In our previous interview segments , Part 1 and Part 2, with Kristen King we learned that you can make a good living as a freelance writer and about her experiences as an entrepreneur. In this, our final segment of our interview with Kristen, we get to know a more personal side of Kristen King AKA “Sass Pants”.
Now, back to our interview…
Steve: Now that we covered all the formal business discussion, let’s have a little fun and talk all about you. I came up with a few funny (or what I think are funny) questions for you and what it is like being Kristen King. Shall we begin?
Kristen: Lay it on me.
Steve: What is your favorite type of writing? Short stories, journalistic stuff, full on novels? What kinds of topics? Love, Vampires or maybe teen angst-ridden novels about self-discovery? Wait…did I just describe “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyers?
Kristen: Okay, well definitely not vampires! Though I have been known to read the occasional angst-ridden teen novel. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is my No. 1 YA author. I’ve loved her Alice series since fifth grade and I still enjoy reading it.
I love literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. Memoir is probably my favorite genre to read and write. I think of my blogs, Sass Pants (http://sass-pants.com) in particular, as living memoirs, and they’re my favorite writing to do these days. I also enjoy fiction that pretends to be memoir. Strong voice, really honest, gut reactions. You know what I mean. Right now, I’m reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I have been carrying around for about 4 years and finally started in the last week. I think it’s just fantastic.
Steve: My pets (two dogs) are what I call my “Brain Trust.” I discuss some of my most important life and business decisions with them. I hear you have many pets. Please tell. Are they your “water cooler buddies” as well?
Kristen: We have quite a menagerie over here: three cats and three dogs. Zoe is the pretty cat and totally hates us. She basically never comes out of the bedroom. Julius is a huge orange cat who thinks he’s a dog and hardly ever comes inside except to steal food from the stove. Isabel, our tuxedo kitty, is dumb as a post and constantly knocks things off the counter / table top / etc. (which the dogs then eat) and tips glasses over. She especially likes to spill things on my desk, I’ve noticed. As we speak, she’s digging her razor claws into my lap.
As for the dogs, where do I start? Pickles the pug was our first one and she’s just insane all the time. She accompanies me to AIW board meetings from time to time. About 6 weeks after we got her, which was approximately 4 months total from when I quit my job at the medical journal to freelance full time, my husband confessed that he had pretended he wanted a dog because he knew I’d never get one for myself and he didn’t want me to be lonely at home by myself all day. So far, so good.
Ty came second, and he’s a long-suffering bullmastiff who lives to shred stuffed animals and spread the guts all over the house. When he’s not chasing cats, that is. Or submitting to Pickles’ constant licking of his face.
And Murphy, well, Murphy is a tank rolled up in a nightmare wrapped in disaster. He’s an English mastiff who weighs more than I do, and he’s about as graceful as a cement truck. He recently realized that he is tall enough to steal things off the counters and ate a loaf of bread, a box of Krispy Kremes, two pans of brownies, a bunch of bananas, the microwave cover, a spatula, a giant uncooked sweet potato, several remote controls, and a bottle of eyedrops all in about a week. Prior to that, he ate several phones, several other remotes, two wallets, some shoes, the leg of our couch, a bottle of Xanax, and a feather pillow, as well as a number of other items that I think I may have just blocked out of my memory.
It’s kind of like having three toddlers. If I’m not breaking up a squabble over a toy, I’m taking something out of that one’s mouth, rescuing my lunch from the other one, or distracting the third to allow a terrified cat to escape. But I love all my fur babies and can’t imagine my life without them. Being able to work from home and be with them all day is truly the joy of my life. The times when everything is going wrong and I just want to scream, Murphy comes and steals the mouse from my keyboard tray or Pickles leaps into my lap and sniffs my face with her little squished-in nose, and I can’t think of a place I’d rather be because there is nothing like a dog to make you feel better when you’re having a rough day. Plus, they’re a very attentive audience when I read copy aloud to check the flow. Especially if I randomly say the word “treat” between sentences.
I blog about all of them at http://meowbarkblog.com.
Steve: Outside of your busy entrepreneurial roles, what do you do for fun?
Kristen: I do read a lot of blogs, though, and I thoroughly enjoy writing on mine, so I do that a lot, too. As I’m sure you can imagine, we spend a lot of time with our dogs, playing with them and taking them hiking and stuff like that. Oh, and a few months ago, my husband and I started alternating new releases with AFI Top 100 Films rentals on our Netflix, which we are loving. I try to find time to read, but I read so much all day that sometimes it’s nice to just NOT read for a while. Hence why it took me so long to start The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time!
Steve: How does someone reach you if they want to say hello or ask a question?
Kristen: I’m big into social media and networking, so you can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, among other sites. You can also reach me through my blogs or my company website (http://inkthinkercommunications.com), or you can just e-mail me at kristen@inkthinkercommunications.com.
Thanks…
If you enjoyed this part of the interview but missed the first two parts, check them out on their Part 1 and Part 2 interview pages.
Until next time…
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