Pageonelit.com: Where did you grow up and
was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest
influences and why?
Kimberley Tait: I was born and raised in
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, but have always considered Port
Dalhousie, Ontario, my hometown. Port Dalhousie is a small attachment
to St. Catharines, situated right on the shores 
of
Lake Ontario. I spent the greater part of my childhood playing
by the water, sailing boats, fishing, and listening to the lighthouse
foghorn echoing across the harbor on misty summer mornings.
Reading and writing have always been a part of
my life. My mother used to bring home books for the three of
us to read. (I have one younger sister and a twin.) I would come
home from school, grab an apple, and stretch out on my bed with
good book, and I remember thinking even back then that life just
didn't get any better than this! In school, we would get assignments
in English class where we would have to write short stories,
and most of my classmates would have a tough time coming up with
two pages of fiction. My stories would always be fifty pages
long, with countless characters, and the plot usually involved
murder and mayhem.
The earliest influences in my life were, of course,
my old Romanian grandfather, who used to tell us horrible folktales
of children being eaten by wolves, or burned alive! He had a
penchant for swearing, so the stories would be very colorful.
He was the first story-teller to introduce me to my own imagination.
Another person who had a profound effect on my
writing career was my high school English teacher, Mr. Shulman.
I don't think even he knew how much his heart-felt praise of
my earlier works influenced my future as a writer. Up until then,
I had always written for my own enjoyment. It never occurred
to me that someone else might enjoy reading my lengthy tomes.
I think that was a defining moment in my life... that I could
write well enough to engage someone else's imagination.
Pageonelit.com: Why did you write A DANGEROUS
RIDE? Tell us about this book --- Where did the story come
from? How long did it take to write?
Kimberley Tait: I wanted to write a suspense
novel that would showcase the diverse nature of horses. During
the years spent working in the industry, I've had the opportunity
to experience all facets of horsemanship--the highs and lows
and in-betweens that come with the job, and I've had the pleasure
of being able to develop a personal relationship with countless
animals. Horses are as dynamic as human beings are. They have
emotions and personality traits that differ from each other and
it takes a committed individual who's willing to spend a lot
of time with them to really understand their view of the world.
A DANGEROUS RIDE took me about two years
to write. Anyone who knows horses knows it's a seven day a week
job with little time off for writing. I see my job as more of
a lifestyle; it tends to define me as a person. I try to write
in the evenings, after everything else is done, and I do get
one day off on the weekends.
I began writing the book with certain characters
in mind, rather than a storyline, and once I had the characters
sketched out, I built a compelling story around them. I wanted
to present a strong, female protagonist who's not afraid to take
on 
a dangerous challenge but I never
lost sight of her emotional failings either. I wanted Tally's
character to develop over the course of the book, not so much
because she wanted to, but because she is forced to make decisions
that ultimately change her life. On a personal level, I think
we all face certain risks in our lifetime. Some people are brave
enough to make a change. Some people never do. I hope the reader
will identify with Tally and admire her courage. She really did
do a very brave thing.
Pageonelit.com: Where did the title A
DANGEROUS RIDE come from?
Kimberley Tait: I chose the title A DANGEROUS
RIDE because I wanted people to connect with the book as
soon as they read the title. The title hints at rogue horses;
they can be difficult to ride, if not outright deadly. As more
and more information surfaces out of Mack's mind, Tally's life
begins to spin out of control. She feels powerless to stop it.
Those feelings are comparable to being on a barely-broke youngster
who's determined to get you off. It's not a pleasant situation
to be in... and the horse usually wins. Most people I've talked
to read the title and shake their heads in acknowledgment, telling
me, "I've had a few of those myself."
Pageonelit.com: Tell us about the character
Jesse Rodriguez -- This is a very interesting character with
an intresting gift. Where did this character come from?
Kimberley Tait: I have always been fascinated
with psychic ability and the people who claim to have the gift
of Sight. I created the character of Jesse Rodriguez to highlight
the perceptive nature of horses. Horses are very psychic, sometimes
to a fault, and I've spent most of my life trying to work out
where we as human beings belong within the complex equine consciousness.
Jesse is everything I wish I was. When I created this character,
I remember thinking that it would be wonderful to have someone
like him around to help me out with problem horses. He is a compassionate
man and he's very protective of Tally, and even though I'm ashamed
to admit it, he was a convenient way of revealing certain aspects
of the story that otherwise would have been technically difficult
to overcome. Even though he is a pivotal character in the plot
development, I've tried to make him as human as anybody else,
troubled by doubts and struggling with a metaphysical power that
controls him rather than the other way around. I believe it makes
him a very intriguing character to read about.
Pageonelit.com: What has been your feedback
from readers and book reviewers? What do they say to you about
their interpretations of A DANGEROUS RIDE? What do they
like about the book?
