Nobel Prize Winning Interview with Kimber Silver

Ey up mighty followers!  After the huge success of my last interview (3 likes, no restraining orders and one crazee lady who plans to read it every day) I am back with a blockbuster of an interview…a debut author, an expert wordsmith and the voice of handsome sheriffs, we shall find out about her book and question the absence of the Gnomes.  So, give a massive welcome to Kimber Silver….

Q1: Tell us a bit about yourself and your new book?

Broken Rhodes is a murder mystery set in rural Kansas. I am a lifelong Kansan, and the provincial town in my book is loosely based on the one in which I grew up.

Q2:  Broken Rhodes is your first novel, how did you come up with the idea?

Honestly, I don’t know where my story ideas come from. They simply show up and demand to be written.

And randomly…where did you write the book?

I wrote quite a bit of this book longhand, jotting down sections in a netbook throughout the day whenever I had a free moment.

Q3:  Who is your favourite character in Broken Rhodes?

My favorite character to paint a picture of was Sheriff Lincoln James because he is easygoing and funny. Developing his character felt completely natural and he almost wrote himself.

Q4:  How difficult do you find coming up with names for characters?  I think if I ever wrote a book it would fail cos everybody would be called Bob.

Bob is a great choice, Jason, but you might need to go with full names to avoid confusion — The Book of Bobs — I can see it on the big screen.

Lincoln and Kinsley’s names came about organically, but I did wrestle with what to name Lincoln’s son before finally settling on Thomas.

Thank goodness I’ve never had to name a child! I would have done a very poor job of it.

Q5:  How many millions of money have you made from this book? And can I borrow a few grand so I can buy some stilts, need to find a way to become taller than my youngest.

If you were to convert all of the money I’ve made into the smallest coin denomination and then pile it up, it would resemble a tiny ant hill.

I should have just enough to be able to buy you an ice cream, Jason, but a pair of stilts would be out of reach. With a bit of luck, you might have a late growth spurt.

Q6:  Are you much of a reader? What is the best book you’ve read recently and which is the book you first fell in love with?  If you have a library can we have a photo?

I do read quite extensively.

My favorite read of 2022 was ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ by Gabriel García Márquez.

The first book I loved as a kid was ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B. White

I don’t have a library. I wish I did!

Q7:  Soooooooo….when reading a book I always keep an eye out for the hidden gnome but couldn’t spot it in Broken Rhodes?  How come they be missing?

Regrettably, all gnome removal happened during the editing process. I tried to persuade my editor to keep those little buggers in there, but in the end, I lost the battle.

Everyone knows that gnomes are the mainstay of great literature, so there is always hope for the next book…

Q8:  If you could have a meal with anybody who would you pick and what would you eat?

If I could have one more meal with my grandmother, that would be brilliant. She loved a good steak, so I’d take her for a nice filet.

Q9:  If you could go into a book or movie as one of the characters, which would you choose and how would you influence the story?

Tom Baker captured my imagination in the ’70s, and it has been my lifelong dream to be a companion of Doctor Who. The sidekicks always influence the storyline!

Q10:  When Broken Rhodes gets made into a movie who would you want in the main roles?

From your pen to Hollywood’s eyes…

I think Liam Hemsworth would fit nicely in the role of Lincoln (assuming you didn’t audition for the part, of course).

Kinsley is a difficult call. Maybe Hailee Steinfeld because she gives an excellent evil eye.

Q11:  You got plans for a new book?  I’m hoping Sheriff Lincoln gets another case, a nice new juicy murder.

There is another Rhodes book in the works, but you’ll have to wait and see what is in store for the illustrious Sheriff James.

Practical task:  I have a gnome gallery on my blog, every victim I interview gets to create a piece of artwork based on Gnomes, can be any medium and you are welcome to name the piece. 

So folks, what did we learn from this interview? 1: When the Gnome uprising happens top of the hitlist will be The Editors!!!! 2: Kimber banks with ants and has a big old mound of cash lying around. 3: I’m going to star across from Hailee Steinfeld in a movie. and 4: There is going to be a second book. wooooooo.

Many thanks to Kimber for taking part in this weird interview and producing a fine piece of Gnome art for my gallery, you really should check out her debut novel Broken Rhodes cos it is a proper good murder mystery. Finally, for the stalkers out there you can find her on Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook.

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