KI Thompson began her writing career when her first short story was included in the Lambda Literary Award winning anthology Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments from Bold Strokes Books. She also has selections in the subsequent anthologies, EI 3, EI4 (IPPY Award Silver Medal, and GCLS Goldie Award), and EI5, a story in Best Lesbian Romance 2007 (Cleis Press), as well as in Fantasy: Untrue Stories of Lesbian Passion (Bella Books). Her first novel, House of Clouds, an historical romance set during the American Civil War, is forthcoming from Bold Strokes Books (October 2007), to be followed by a contemporary novel, Heart of the Matter in 2008. She lives in the Washington, DC area with her partner and two very spoiled cats. She can be reached at www.boldstrokesbooks.com or www.kithompson.com.

You hadn’t always had a clear vision of wanting to be a writer – what changed that?
How did you know that? You must have spies everywhere . It was a fluke really; I never thought I’d be a writer, had in fact never written fiction before. Then my partner encouraged me to write a short story for Radcylffe’s Authors Challenge on her Yahoo Group. This was about two and a half years ago, I think. I was shocked and thrilled when I received an email from Radclyffe saying that instead of posting it online, she wanted to include it in her upcoming erotica anthology, Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments. How I ever thought I could suddenly write a novel is beyond me. Hubris, plain and simple. But the more I got into it, the more I enjoyed creating the kinds of stories I have always wanted to read and that Bold Strokes Books strives to produce: quality lesbian fiction written by lesbians, about lesbians, and for lesbians. I love using the word “lesbian” that many times in a sentence.

How did the idea for your forest book, House of Clouds, develop?
American history has always been a passion of mine, especially the Civil War. I’ve been studying it since I was a teenager. I vividly recall receiving my first adult Civil War book as a Christmas present when I was thirteen or so. It was Bruce Catton’s, Grant Takes Command. I still have it; it’s a classic. When I decided to write a novel last year, I started out writing a contemporary story and got stuck after a few chapters. Once again my partner stepped in and suggested I write what I was passionate about. It worked. The entire story, plot, characters, etc., just flowed. By the way, I have since changed the time period of that contemporary story to one set during the Depression. Now the entire outline is flowing once again. I hope to start working on it soon.

How much research did you have to do about the particular period?
Not a lot, because I’ve been a student of the period for so long. But when I did research, it was mostly to confirm what I already knew or to get specific details about certain things. For example, I didn’t know much about the differences between a Union cavalry officer’s uniform versus a Confederate cavalry officer’s uniform besides colour (and during the first year of the war, even that wasn’t necessarily a difference; very confusing for them). But fellow BSB author Kim Baldwin’s partner helped me tremendously. She is a Civil War re-enactor. What a godsend! Not only did she have resources (besides the internet) at her fingertips, it never took her longer than a day to get the answers to me. She emailed me images from a book she had of both officer’s uniforms as well as weaponry, and threw in their horse’s tack for good measure. I couldn’t ask for a better research assistant.

It also helps to live in the cradle of the Civil War. The Manassas battlefield is only about an hour away, and while I have been to it many times, I went again to get a feel for the layout of the landscape. It is one thing to read about the battle, quite another to experience the terrain and other obstacles the soldiers would have faced. I have also been to the James River plantations and Richmond, Virginia many times. They are only a couple of hours away from me.

Any unforeseen hurdles, technical or otherwise, pop up during your writing of the book?
Hmm, none that I can think of. Oh, yeah, actually writing the book.

What are you currently working on?
A contemporary romance set in the DC area called Heart of the Matter. It’s about a professor of history at Georgetown University who specializes in, what else, the Civil War. (I had to get that in somehow.) She is infatuated with her neighbour, a local television news anchor, who doesn’t even know she’s alive. Circumstances change, however, and when the professor takes a sabbatical to write a book on Civil War military strategy, the anchor goes along, for reasons you will discover when the book comes out. I’m having lots of fun with them doing exactly the kinds of things I like to do, visiting battlefields and researching the period. And this time I don’t have to worry about the language. It’s a lot easier, although not as much fun, having them speak in 21st Century English.

Which authors would you consider to have had the biggest influence on your own writing?
Most definitely Radclyffe. Up until I discovered her work, I read only non-fiction. I wish I could write like she can. Her writing style is so compact and concise, yet powerful and rich at the same time. I don’t believe anyone can compete with her when it comes to writing emotion and passion, and just about anything else for that matter. She’s simply the best. Having said that, I read every Bold Strokes book that comes out, and I must say I learn something from each of them. From word choices to plotting, character development, and pacing, each of them brings something to the table. I truly am honoured to be a part of this extremely talented group of writers.

As for non-fiction authors, Shelby Foote’s three volume set, The Civil War, is my bible. It is a brilliant work that took him twenty years to write. Aside from the historical events, he interweaves stories from the famous and powerful to the lowly foot soldier utilizing everything from the political and military record to personal diaries. If I could recommend only one book about the Civil War it would be this collection. He makes history come alive.