Kimberley Tait: So far, the response from
readers has been wonderful. I've had letters and e-mails from
people who tell me they have stayed up all night reading because
the characters pulled them into the story and wouldn't let go.
It's so gratifying to hear that a story I wrote for my own enjoyment
is engaging complete strangers and drawing them in to the mystifying
world of horses. One reviewer
complained that he couldn't get anything else done while he was
reading A DANGEROUS RIDE and missed some deadlines because
of it. Throughout all of this, one interesting question kept
coming back to me repeatedly. Was there a sequel planned? People
wanted to know more about what happened to these characters.
As a writer, I couldn't have asked for a nicer compliment than
that.
Pageonelit.com: Tell me about your publishing
experience -- The good, the bad and the ugly ...
Kimberley Tait: On the whole, I have found
submitting and the inevitable rejections quite demoralizing to
my self-confidence. I have one book that I wrote a number of
years ago that I submitted to numerous publishing houses and
when that didn't pan out, I decided to try and find an agent
to represent me. I would get so close to that brass ring--a book
contract--and then the whole thing would blow up in my face.
I received personal letters from editors telling me that my writing
was professional and polished and that the manuscript went to
the highest reader in the office before being rejected. Similarly,
I would get encouraging letters from agents after sending them
query letters and sample chapters, only to be dumped after they
read the complete manuscript. I've been rejected from the best
and the worst but I've always managed to maintain a certain amount
of self-preservation. Over the years, I've found that if I think
of my manuscript as a "muffin recipe" instead of the
musings of my absolute inner soul I can keep my distance from
those painful rejections.
After I wrote A DANGEROUS RIDE, I hunted
around for a smaller publishing company and came across Trafford
Publishing, based in Victoria, British Columbia. They've been
absolutely wonderful to me. My associate agent, Jolene Lowey,
has guided me through the complex process of getting the book
to market with style and finesse and I can't thank her enough.
Trafford even encourages its writers to strive for new horizons,
offering their expertise as a stepping stone to the mass market
publishing companies. My future goal is to establish a track
record, re-submit A DANGEROUS RIDE and see what happens.
Pageonelit.com: Are you working on a follow
up? Or something totally different?
Kimberley Tait: The last thing I wanted
to do was write a sequel to A DANGEROUS RIDE. I really
thought I'd put those characters to bed for the last
time... but so many people have written in to me, asking for
a sequel that I decided I'd better not let them down. Everyone
has been so supportive. I found it difficult at the beginning
to pick up where I left off with A DANGEROUS RIDE, finding
new conflicts and storylines for the characters but now that
I've written about a hundred pages of the sequel I'm starting
to get back into the narrative and development of the plot. Half
of the new story takes place in Ecuador, in the rainforest, and
the research I've done into this incredibly diverse landscape
has intrigued me more than I ever thought possible. It's as mesmerizing
as it is dangerous. At the same time, the devastation rate of
the forest is enough to shake even the bravest soul.
Pageonelit.com: What was the last book you
read?
Kimberley Tait: The last book I read was
Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS. I try and read it every few
years, just to reacquaint myself with all the wonderful characters.
Some people think Tolkien's works are ponderous and self-indulgent
but I admire his brilliant sense of place and the way he slowly
destroys the indomitable spirit of Frodo Baggins. I love to read
about a tortured soul and Tolkien does it best. The books do
lack a strong female role-model but I found I could relate to
the character Eowyn. In an era when most women were content to
stay in the home and wait for their men to come back from the
war, she took up the shield and marched off into battle and even
felled the evil Nazgul when all the brave men ran away.
Pageonelit.com: Do you have any hobbies?
What are they? How do they enhance your writing.
Kimberley Tait: I've been one of the fortunate
few who can combine their hobby with their job. Working with
horses has enabled me to experience the best and the worst life
has to offer and I hope I've successfully transferred all of
this to the written page. Their emotions and instincts are so
complex I would need to live a hundred lifetimes just to figure
them out.
My other hobbies are gardening and photography.
In a way, these two things enhance
my writing by broadening my depth of knowledge, both in the field
of botany and in the artistic composition of a scene. I tend
to think and write visually; it's like I'm seeing a movie in
my mind and most of the time I see lots of plants! Since I live
on a working farm, I'm in-tune with the cycle of the seasons
and the patient struggle of growing things and I think it helps
me create a special place for where my characters can to come
to life.
remember. Together
with her twin sister, Patricia, Kimberley says she, "Haunted
local riding establishments, pestered neighborhood farmers and
generally rode anything that would allow me on board. I spent
the bulk of my youth at Silver Acres Riding Academy and got my
first horse at fourteen--a half-broke, demented Saddlebred mare,
who, when she wasn't tearing though pastoral vineyards with me,
taught me infinite patience and self-preservation."