About Venessa Kimball:
Having always been passionate about the written word, Venessa Kimball embarked on writing what would become her debut novel, Piercing the Fold: Book 1; a young adult/ adult crossover, paranormal, science fiction, dystopian series. July 2, 2012, Venessa Kimball independently published the first book in the Piercing the Fold series. Book 2, Surfacing the Rim, released March 14, 2013.
In August of 2013, Venessa joined the publishing house, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. The Piercing the Fold series has been re-published with CHBB beginning with Piercing the Fold: Book 1 on September 3, 2013. Surfacing the Rim: Book 2 re-published on September 24, 2013 and Ascending the Veil: Book 3 released November 2013. The fourth book in the series, Transcending the Legacy: Book 4 released May 13, 2014.
Venessa’s latest project, YA/Teen Contemporary Fiction novel, Dismantling Evan, will release January 13, 2015.
As for the future, Venessa is already filling her Work-In-Progress folder. Two of her future projects are contemporary fiction and will reflect her diversity as a writer in other genres. When Venessa is not writing, she is keeping active with her husband and three children, chauffeuring said children to extracurricular activities, catching a movie with her hubby, and staying up way too late reading.
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INTERVIEW!
What was your inspiration for this book? What or who was your inspiration for Evan? Or Gavin?
Inspiration: 2012, I got the nudge to write DE (Dismantling Evan). Sadly, the Sandy Hook event was the ultimate catalyst for me after seeing decades of school violence; shootings, teen suicides, homicides in what should be a safe place for children. It all unfolded in front of us, but it was all after the fact. What led to it? The suspect, what was he or she thinking? Almost immediately after the Newtown Massacre a blog post by The Anarchist Soccer Mom released with the post titled; "I am Adam Lanza's mother.” This had me considering the life of someone that feared their own child and why that could happen. Not only that, the fear within the supposed suspect. Where they truly this evil entity all along or did something trigger it? What variables could have led to that fear? From that day, I aimed to take a step out of my life and into the lives of those coping with teen mental illness and those effected directly and indirectly by the dismantling events like sandy hook, columbine, Virginia Tech to only name a few. That is when Evan Phillips, the main character was created.
How long did you work on this project?
How long did I work on it? Quite a bit was case studies with the help of my cousin who is currently studying in the field of psychology along with hours and hours of documentary watching and web based searches for case studies that were focused on school violence, bullying, and mental illness and how this cocktail of variables effected the victims and suspects. And question if the suspects were not victims themselves. Symptoms and descriptions of mental disorders that my characters expressed in Dismantling Evan. Case studies of the symptoms and how they play out in adolescent as opposed to adults. I needed to get a full picture and feel for the emotions I was going to be experiencing with these characters. I wanted to make sure to get the characters right and do justice for the mental illnesses I was addressing in the novel.
I also consulted a photographer with some of the scenes where Evan “Evangeline” is experiencing her craft because I wanted to do justice in regards to the art of photograph taking and developing. I consulted with two San Antonio Police Officers as well on the scenes addressing the “dismantling” event in the novel. Before I started drafting Dismantling Evan, I even sent out a questionnaire to my growing readership as well as family and friends to get a feel for more personal experiences with the issues I was going to address in DE. The results were anonymous which gave me a more candid view of what people in society really thought about these issues. Those questionnaire responses where valuable forms of information, more over a motivation to write DE and know I would be addressing something that effects everyone in society to some degree. Once again, I wanted to make sure the event was as realistic as possible. Just because I was very curious about the amount of time I spent on consultation and research I spent , I kept a tally. It has totaled around 65 hours of research and consult for Dismantling Evan.
Outline and planning took two months. Writing, rewriting, and writing some more took four months. Quicker than I had expected since this novel boasts over 123,000 words. Edits took about a month.
Which character do you personally connect with the most?
I can't say that I connected with one character more than another. Evan was the MC and since the POV was first person, a stronger connection formed through her I suppose. I definitely felt a mothering and nurturing connection for all the teens in this book. In another sense, I was aiming to be a bystander/ conduit for the characters to speak through.
What personal experience or connection do you have with the issues you confront within this story that encouraged you to want to write it?
My children indirectly inspired me because even though we are blessed to live in a very tolerant, intellectual, generous, resourceful, and open minded community that is not what encompasses our world. That is not the norm of society. My experience as an adolescent growing up in San Antonio Texas in a public high school, remembering my teen years, my experience as a seventh grade language arts teacher at a local junior high here in the Austin metro area, observing teen issues from that perspective, and my experience now as a parent of three children growing up in our world. They are not yet teens, but they will be. To connect, took myself out of the community that we are blessed to be in and ventured into the norm of our nation.
Outline and planning took two months. Writing, rewriting, and writing some more took four months. Quicker than I had expected since this novel boasts over 123,000 words. Edits took about a month.
Which character do you personally connect with the most?
I can't say that I connected with one character more than another. Evan was the MC and since the POV was first person, a stronger connection formed through her I suppose. I definitely felt a mothering and nurturing connection for all the teens in this book. In another sense, I was aiming to be a bystander/ conduit for the characters to speak through.
What personal experience or connection do you have with the issues you confront within this story that encouraged you to want to write it?
My children indirectly inspired me because even though we are blessed to live in a very tolerant, intellectual, generous, resourceful, and open minded community that is not what encompasses our world. That is not the norm of society. My experience as an adolescent growing up in San Antonio Texas in a public high school, remembering my teen years, my experience as a seventh grade language arts teacher at a local junior high here in the Austin metro area, observing teen issues from that perspective, and my experience now as a parent of three children growing up in our world. They are not yet teens, but they will be. To connect, took myself out of the community that we are blessed to be in and ventured into the norm of our nation.
Check out this and other books by International Best Selling Author Venessa Kimball!
