Saturday, October 03, 2009

Author Kimberly Lang

Please join me in welcoming Kimberly Lang to Killer Fiction. Kimberly, take it away!

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I love Facebook.

Aside from connecting me with readers around the world, it’s reconnected me with friends I haven’t seen since we graduated from high school and folks I went to college with. I love how easy it is to find the people who were so important to me at a point in my life but that I somehow lost touch with. And it’s better than regular ol’ email, because I can visit their pages and see their kids and their dogs, learn about the hobbies they’ve picked up, and sometimes more importantly, learn what they majored in at college and what they do for a living.

See, I hate doing research.

I know there are writers out there who love research. Writers who will spend hours uncovering details, mining for data gold, and immersing themselves in the facts. I’m not one of them. I know the internet makes all the information in the world available at the click of a mouse, but I just don’t have the patience to sift through the flotsam and jetsam of the ‘net to find the info I need. Plus, I have the attention span of a three-year-old, so I’m very lured by the link to the *other* cool thing that has nothing to do with what I’m researching.

Let’s say my hero has an accident. I need him to be hurt bad enough to keep him in the hospital for a couple of days, but not bad enough to cause permanent damage. I could go Web MD and spend an hour (and probably diagnose myself with something rare and horrible while I’m there). But why do that when three of the folks in my graduating class are now nurses? I click through to Facebook and send a message: “Hey girl! Hope you’re well. Remember how I held your hair back while you puked on prom night? You said you owed me forever? Call me. We need to chat.”

Facebook will tell me which of my friends live in Chicago now, who raises horses, who became a dentist, who spent time in the military, who’s working on a PhD in physics, and who’s selling insurance. One day, I might need to talk physics, and I’ve already cashed in on the Chicago and insurance connections.

Facebook is the ultimate Phone-a-Friend Life Line.

Of course, the fact I’m now a “published author” means I get the “I’m writing a book, can you introduce me to your agent?” requests. It’s a bit tougher to say no when the person asking held my hair back on a night I don’t fully remember.

So who have you found on Facebook who surprised you with what they grew up to be or the hobbies they have? (My friend who was a goth before goth was cool is now working for a conservative politician. I think the photo I have of him in that “Anarchy Now” t-shirt might be worth something…)

I’m away at a reader’s luncheon in Louisiana today, so I might not be able to respond to your comments until later tonight, but I’ll chose one commenter to get a copy of my new book, The Millionaire’s Misbehaving Mistress.

Kimberly

www.booksbykimberly.com

THE MILLIONAIRE’S MISBEHAVING MISTRESS (Harlequin Presents)

Perfect, polite… and passionate!

As Dallas’s most eligible bachelor and heir to his family’s fortune, billionaire Will Harrison knows how to handle the paparazzi – but his little sister Evie is a worry.

Miss Behavior, etiquette expert Gwen Sawyer, has only three weeks to work her magic on Evie before a society ball, and so moves into Will’s luxurious penthouse. However she discovers too late that etiquette is the last thing on devilishly handsome Will’s mind…

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13 comments:

Laurie G said...

I'm trying to cut back on my on-line time so I haven't embraced the Facebook crowd yet. I've heard about some wonderful reunion stories though.

Elle J Rossi said...

Kimberly,

I also love Facebook but had not considered using it for research. Love the tip! Thanks a ton.

Mainly, my guy friends from the past surprised me. I thought some would --for sure-- end up in jail, only to find out that they are no a police officer or have a career within the military. That absolutely makes for good research sources.

Right now I'm working on my Paranormal and I'm wondering who I can contact that can give me information on an enchantress. LOL.

Have a great one,
Elle

Playground Monitor said...

One guy from high school owns a pharmaceutical company and donates bazillions of dollars to his alma mater. I'm not surprised he was successful, but I guess I never expected THAT successful. He has a photo of him and Stephen Hawking on Zero G in his Facebook photo album.

I found a former neighbor from Frankfurt, Germany on Facebook. Well, actually I found her daughter who put me in touch with her. She's living in Belize now and invited me to come visit.

What I love are the six degrees of separation I've found on FB like the former neighbor from the other side of town who's a Facebook friend of my son's best friend's mother because they are in a statewide organization together. Or the friends who moved away to Washington and have the son of another Frankfurt neighbor in their friends list on Facebook. I'm still waiting for her to friend me so I can find out how they know each other.

Cool idea about using it for research. Maybe I need to set a book in Belize.

Kimberly Lang said...

Oh, Laurie, Facebook can be a total time suck. But I love seeing the pictures and such that my old friends post.

Like Elle, I'm surprised with how normal many of my friends grew up to be. The party girl that's now a pediatrician... weird.

PM and Elle -- I'm just a lazy researcher. (I drove my professors crazy in grad school.) So, I'm the girl to come to when you want to know how to get the facts fast...

T. Sue VerSteeg said...

I spend my fair share of time on Facebook (interpretation: ALL my time) and have found friends from back before the earth's crust cooled. I have even found a few exes who I love letting know I'm happily married to my soul mate :) Those are probably my gems in the "find" mine. Oh, and the ones who thought they were too good for me in HS who've made nothing of themselves. Those are good too. I should probably stop now before I ramble. I'm good at that ;)

Chelsea B. said...

I do not facebook. I refuse, haha.

Your book sounds really good! Thanks for posting!

Jane said...

Hi Kimberly,
I'm not on Facebook, but my friends have been pressuring for me to sign up. I'm resisting because I know I'll spend way too much time updating my page.

gigi said...

I am afraid to try facebook.
Ignorance is bliss. Scared of what I might find out.
Plus, I am afraid I might not stop if I ever started using it.

Minna said...

No Facebook for me! Blogs and such are quite enough for me.

robynl said...

I have no idea whatsoever how to be on Facebook. I have heard some stories of postings on there that perhaps shouldn't have been and some trouble involved. One must be careful I guess by what I've heard.

Christie Craig said...

Hi Kimberly,

Thanks so much for posting at KF. I hope you had a great time Louisiana. I was in Atlanta at the conference and now I'm in your neck of the woods, Gadsden Al.

I so enjoyed your post. I'm just now getting on twitter and I'm lost most of the time. Still learning the rules.


Thanks again for joining us.

CC

Kimberly Lang said...

Back from LA and recuperated. That drive can be a killer -- especially since it rained on me the whole way.

T.Sue--- it's sometimes fun to find an ex. One of my exes is a dentist in Scarsdale. That makes me laugh for some reason.

Chelsea -- I'm that way about Twitter.

Jane -- oh, it's the quizzes to worry about. They'll eat up your time.

gigi-- be brave! But yeah, not everything you learn is good.

Minna -- my blog list is pretty long too.

robynl-- it's amazing what folks will post for the world to see and then complain about getting busted!

Thanks for having me, Christie!!

Kimberly Lang said...

And the winner (picked by AC as she runs out the door for school) is....

T. Sue VerSteeg (AC thought that was a great name!)

Email me with your snail mail addy and I'll drop your book in the mail.
(kimberly@booksbykimberly.com)