Crusader Group Feature: Kim Mullican from Altruism in Writing

Most of you know by now that I'm part of Rachael Harrie's Platform Building Crusade.  Part of the crusade is that we're grouped with other authors that share the same genre.

I've been placed in Group 17 Horror/Urban fantasy.  So for the next few weeks, when there's not a Crusader challenge going, I'll be posting a feature with one of the group members.


Kim Mullican from Altruism in Writing is joining us today for a bit.  After stopping by and checking out her blog, you'll find yourself feeling like you know Kim in RL.  You'll also come back with lots of good tips and links to articles that Kim kindly passes along.  Let's see what she has to say for herself:

When did you start writing? 
I started sometime in middle school. I vaguely recall a creative writing class where we were supposed to write a story that was a minimum of 2 pages. My story was 20. My English/Lit teacher (shout out to Sally Hagenow!) was impressed and encouraged me to keep going. She said I'd be a famous author one day.

Anyway, once I started, I couldn't stop. The ideas just kept swimming around in my head. If they didn't get onto paper, I would wind up in a padded cell somewhere...at least that's a suspicion.

Where would you say you are as a writer? 
Well, I'm not famous yet, but I'm building my empire one brick at a time. I have learned a lot in the last few years about writing, publishing and such. I enjoy reading other authors' blogs about their journey to become among other best selling authors. Seeing my name in lights would be cool, but I'm really just a beginner.

What’s your strongest writing genre? Do you often write in it? Why or why not? 
I think paranormal/urban fantasy is probably my strongest. I just finished a 150k word novel - set for word reduction and heavy editing at the moment. I could have made it 300k words. But I also dabble in action/intrigue and my current project is a huge genre cross section of paranormal romance/LGBT & true crime.

Quick, what are five of your favorite words!?! 
You're going to be sorry you asked! uber, Priapism, fuck (sorry ), mom, moist

In 10 words or less, sum up your current work in progress. 
Sexually confused former CIA Agent catches killer with ghost's help.

How would you describe your end goal as a writer?
I don't think there is ever an ending goal. I hope to continue to grow as a writer and have the masses enjoy my stories. I want to entertain people. I love reading Baldacci, and his books suck me in. I want to do that. I want someone to call off work because they stayed up all night reading my book. That would be uber cool.

What do you need to have before you can start writing? 
I prefer to have the house to myself. There are less distractions that way. A strong cup of coffee or a nice martini, depending on what type of scene I'm writing. I find that comedic scenes I write better when intoxicated. I go back sober and correct grammar and such, but I just seem to be funnier with a few martinis.