Today, we have Kimberly Castillo, author of The Convenience of Lies, with us for an interview! Welcome!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure! I’m a bit of a jack of all trades. I’m a graduate student, writer, dancer, and filmmaker. I met my husband at a country line dancing bar. I come from a family of writers: my mom has her masters in English and my sister and brother have bachelor’s degrees in English. I’ve kept a diary ever since I could string sentences together, though that diary has currently taken a form of a blog.
What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 30 or less words, what would you say?
My most recent book is called The Convenience of Lies. It’s about a naïve teenager who believes love will conquer all and blindly throws everything away to follow this ideal. It shows how anybody can fall into an abusive relationship.
When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started writing The Convenience of Lies ten years ago. The draft I completed then was 54 pages long. When I came back to work on it recently, I did the bulk of the revisions during a two month period in which I worked on it for 8-12 hours a day seven days a week. Additional edits and revisions continued for a couple of months after that, but not with nearly the same amount of hourly commitment each day.
Is anything in The Convenience of Lies based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
The Convenience of Lies is almost solely based on my own experiences. There are some AOL instant messenger conversations that occur throughout the book, which are virtually copy/pasted from conversations that I saved. I also drew from my diaries and other pieces that I wrote as this story was unfolding in order to help me remember exactly what happened and how.
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
I actually love to work with how mental illnesses drive a character. While in The Convenience of Lies my antagonist has a mental illness, I think I would like to write another story in which the protagonist is struggling with overcoming a mental illness. I like to try to make taboo issues relatable.
If The Convenience of Lies was made into a TV series or Movie, what actors would you like to see playing your characters?
I think Jennifer Lawrence would be excellent for playing Mackenzie because she’s the right age and an amazing actor. However, there’s a benefit to casting the little known actors in that it gives the story more of a “this could happen to anyone” feel, which is what I’m going for with The Convenience of Lies.
Any pets that you would like to tell us about, share a pic?
I’m obsessed with cats. I actually made a 30 episode series about my cats. You can watch the first episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK3h4umq9Ks
One of your favorite quotes –
“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” ~ Sam Keen
What are the other books you are planning to write/publish in the future?
I’m thinking about turning The Convenience of Lies into a trilogy. I’m also bouncing around the idea of writing some fantasy and creating my own complex world. A third possibility I’ve been considering is writing a childhood drama much like Angela’s Ashes.
The Convenience of Lies by Kimberly Castillo
Publication Date: 15 October 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary
Synopsis:
“It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. All that matters is if you can. If you can do something, what difference does it make?"
Based on a true story, The Convenience of Lies is a novel that keeps readers up past midnight with its story of friendship, mystery, crime, sex, and betrayal. Set in a suburban town, this story is told through the eyes of a high school junior, Mackenzie, who describes her crush on a "bad boy," Ramon and her relationship with her best friend, Kira. During the course of the story, Mackenzie does her best to attract the affections of Ramon while her friendship with Kira evolves. Eventually, the different characters' property starts getting vandalized and a mystery develops as Mackenzie and Kira try to get to the bottom of who is behind the vandalism.
Purchase the book:
Kimberly has kindly offered a paperback copy of The Convenience of Lies up for grab! Open to US residents only.
The convenience of lies sounds like a pretty good book. This is my first time hearing of it, but it looks awesome. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really good. I cannot wait to read it!
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