Author Feature Friday - Kris Bird

Kris Bird is an Atlanta-based SciFi Author. She started her freelance writing business in 2019 and has been working on the Time Bender Saga for over a decade. Her debut novel, The Talismanic Urn, released in 2020 and has 5-stars on Amazon. Her newest book, The Home Landing, is a proactive, new age alien invasion story with a twist. It released March 28th.

Genre: Science Fiction

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what is it about?

The Home Landing. Unlike most alien invasion stories, our main character, Jordan, is tired of hiding and waiting to be beamed up by aliens. She's ready to take fate in her own hands and face the aliens head-on. Jordan joins a rag-tag group of militants that she believes will bring her closer to the aliens, but instead she finds the family (and love) that she has been searching for her whole life. Will she decide to stay and fight alongside her new family? Or will curiosity finally get the best of her?

Q2: How long does it take you to write a book? How long does each stage of the process usually take?

Usually about a year. I take my time with the first draft, (about 4-6 months) and I HATE editing but after I've thrown back a Scotch (or two) that usually takes me about 1-2 months. That, with the procrastination, self-loathing, and eventual hyper productivity, the whole publishing process usually takes at least a year.

Q3: What is your favourite type of character to write?

Damaged. People that you want to hate for their choices but you can relate to why they do the things they do.

Q4: Do you mine your own life for ideas, settings and/or characters? If so, please give an example from your current book release where you have done this.

My current book, The Home Landing is actually about a dream that my friend told me about an alien invasion. We always have this idea in the SciFi genre of aliens attacking, and humans running from the aliens, hiding and trying to destroy them. But it never occurred to me that maybe in that scenario, we might behave differently. Humans are curious creatures and they might be tempted to want to give up the fight just to find out: why?

Q5: What is something you wish you had known earlier on it your writing career?

You are not the exception, you are the rule. The only way to be a successful writer is to work at it.

Q6: What do you do when you find yourself in a bit of a writing rut? Is there any strategy you find works for you to help the words start flowing again?

Lucid Dreaming

Q7: What is your favourite writing resource?

Thesaurus! I'm definitely old school, but I could spend hours on there just to craft the perfect sentence.

Q8: How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

I want to get women excited about the SciFi genre.

Q9: What authors or books inspire you the most?

Nova Sparks. It's hard to find decent female SciFi writers to look up to and I'm currently desperately waiting for a sequel to The Dome.

Q10: What are you currently reading?

Astonishing X-men Volume 2, The Witcher series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, It all depends on what I am in the mood for I guess.

To find out more about Kris Bird check out her Linktr.ee or give her a follow on Instagram @KrisBirdAuthor. 

The Home Landing is available now. Check out a sneaky snippet below:

"It reminded Jordan of a storm cloud; ominous and unsettling. A cloud made up of metal and joints; twisting into each other. The air in her lungs felt stale and compressed against her chest. The ship seemed to take on a life of its own; breathing in the very oxygen she needed and converting it into something dangerous. And just like a storm cloud, there seemed to be an anticipation, a feeling of uneasiness and preparation for the storm ahead. The world around her fell silent and somehow Jordan was not surprised when cloud above her opened up."

Like this interview? Please consider Buying Me a Coffee to keep them coming :)