Episode 21 Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Harmony Kent

Welcome to Episode 21 of Conversations over Milk & Cookies hosted by Kindle Ninja.

What is this madness, you ask? 

It's my way of supporting members of the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB. 

We interact with them everyday, directly through tweets, or indirectly through re-tweets, but we don't really know much about them. Their personalities really don't shine through in 140 characters.

All the EPISODES of Conversations over Milk & Cookies can be found HERE.  Or you can just look to your right and you'll find the Quick Links.

In this episode, we feature AUTHOR HARMONY KENT (@harmony_kent). She's the author of  'THE GLADE' and 'THE BATTLE FOR BRISINGAMEN'. 

Harmony is the Rave Reviews Book Club's Administrative Assistant.

Let's get to know Harmony in more than 140 characters.

KINDLE NINJA (KN):  Welcome to Conversations over Milk and Cookies. How do you like your cookies? Chewy? Crunchy? Crumbly? Something else?

Chewy, most definitely chewy! Preferably with some chocolate in there somewhere.

I’d assume I’m the person you’d want to drink Milk with, but who’s the person you’d want to have coffee with?

My favourite coffee person, eh? Mm, tricky one! I have so many folks I look up to and respect, as well as others who are just plain good fun. Right now, I would have to nominate Nelson Mandela . . . tomorrow it would most likely be someone else—I’m an eclectic kind of a gal. As for milk buddies: of course you’re my preferred milk friend . . . I have the most wonderful image of sitting over milk and cookies with a ninja in full get up! Coffee with Nelson speaks to my spiritual and reflective nature, while milk with you calls to my mischievous and adventurous side.

KN: You have to wear ninja outfit too!

Writers are very interesting (and sometimes quirky) people with strange rituals. What is your strange writing ritual?

I don’t really have a ritual. I guess I prefer to write to music, but other than that I’m pretty boring! I choose soundtracks, as lyrics break my concentration. I wrote ‘The Glade’ almost entirely listening to ‘The Twilight’ score music!

What would you consider as your 15 mins of fame?

Milk and cookies with you! Okay, I’ll try and be a bit more serious . . . ahem.

My book cover for ‘The Glade’ was showcased in the All Authors Magazine as an Awesome Cover, which was kind of neat. (Do people still say ‘neat’? Or am I showing my age and uncoolness right now?)

KN: Neat!

How important is the choice of character names in your novel  (or any novel for that matter)

Fairly important. Names are something that seem to come easily for me. For the foreign names in ‘The Battle for Brisingamen’, I had a rough idea of the kind of names I wanted, and then used an online name finder. I do put effort and research into it when I need to, and the meaning of a name is often important. But really, it’s more a case of what feels right.

If your novel “TheGlade” would be made into a movie, who do you want to play the main character/s?

 

Tom Hanks would be great for playing ‘John’. He’d need to really ‘British up’ his accent though!

Tommy Lee Jones (of ‘U.S. Marshalls’) would be fantastic for the D.I.

I can see Sandra Bullock playing Helen (as she appeared in ‘The Blind Side’ . . . that kind of character).

And who will direct the movie?

It would have to be the director of ‘The Conjuring’ . . . a freakily scary movie I saw the other day. What’s his name? Oh, right: James Wan (Google saved the day!)

How do you feel about doughnuts without holes?

No doughnuts, please! I’m not a fan. But if I was pushed to answer, I would say a doughnut should have a hole!

What’s the book you wished you’d written?

‘The Host’ by Stephanie Meyer. What a brilliant idea! And she pulled it off so well.

What’s the book that positively shaped you?

‘A Heart as Wide as the World’ by Sharon Salzburg. I read it years ago, and ended up spending 13 years as an ordained Buddhist Nun in a Buddhist temple. I wouldn’t be who I am today, if I hadn’t read that book and gone down the path it opened up for me.

What would you rather be doing now? (instead of answering these questions).

Well, KN, answering these questions is actually fun If I’m not reading, I’m writing, and this is kind of just like writing! And, the sun is shining, so I’d love to go and sit in the garden right now. 

What do you do to decompress?

Drink wine with friends and let my sense of humour loose (which often involves making jokes about being legless while taking off my false leg and waving it around . . .) only amongst friends though!

What bizarre food have you eaten?

Sugar sandwich. I used to love this when I was a kid. I’d probably be sick now, though! I’d lather margarine (spread) on white bread and then pour on the sugar (whilst making sure Mum couldn’t see what I was doing)!

If you were to take a Ninja out to dinner, what British food would you have him eat?

I’d cheat. Like mad. And pretend Pizza was English food. I’m the pizza queen. Failing that, it would have to be the good old, traditional, fish and chips.

KN: And I’m the pizza ninja ;D

If you had a tattoo where would it be?

I wouldn’t have one. Sorry, but they just don’t do anything for me.

What song describes your week?

Please, please, please let me get what I want

By Tinderbox

Can you sing a line to me?

Please, please, please . . . let me, let me, let me get what I want this time . . . Lord knows, it would be the first time . . .

 On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about life right now?

10 . . . most definitely 10! Although things often don’t go my way, and life can seem tough, there is always this very next moment. And who knows what will happen? I take pleasure in the small things, and the big things tend to take care of themselves. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have a special someone to share those many small precious moments with. But, most of the time, my life feels full—come what may.

Nicholas Sparks or Dan Brown?

I haven’t read Nicholas Sparks . . . so, I guess it would have to be Dan Brown.

 

J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer?

Oh, KN! You can’t seriously make me choose? Really? I love them both!

But, seeing as you’re a ninja, and my life might depend on answering, then I would have to fall on the side of J.K. Rowling. I’ve re-read the HP books more than I’ve read the Twilight books. Having said that, I’ve watched the Twilight films more than I’ve watched the HP movies!

Ninjas or Dragons?

Dragons! Very best of all, would be Dragons with Ninjas on their backs

  

Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed the Q&A.

Thanks for the milk and cookies, KN. I’ve had a great time!