Guest Post: Cari Kamm

Today I have the lovely Cari Kamm on the blog with a guest post to celebrate the release of her new novel, For Internal Use Only. I read her first novel, Fake Perfect Me, and really enjoyed it (you can check out the review here) so I'm excited to get the chance to read this one. Have fun with this guest post and stay tuned for my review of this novel!

Chick Lit is more than just a pretty face. This is why I don’t judge a book by its pink cover.  Chick Lit might be a quick read, light-hearted, and simply entertaining. But Chick Lit can spotlight characters with real issues that women face such as heartbreak, addiction, sibling & friend rivalry, negative body image & eating disorders, and even infidelity. In my latest novel, For Internal Use Only, the topic is the desire to find true love. In other words; living your fairy tale.

Life inspires me to create a character. This character leads me to produce the outline of the story I have in mind. Then over several months, I begin to realize where the characters are taking me. When a theme moves me, I sketch out an outline breaking down Act I, II & III and write up descriptions of the characters. Then, I just write. I don’t look back. I don’t reread. I would say it’s a crappy first draft and then I spend months on revising – editing – revising – editing.

Writing isn’t my job. It’s my daily habit. I begin first thing in the morning. I make coffee and hit the keys. Writing is my big morning stretch. I write from anywhere, anytime, and on anything. A notebook, a cocktail napkin, or even taking a photo of a person, place or thing that inspired me. I take a lot of photos to capture details that I want to write about later and add into a scene or character description. I love being surrounded by music, strangers, voices… simply just life. Throughout my own daily life, a moment may capture me and I think, “Wow... my character would eat that, do that, say that, adore that.”

I write a lot in New York City and also on my family’s ranch in West Virginia. Traveling pushes me as a writer in my descriptions. For example, in my first novel, Fake Perfect Me, the scenes in Italy where Isabella Reynolds is enjoying a creamy burratta in Rome... I wrote that scene while doing that exact thing. In my latest novel, For Internal Use Only, I was a passenger in a car on a major interstate in Atlanta writing a similar scene with my protagonist Chloe.

The plot, the characters, and the setting are all inspired from my daily life once I’ve created a character. I don’t go searching for inspiration, I prefer to bump into the unexpected beauty of life. Whether it is spotting a shadow, hearing a whistle, or walking through dog poop on the street because I was distracted with a scene idea (It’s happened!).

In November 2012, I participated in National Novel Writing Month and completed my third book. It’s my first romance novel! While traveling in Costa Rica last year, I had a dream, the theme for this new novel. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and scribbled every memory of it that I could. I hope to release it later this year.

About the Author

Cari Kamm has worked in the beauty industry for over a decade, building brands, working behind the scenes, and even selling her own skin care line. She has a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York University. Kamm currently works in corporate social media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries. Living in New York City with her mutt Schmutz, Kamm loves finding inspiration in the most unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing her fiancé that ordering takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to cooking. More information can be found on her website, CariKamm.com. To check out the book trailer, click here: http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn.