Author Interview – Kimberly Vargas

Kimberly Vargas grew up in Oklahoma   City. A love of travel contributed to her living in various states around the country, including Louisiana,Florida,Colorado,Virginia and California. She has called San Diego home for over eight years. Kimberly has had a fifteen year career in the field of Human Resources. She is currently the HR Manager for Modern Postcard in Carlsbad. Her incredibly supportive managers encouraged her to explore her creative side, and the result was her first book, Gumbeaux. Gumbeaux received a gold medal in the 2011 Readers Favorite fiction contest. Kimberly is represented by the WordServe Literary agency and is a regular contributor for the WordServe Water Cooler blog. She and her husband Michael spend as much time as possible in the Pacific Ocean, cooking for friends and enjoying life inSouthern California.

My book GUMBEAUX was made available to the public in 10/2011. It has been received well by those who have read it, but finding the audience and readers is always challenging, especially for self-published authors who may have full time day jobs. GUMBEAUX has 25 reviews so far on Amazon (22 5-star reviews, 3 4-star reviews). It also received a 5-star review from Readers Favorite.

1. Your  book falls under the main tag Fiction – Chick Lit genre. Do you tag it with other genres?

Yes, I do.

2. What do you see as the pros and cons of writing Chick Lit fiction on the publishing scene?

Pro: Many people enjoy Chick Lit.

Con: Many people, such as, say, men, may be turned off by the term ‘Chick Lit.’ Can’t imagine why – LOL

3. What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?

Lately it’s been close to 50/50. Marketing is just as much a part of each day as the writing. It takes a great deal of time and effort to garner Twitter followers, Facebook likes, LinkedIn connections, Pinterest board exposure, Amazon tags and all the other facets of marketing. It does get easier with time.

4. What do you do to get book reviews? How successful has your quest for reviews been so far?

I am a member of the World Literary Cafe, which is a writing community for self-published authors. They connect authors with readers and reviewers. I also give away books in exchange for reviews. I also beg and plead. Basically I will do just about anything to get a review, but please don’t tell anyone.

5. How did you get to be interviewed on radio shows/TV shows?

The good people at Readers Favorite connected to me to The Authors Show. I did a radio interview with them which is featured on my website. They did a great job of editing and making a very professional piece.

6. Wha made you choose to hire a professional/self-create Gumbeaux book cover?

One of my graphic artist friends and I designed and created the cover ourselves. My workplace is filled with creative individuals and they have been very supportive.