Kim Boykin was raised in her South Carolina home with two girly sisters and great parents. She had a happy, boring childhood, which sucks if you’re a writer because you have to create your own crazy. PLUS after you’re published and you’re being interviewed, it’s very appealing when the author actually lived in Crazy Town or somewhere in the general vicinity.
Almost everything she learned about writing, she learned from her grandpa, an oral storyteller, who was a master teacher of pacing and sensory detail. He held court under an old mimosa tree on the family farm, and people used to come from all around to hear him tell stories about growing up in rural Georgia and share his unique take on the world.
As a stay-at-home mom, Kim started writing, grabbing snip-its of time in the car rider line or on the bleachers at swim practice. After her kids left the nest, she started submitting her work, sold her first novel at 53, and has been writing like crazy ever since.
Thanks to the lessons she learned under that mimosa tree, her books are well reviewed and, according to RT Book Reviews, feel like they’re being told across a kitchen table. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair from Berkley, Steal Me, Cowboy and Sweet Home Carolina from Tule, and Palmetto Moon, also from Berkley 8/5/14. While her heart is always in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte and has a heart for hairstylist, librarians, and book junkies like herself.
For More Information
- Visit Kim Boykin’s website.
- Connect with Kim on Facebook and Twitter.
- Visit Holly’s blog.
- More books by Kim Boykin.
- Contact Kim.
What made you decide to become a published author?
I’d written several manuscripts I used as doorstops. I got better with every one and wanted to see my story in print.
Would you consider your latest book, Palmetto Moon, to be a one of a kind?
Yes.
How so?
Palmetto Moon is a quirky Southern story that involves two love stories, one conventional and one extremely unconventional in its time.
Where is your writing sanctuary?
My home office looks out on the woods and a garden.
What do you believe a writer should not do as far as getting his or her book published?
Work in a vacuum. You need good honest critique to get better.
What inspires you?
Kitchen table stories. It’s a place of honesty, of love, laughter, and tears. Get a bunch of women around the table, better yet, sisters, and the stories just pour out.
What is one thing you learned about your book after it was published?
I’m not sure.
Why do you love to write women’s fiction?
I love women. I love that we’re genetically programed to love and nurture. My stories are about women helping women find their happily every after. And while I’m all for a hero with great abs riding in on a white horse to save the day, women are just better at it.
You’re concocting a recipe for a best selling book. What’s the first ingredient?
Great dialogue.
What’s one fun fact about your book people should know?
There’s a famous restaurant in Charleston called SNOB. The executive chef at SNOB, Frank Lee was kind enough to contribute five recipes that are in the back of the book in lieu of reader questions. And the hero in Palmetto Moon’s name is Frank Darling.
Did any real life experiences find their way into your book?
No
What’s next for you?
My next book is A Peach of A Pair. It’s the story of Nettie, a young college girl who is betrayed by her sister, who stole Nettie’s fiancé when she was away at college, is pregnant and marrying said fiancé. To avoid going home for the wedding, Nettie takes a job working for two fussy old maid sisters, who had their own falling out over a man when they were young. It’s a story of love and forgiveness.
the book rack 