Jul 18, 2011

Ladies and Gents, meet Kaki Warner

I don't know if you all know this yet, but the wonderfully, talented author Kaki Warner recently won the 2011 RITA award for Best First Novel.  PIECES OF SKY is a fantastic read, and I talked about finding it in the slush pile here. Well, Kaki decided to stop by to share her thoughts about winning and how she stays grounded.

Kaki...it's all yours.

Jo

We all have those moments.  Moments when every word we utter is brilliant.  When the planets have aligned exactly right and everything is absolutely ohmigod freaking PERFECT.  We’re hot.  We’re cool.  We’re invincible.  Nothing can stop us.

Except a loved one, of course.  They have such an endearing way of keeping one firmly grounded in the mundane, don’t you think?

Picture this:  7-something PM, July 1st.  Washington State, a world away from the RWA National Convention in New York.  My loved one is grousing in the next room about what we’re going to eat for supper while I’m in my office, staring at the computer screen, waiting for the next tweet from the awards banquet to pop up. 

(Loved one)  “Sandwiches OK?”

“Whatever.” 

“You gonna fix them, or should I?”

“Whatever.”

“I guess that means I will.” (More grousing)

Then suddenly there it is:  “Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner wins First Book.”

OMG!  I blink.  It’s still there.  I close my eyes for at least three seconds, open them, and IT’S STILL THERE!  Jumping up, I rush into the other room.  “OMG!  I just got a RITA!” 

“Just gotta read a what?  And where’s the sandwich meat?”

“In the fridge.  A RITA!  It’s a thing!  A statue!  A statue-thing.  All silver and shiny and FABULOUS!”

(Peering into the open fridge) “What are you going to do with a statue?”

“Put it on my desk.  The hood of the car.  Make it into an earring.  Whatever.”

(Straightening with a zip lock bag of something reddish) “But you don’t even like statues.  You never use the one I gave you for the garden.  What kind of meat is this?”

“That wasn’t a statue.  It was a fountain-thing of a kid peeing.  Every time you turned it on I had to run to the bathroom.  Sniff it.”

“Sniff it?”

“The meat.  The point is, I got an award that comes with its very own statue.  I’m practically famous.”

“Smells like pastrami.”

“Maybe I’ll put it in the garden.  Right in the middle of the pansies.  Like a little RITA shrine.”

“Practically famous, huh?”

“Well, almost semi, anyway.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it is.  Make mine on rye.”

Kaki is an award-winning author, a horseback rider, a wife, mother, and long time resident of the Northwest (though she grew up in the Southwest!).  PIECES OF SKY is her first novel, and she has since published 3 more with 2 on the way!  For a complete list of Kaki's books, check out her website.

6 comments:

Laila Knight said...

Hubby must be a non-writer. I love it, and I can relate. :)

storyqueen said...

Hahaha!

I vote for putting the statue on the car!! Totally awesome.

Shelley

TiGi said...

Oh, Kaki, love you. I know exactly what you mean, but then, he was hungry, right?

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of a RITA shrine -- just make sure to leave room for more! Congratulations, Kaki!

kaki warner said...

Laila--yep. Non-writer. But very supportive even if he doesn't always "get" it.

StoryQueen--I love the idea of a hood ornament, too. However, since I haven't seen RITA yet (my pub. is mailing it) I'm not sure my car will do it justice.

Toni--you've got him pegged right. One track. That's my guy, bless his heart.

Erica--friends for Rita? HA! One can only hope.

Thanks for the kind words, everybody. And thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

Yay for Kaki! I saw the news of the Rita and hopped out of my chair with excitement for you!

Yep, you're all kinds of awesome :)

Christi Corbett