Interview with Author Kaylee Baldwin

I am delighted today to bring you an interview with Katie Baldwin, the author of a new book titled Meg's Melody. Enjoy!


Kaylee, when did you start to write and how long did it take you get published?

I started writing Meg’s Melody about three years ago. I tried to write a little bit every week, but life kept getting in the way. Finally, about two years ago, I got serious about writing, joined a critique group, and finished the bulk of Meg’s Melody in about six months. It took about ten months of submitting and revising to get accepted by a publisher. Now, seven months later I finally have a copy of my book!

And I understand how exciting that feel is! Tell me, how do you choose your characters' names?

I love choosing character names! Meg is one of my all-time favorite girl names, but it is also the name of my husband’s ex-girlfriend (you know, the one right before me, that we don’t really talk about.) So, naming a child Meg was nixed, but I can name my characters whatever I want. Matt and Johnny are also two of my favorite boy names. I flipped through baby name books and the yellow pages to come up with the other names that I used.

Ah, yeah, so some mixed feelings, I'm sure. So, what motivated you to write your current book?

Not wanting to shave my legs. There was this one night, mid-winter, when I didn’t want to shave my legs because it can be a real time-eater. While moping about this, I started feeling the voice of a character build up inside of me. So I pulled out a pen and a spiral notebook and wrote down a whole story about my character going on a shaving strike after her husband leaves her. It went through all of the stages of hairy legs (from prickly to soft), until she finds out she’s pregnant and decides she should shave before going to the OB. Thus, Meg’s voice was born.

That's original! What advice would you give aspiring writers today?

Just keep writing! It can get really discouraging at times, but just keep revising, learning, growing, and trying. There were many times you may want to give up, but a walk around the block, a pep talk from someone who believes in you, a personal deadline, and rewards for meeting that deadline can give you a lot of motivation to keep pressing forward.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Oh, man. I thought I wouldn’t have to answer these questions anymore once I got out of school. I have too many moments to list! The most recent one, though, was the last time I went to get a massage. I took big, white granny panties with me to wear for the massage. When I left the spa, I threw them in the backseat of the car because I was going to a church activity and didn’t want granny panties to fall out of my purse. Well, about a week later, my husband comes in the house after being at a scout activity all morning, my granny panties dangling from his finger. Apparently, the boys (about 15 years old) found them in the backseat of the car on the way to the activity, and wanted to know why their leader had a pair of women’s underwear in the backseat of his car. *waggle eyebrows here* Oops.

That's a great story! What are you working on now?

I’m editing my 2nd novel right now, a contemporary YA novel. I’m also working on another LDS romance that follows a minor character from Meg’s Melody.

How exiting! Thank you for the interview, Katie. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to visit your lovely blog at www.kayleebaldwin.com/.