Kimberly Pauley

Book Launch Party: Day 16: Niki Burnham

All About Niki Burnham
My guest today is the lovely Niki Burnham (I’m so jealous of her beautiful hair!). Niki was born in Colorado, but has lived all over the place courtesy of her father (he was in the Army). She now lives in Boston. Believe it or not, she majored in Political Science and even practiced law before she started writing full time (what is it with lawyers that turn to writing, anyway?). She’s written a bunch of fun books for teens (including Royally Jacked and Goddess Games) and also for adults (like The Knight’s Kiss, which won the 2004 RITA award).

You can learn more about Niki at her official website.

The Latest…Goddess Games
Seneca, the daughter of an Oscar-winning actress, Drew, an athletic Army brat, and Claire, a struggling born-again Christian, are each facing challenges in their personal lives. When they’re thrown together as roommates, all they see are their differences. But fate—and a nasty boss named Marla—brought them together for a reason, and they soon discover that what they need may not be what they originally thought.

In fact, a summer working at the spa may be just what it takes for Seneca, Drew, and Claire to each discover her own inner goddess. 

The Q&A

Here’s my question for Niki…

Do you prepare yourself any differently when writing for teens as opposed to adults?

And her answer…

No, I don’t change when I’m writing for teens.  No matter what I’m writing, it’s all about being inside the head of the individual characters.  Maybe a typical day for a teen is different than for an adult—attending school as opposed to going to work—but that’s window dressing.  Storytelling is about getting a character’s innermost emotions down on the page, no matter what the age of the characters.

And Niki’s question for me…

What was your favorite book when you were a teen?

And my answer…

I went through a lot of reading phases when I was a teen and consequently, a lot of different favorite books. I had my Agatha Christie kick, my Mercedes Lackey kick, my Isaac Asimov kick…I went through all the Jane Austen books in one month and went on to Stephen King the next. I was pretty random. But if I narrowed it down to the books that I read and re-read the most, it would be either Jane Eyre (which is no longer on my favorite list because a college professor ruined it for me), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), or The Number of the Beast (Heinlein). I don’t think I can narrow it down any farther than that, I’m afraid.

The Giveaway

Want to win a copy of Goddess Games? All you’ve got to do to win a copy is visit Niki’s website and then email me at kim @ kimberlypauley.com (remove the spaces!) with the subject line “Niki is a Goddess!” and tell me…any one interesting thing you learned about her or her books. Be sure to enter by September 17th!

Tomorrow is the final day of the Sucks to Be Me Book Launch Party! And then the Grand Prize Contest kicks off! So be sure to come back (and tell your friends)!