K. L. Going lives
in Glen Spey, NY. Since graduating college she has worked
as an adult literacy tutor, a ticket agent for an airline,
a front desk clerk at a resort hotel, as an assistant to
two agents at a Manhattan Literary agency, and a manager
of an independent bookstore.
Currently, she is writing from
home full time.
She has lived in Maine, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Louisiana and New York City.
She also has a very unsettling
obsession with Ketchup.
You can e-mail
her at kl@klgoing.com
Frequently
Asked Questions
Q:
Where and when were you born?
A:
Rhinebeck, NY on August 21, 1973
Q:
Where did you grow up? Did you have a happy childhood?
A:
I grew up in the Hudson Valley area of New York state, specifically, Borden Road, Wallkill, NY, and I had a wonderful childhood full of great books and outdoor adventures.
Q:
Tell us about your family.
I'm married and I have an infant son and step-daughter. My parents' names are William and Linda Going. My dad is an
environmental engineer and my mother is a librarian.
Q:
Where did you go to school?
A: I went to Wallkill High School
in NY, and Eastern College in PA. I was a sociology major
and a Biblical studies minor.
Q: What childhood experiences/memories have been the subjects
of your writing?
A: Mostly I write about feelings.
I draw extensively on how I remember feeling throughout
school. I've always been small and thin, (4'11 and 3/4"
!) but I've spent a vast amount of my life feeling like
the "fat kid" - namely, self-conscious. I try to tap into
the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum. I'm not as
interested in the stable feelings in the middle. I take
the best and worst feelings and try to make those emotions
come alive through my characters.
Q:
Have any of your books been banned?
A:
Yes. Fat Kid Rules the World.
Q: Where
do you write?
A: At home, in the downstairs office.
Q: Do you own any
pets? If so, what types? Their names?
A: I have two cats - Merry and Pippin.
They are real troublemakers. :-}
Q: What are
your favorite pastimes/activities when you are not writing?
A: What? You mean there are activities
aside from writing?? Ok* let's think. Listening to music.
Reading. Traveling. Taking care of my little boy. Least favorite
pastime is watching TV. Yuk. Mind numbing, brain cell
sucking activity.
Q: What's
your favorite color?
A:
Red. Like ketchup.
Q: What kind
of music do you listen to?
A: My musical preferences are strongly
influenced by my mood, so I like a lot of different things.
Favorite band is Nirvana (ok, how hard was that to figure
out?). I love Iggy Pop, Oasis, a Northampton group called
the Nields, Alanis Morisette, Pete Yorn, Van Morrison. These days I listen to a lot of Putamayo children's CDs.
Q: How did you
start writing? Did you always want to be an author?
A: As a kid, I was always writing
stories for fun, but I didn't plan on being an author.
I was planning on joining the Peace Corps. Writing was
something I did for pleasure. I wrote my first complete
book in high school. It was a fantasy novel. After that,
I was always working on something. It wasn't until much
later when I got a job in publishing that I first considered
submitting my work for publication.
Q:
Have any other authors influenced your writing?
A:
Definitely. Lloyd Alexander was a huge influence, and I had the privilege of meeting him at his home before he passed away. What a wonderful man! I also love Susan Cooper's books.
Q: Are you planning any sequels to your books?
A: No, sorry! I get asked this all the time, but unfortunately I don't have
any sequels in the works. I prefer to let readers decide for themselves
what happens once the book is over.
Q: Are you
working on anything new?
A: I am currently working
on a new middle grade novel, but I don't want to reveal anything about it yet. Writers
tend to be superstitious! I can say that I have two picture
books under contract. There are illustrators attached
to both projects. Picture books can take years to publish,
but hopefully both books will be on the market before
too long.
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Click here to download KL's professional bio.