Interview & Giveaway: Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little

 Today on WinterHaven Books I am super thrilled to have the amazing Kimberley Griffiths Little with us!  She has graciously stopped by to answer a few of my questions about her latest book Forbidden!

Published on November 4th, 2014 by Harpercollins

Hi Kimberley! Welcome to the blog!

Thank you so much for having me!

1. This is my first book involving desert people, how did you come up with the idea?
My secret, long-time passion for belly-dancing. When I first saw it, I was mesmerized. The moves are so beautiful and womanly and sensuous.  Finally, after many years secretly wanting to take belly dance lessons I broke down—as a mom with 3 boys and took classes – and loved it! I even performed a solo tribal dance at a local coffee shop near the University of New Mexico. I was sick to my stomach with nerves, but it went off great and I impressed my kids. :-) Currently, I’m in a belly dance aerobics class.

The thing I love about belly dancing is that any woman of any age or body type looks gorgeous dancing this style.

2. How much research did you have to do about camels? I loved that they were a part of the story!
I read a whole book just about camels! :-)

The research into the belly dance form and its history fascinated me - and shocked me when I learned about Temple prostitution 4,000 years ago.

I knew I had to write about the roots of the dance and the Goddess Temples of the ancient middle east and it wasn’t long before I was engrossed in researching nomadic tribes, how they lived, where they traveled, Petra, 18th century BCE cities and the secret frankincense lands on the Arabian Peninsula. . 

I also took a trip to Jordan and Petra and finished falling in love with its stark, rugged beauty and history and the wonderful tribal desert people I go to meet. We were even invited to a wedding of a young man living in a cave in Petra (there are 5,000 caves there!).
Go here for pictures from my trip:
https://www.pinterest.com/kimberleylittle/petra-jordan/

Go here for gorgeous belly dancers:
https://www.pinterest.com/kimberleylittle/belly-dancing/

3. Who was your favorite character to write and why?
Definitely my favorite scenes to write were the ones between Jayden and Kadesh. I love when they’re in the Edomite lands and he touches her hand in the narrow canyon and tells her he suspects that she’s feeling the same things he is—and yet she can’t admit to *any* feelings when she’s betrothed to the prince of her tribe. I also love the scene when Kadesh has to leave to go home and finally declares in no uncertain terms his feelings for Jayden. Writing their first, forbidden kiss was magical and special—and took MANY rewrites!

4. What markings did Horeb leave on a certain person?
Mostly they were thin slices along the neck, arms and upper chest that criss-crossed like a brand.

5. Which scene was harder to write, the one involving Rebecca or Horeb and why?

I have to admit that I cried while writing both. Both scenes are heartbreaking tragedies, but for vastly different reasons.

Writing about a violent near rape was heart-wrenching. I admit that I had moments where I was tempted to have Jayden actually kill Horeb (I wanted to stick him with the dagger myself!), but that doesn’t fit Jayden’s moral character and would have sealed her execution—end of her life and end of the story! I couldn’t have that! :-)

6. Can you share anything about the sequel?
Jayden will go through a whole lot more crazy stuff as she searches for Kadesh, people try to kill her, men secretly fall in love with her, she races across the desert fleeing Horeb’s army, the High Priestess Armana from the Temple of Ashtoreth tries to blackmail her—and you *know* Jayden has to go to the mysterious and exotic frankincense lands. :-)

Book 2 is called BANISHED and Harper is working on some lush cover art for both Book #2 and Book #3. I especially love the cover art for #3 – it’s simply gorgeous. Hopefully I’ll get to share later this spring.

We just got a pub date of February 2, 2016! Moved up from April 28, 2016 –whew! I think the waiting is going to kill my readers and me.

Meanwhile I’ll get going on writing Book 3 and some other secret projects. :-)

Thank you so much for having me here today! You can purchase FORBIDDEN here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I don't know about you, but I am super excited to see those covers and I love the title Banished!  It definitely goes with the story!  

  

Kimberley’s BIO:

When I was a kid I read a book a day, scribbled stories, and dreamed about having my very own book on the library shelf. I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with my husband and sons. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard.

Which means I adore anything old and musty with a secret story to tell.

I make way too many cookies when I'm writing - and I've got the best book trailers in the universe - for reals! Check them out here: www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com. .

Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011 & 2013, Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist.

My Social Media sites: Website (Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides) / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Tumblr / Youtube (Fabulous book trailers filmed on location in the swamps!)

Must-See FORBIDDEN book trailer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3ncXetDyG8

To see Amber's review of Forbidden click HERE.

Giveaway time! The Amazing Kimberley Griffiths Little has offered to send a copy of Forbidden to one lucky follower!  Fill out the form below to enter.

Good Luck!

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