Pamela K. Kinney
aka
Sapphire Phelan

An interview by Sheila
 

Sheila interviewed Pamela K. Kinney aka Sapphire Phelan for Wild on Books. Read all about Pamela's work!

Published Books

Pamela K. Kinney's Sites:

Main Site
MySpace
 

Posted July 29, 2008

Sheila:  Hi Sapphire/Pamela, Welcome to Wild on Books! Can you tell us about your latest release?   

Pamela K. Kinney:  it would be Shifting Desires. Shifting Desires is an erotic feline shapeshifter anthology that my erotic paranormal, Beast Magic will be included in. The other two authors with stories in it are Jude Mason and Skylar Sinclair. Shifting Desires premieres July 28^th.
 

Sheila:  I see that you have two different names you write under, Pamela K. Kinney and Sapphire Phelan. Is it hard to keep the names and books straight?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Sometimes. But as Sapphire Phelan I write strictly erotic and sweet paranormal, fantasy and SF romance 9though did get one sweet historical romance story published in Cobblestone Press Quarterly this past December). As Pamela K. Kinney, I write horror, science fiction, fantasy and nonfiction (like Haunted Richmond, Virginia).
 

Sheila:  What do you do when you are not writing?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Spend time with my husband of 31 years, sew and wear costumes, go to science fiction conventions, go to the movies or watch DVDs on our widescreen LCD TV at home, read, bake, exercise, and spend time with good friends too. I also do paranormal investigation, and am a member of two groups that do this inn my area.
 

Sheila:  Under your pseudonym Sapphire Phelan, do you do any research for you books?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  If the story warrants it, yes. Like the dark and erotic m/m paranormal story, “The Dark Man” in Forbidden Love: Sacred Bands, I had to know about the mythology behind the Finmen, or Dark Men as they are called too. On Beast Magic, I read up on lions, and also on South Africa, as part of the novella is set there. I had never been to South Africa.
 

Sheila:  Is there anything you enjoy doing that your fans would find fascinating? 

Pamela K. Kinney:  Make or sew costumes and wear them. I also do real live paranormal investigation, or ghost hunting, just like the Ghost Hunters on SciFi Channel do.
 

Sheila:  I read that you enjoy dressing up in costumes, how did that come about?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I learned to sew in high school and when I was 18 years old figured I wear jeans and shorts that I buy cheaper and got introduced to the world of costuming, so made my first costume for a party then. Got hooked on it, started entering masquerades at scifi conventions and even been to a couple of Costume-Cons (convention just for costuming).  I’ve made from Star trek to Star Wars to historical to LOTR to Babylon 5 and beyond. My husband also costumes, so this is something we can share. He is actually one of the 501^st—a costuming group of stormtroopers and the dark side of Star Wars. His costume wears stormtrooper armor.
 

Sheila:  Which name do you enjoy writing under the most?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I enjoy writing under both. Pamela I my real name, but Sapphire Phelan sounds so pretty. :D
 

Sheila:  Tell us about yourself, family and so on.  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I love to write. I love to read—a lot. My husband, Bill and I have been married since March 12, 1977, and we have one son, Chris, who turned 30 this year. Bill has been supportive of my writing and let me quit a part time job I had to pursue that and acting. And yes, I have acted up until two years ago, on stage and in films too.
 

Sheila:  Have you always wanted to be a writer? How long have you been writing?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I’ve always wanted to be a writer, since I was eight years old.  Wrote stories about animals and scary ones an d science fiction ones. I got published for the first time at age 17, with three poems in Hyacinths and Biscuits Poetry Magazine—got paid for them too.
 

Sheila:  How may the readers/fans contact you? See your work?   

Pamela K. Kinney:  They can go to my website at http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com or either of my myspace site: www.myspace.com/SapphirePhelan and www.myspace.com/PamelaKKinney , or join my newsletter if you’re into romance at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SapphirePhelansParanormalNewsletter. They can always contact me at pamelakkinney@comcast.net too.
 

Sheila:  Where do you get your ideas from?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  From my imagination mostly. Oh, I might see something, or read about something or watch something on TV and an idea sparks. But it all comes from inside my mind.
 

Sheila:  Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Keep writing every day. And keep submitting. Don’t quit because you get rejections—all writers do. Join a local writer’s group in your area, or one online. But just keep plugging on.
 

Sheila:  What do you enjoy most about being a writer?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  That people other than me get to read what I imagine all the time. That I get to share my stories and characters.
 

Sheila:  I read that you are interested in the paranormal; can you tell us a little about that?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I’ve always been interested in it since I was a kid. I read Han Holzer’s books and other true ghost stories. I also enjoy fictional paranormals too.
 

Sheila:  Who influences your writing?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Anne McCaffrey, Madeleine L’Engle, Nora Roberts, Victoria Holt, Phillip K. Dick, and many more writers.
 

Sheila:  Do you have any favorite authors?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Shirley Jackson, Madeleine L’Engle, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King,  Lovecraft and Poe, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and too many to count that I discover and read every day.
 

Sheila: I see that you’ve done some acting in the past, how did that come about?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  I’ve done acting when younger. Then not for years. When my son wanted to try out for a part in lassie (the ‘90s version) he didn’t get the part but ended up being an extra. He convinced me and his father to be extras too. After that I did other extra work, speaking parts and on stage, mainly with Chesterfield Children’s Theatre.
 

Sheila:  Is there anything special that you do to help your creativity flow?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Exercise, for helping my physical body helps the mind too. Also reading, and sometimes just relaxing and taking time out.
 

Sheila:  Is there anything in the works that you can tell us about?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Right now as Pamela I am working on another contracted book for Schiffer, based on legends, myths and folklore of Virginia. As Sapphire, I am also working on sequel to Beast Magic, then when that is done, start on sequel to an erotic urban fantasy that is sequel to an accepted novella by Phaze.  I also have an urban fantasy manuscript with Kensington and Dorchester that I pitched to them at RT 2008. If accepted, that will be by Pamela.
 

Sheila:  Thank you so much for your time Pamela, is there anything else that you would like to add?  

Pamela K. Kinney:  Thank you for interviewing me, Sheila. Just thank you to my readers for reading  what I write—if not for you my dream would have never been possible.

Published books