What did you look for in a publisher once you decided to submit the manuscript?
I didn’t look. There was only one choice. But if Bold Strokes had rejected me, I would have rewritten the story over and over until I got it right and then resubmitted again and again until they accepted me, or I wore them down. I’m so happy it didn’t come to that.

What is your work environmet like when you're writing?
Complete silence. I don’t like having anything distracting me while I write because I let myself get distracted too easily. Something as simple as one of my cats walking across my keyboard can keep me occupied for a good ten, fifteen minutes. They are too cute to be resisted. And Solitaire on my computer is downright dangerous. But when I’m focused, I mean really focused, I don’t notice the distractions. Once I’m in the “zone,” I can write for hours without stopping. When that happens, I hate being interrupted.

What's the biggest challenge for you personally about being a writer?
Impatience. I want to be a better writer and I want it now. I am learning so much and the learning curve is HUGE. It’s a lot to ingest and sometimes I forget what I’ve just learned, but when I remember, or when I am gently reminded , I do the Homer Simpson, “Doh!” thing and smack myself on the forehead. Hopefully as time goes on, it will become more natural to me.

Another challenge is discipline. Writing is like taking on a second job and as a result you have to be very organized. I am an organized person, but as I noted above, I can get distracted easily. Laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping, etc., all contribute to keeping me away from my computer. And when all you have are a couple of hours each weekday and weekends to write and do all that too, it’s tough.

What are your thoughts on fan fiction?
I think there is some really great stuff out there. Before Radclyffe was published, I was completely addicted to her online X-Files Scully/slash fiction (please, Rad, please write some more). I also read some of Melissa Good’s Xena fan fiction (I was a late comer to Xena). But now I just don’t have the time. The three books a month I get of BSB authors is all that I can handle, and that just barely.

Tell us something about KI Thompson no-one knows...
I have been aboard Air Force One.

What’s the one thing you always have in your fridge?
Maraschino cherries and a chilled cocktail glass. I guess that’s really two things, but they both go together. I love Manhattans.

Tea or coffee?
Coffee; preferably a vanilla latte made with skim milk.

What are your perceptions of how lesbians have recently been portrayed in the media?
I think we’ve come a long way from when lesbians always had to be unhappy, or worse, commit suicide because of being lesbian. Movies like The Children’s Hour or the pulp fiction novels of the 1950’s, while not always depicting the brighter side of lesbian life at least broke the silence barrier.

Today there are a plethora of independent films about lesbians, presenting us in a very favourable light. And there’s the cable television show, The L Word which I think really only represents a very small segment of the lesbian population. We also have personalities like Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, Melissa Etheridge, etc., who can be open about their sexuality in a very public forum.

One of the things I love about Bold Strokes is that the women portrayed in every book are strong and self-assured, secure in their sexuality, representing all walks of life. In Bold Strokes’ world, being lesbian is the norm rather than the exception.

What CD is currently in your player?
These Four Walls, by Shawn Colvin.

Do you think people have a misconception of 'the writer's life'?
Not really. I think most people know it’s a solitary life and that it requires a lot of hard work and discipline. It also means constantly improving one’s craft. I think it’s not so much a misconception as it is a lack of understanding the impact being a writer has on your personal life. By that I mean how it affects your relationship with your partner, if you have one. The weekends you used to spend together are now taken up with writing. Hopefully you have a partner who is supportive otherwise it can put a lot of stress on the relationship. It seems obvious now, but in all the excitement of being accepted by Bold Strokes, I didn’t stop to consider this. It’s taken some adjustments on our part in order to make everything work. Anyone interested in becoming a writer really needs to enlist the support of their partner before they commit.

In what ways are you still improving yourself as a writer?
I find writing short stories to be a good exercise in improving my skills. It forces me to write a story with fewer words and each word really has to count, not that they don’t have to in a novel. It’s just easier to lose sight of some details in a full-length story when you’re bogged down worrying about characters, voice, plot development, etc. It’s a lot to think about, but hopefully it will get easier.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about the publishing industry
That it’s a business. I think we authors tend to lose sight of this sometimes because we have so much fun doing what we do. But in the end, we wouldn’t be having such fun if our books didn’t sell. I think Radclyffe is not only a brilliant writer, but as Len Barot, a very astute publisher as well. She knows exactly what kind of books her authors can write as well as what it takes to make a book saleable. It’s in every author’s best interests to do what Rad calls “shameless self-promotion.” No one is going to sell your book better than you and I think it’s a testament to Radclyffe’s philosophy that almost every BSB author attends the Golden Crown Literary Society Convention. More and more of us are planning to attend Women’s Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and now the Book Festival in Palm Springs, California that Bold Strokes has been invited to.

A happy writer is…
. . . one who keeps improving her craft, has the support of her partner, and belongs to such an incredible group of talented women like those at Bold Strokes Books.