started the novel. Writing the novel felt like I was connecting to the deepest place
of my heart. The hardest scene to write was the ending. I still cry reading it.
Thanks so much Kimberly for having an interview with us! Your responses are great!
Now it is time for our Giveaway of a copy of The Eighth Wonder. Follow the steps below in the Rafflecopter:
Contest Rules:
- You must be at least 13 years of age to enter
- This contest is International, so if you live out of the U.S. you can still enter
- The winner will be chosen by random.org
- You must be a follower of A Walk on Words
- Illegal entries will be deleted from the winner selection
- Follow the instructions given on the Rafflecopter options
- The winner will be contacted through email, and has 48 hours to confirm before another winner is chosen.
Author Website: http://kimberlyyoung.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-S-Young/110260432388254
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKimberlyYoung
Buy The Eight Wonder at:
Amazon.com: Hardcover, Paperback, or Kindle
Barnes & Noble: Hardcover or Nook
Book Depository: Hardcover and Paperback
Thanks again for taking part in the tour and hosting Kimberly!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading the interview. It is always nice to learn a little about the authors of books. Thanks for sharing today.
ReplyDeleteHey! I nominated you for a blog award - the Liebster Award.
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Thank you! Sorry for the late reply
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