Kalissa Wayne

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Kalissa Wayne was born in the Midwest: corn country, basketball heaven, small town USA. Growing up, her roots were planted deep with the love of her parents and siblings. Those roots haven’t stopped her from traveling, though. She has lived in many different states, and who knows where will be next? She is married to the love of her life and they both enjoy traveling, good food, good music, and new experiences.

Kalissa uses all this to write stories that reinforce the concept that real love gives you freedom, hope, and a future full of dreams to attain. Whether those dreams are as big as the world or as small as getting a new book to read, they can be obtained if you really want them enough.

She’s proof.

Visit her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/kalissa.wayne.

Q: When did you start writing?

A: *snort* I’d say about the age of twelve. I still have the partial story somewhere. It’s about the Chinese Mafia trying to take over a ranch in Texas. Don’t ask me how I came up with that storyline, because I was living in the Midwest, knew no one who lived in Texas, and had no clue what the mafia actually was except “bad guys.”

Q: If there were one thing you could change about your writing, what would it be?

A: I would have taken the risk to submit sooner in my life. Someone once said you have to write a million words before you are worthy of publishing. While I agree “practice makes perfect,” I don’t think it takes a million words. Yes, I edit and revise and doubt myself constantly, but (technically) my opinion doesn’t count. The opinion of publishers/editors and eventually readers are the opinions that count. What I may doubt is something readers might find perfect. What I find perfect some reader might find garbage. No one is perfect and you never know what needs changing and what doesn’t until you get a professional/unbiased opinion. So, long answer short…I would change my courage and submit sooner.

Q: Do you have photos or images of your characters?

A: Funny you should ask that, but yes. I have half my hard drive filled with what I call "eye candy" and inspiration. Men, women, animals, plants, vistas, space, real pictures, fantasy art—I find inspiration in a lot of places. I even have a folder called “hero eye candy” that contains those images that spark something in me: future heroes/heroines that call to me but aren’t quite ready to tell me what their stories are so I save them for later. I have one sexy guy whose eyes constantly draw me in, but he’s sat on my shoulder for years chuckling in my ear and won’t tell me his name, let alone his story! Sometimes the image sparks the imagination. Other times, the imagination drives me to look for a specific set of qualities/features.

Q: So your husband doesn’t mind you looking at all this “eye candy”?

A: ROFL… nope! He knows he’s my number-one eye candy and has nothing to worry about. I’ve occasionally asked his opinion if I can’t decide between two possible images (male or female) and, while he rolls his eyes, he will ask me a couple questions and then tell me to trust my instincts and pick the one I want. (He does get a little more involved if I ask about heroines. *snort* Go figure!)

Q: Is there a genre that you can’t see yourself writing?

A: I’ll never say never. I’ve got partial stories written in contemporary, military, shifter, and sci-fi/paranormal. I haven’t been inspired for a post-apocalyptic type story, time travel, or steampunk, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be in the future. I can’t see myself writing young adult because, let’s be honest, I grew up in a way different generation than today’s generation, so I don’t know if I could do justice to that type of story—but the Muses are strange creatures, so who knows? *chuckles* I kid with my husband and family about the voices in my head, but it’s true – a voice will pop into my head and begin telling me their story and I have to write it down. So until I’m inspired, there’s no telling what I’ll write!

Q: What television shows do you watch?

A: I don’t watch a lot of TV. Between politics and “reality” TV, there’s too much hate and drama. When I do watch, it’s either cooking shows, home repair/remodel, house hunting, or something along those lines. I do love Big Bang Theory, so I try not to miss it, but there are always reruns!

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