Kimberly Miyasaki Lee is a freelance writer who lives and writes in New York. She is a former TV News Producer and community affairs specialist and Jennifer Dustow holds a Doctorate in Education and is a Cognitive Behavioral Learning Specialist, with a successful private practice in Hawaii.
Their second novel in the trilogy is scheduled for release in December 2011. Their long-distance writing partnership is challenging due to the time difference, but it surprisingly works.
JET: Can you tell us about your novel Vibrational Passage?
Kim and Jenn:
Renowned geneticist Dr. Walden Sinclair is presumed dead after 9/11, but the dangerous secrets he kept are far from lost.
Dr. Sinclair, along with 32 other influential individuals, disappears during the attack on the World Trade Center towers. Trapped in time and space, Dr. Sinclair reaches out to expose the dark secrets he helped create and hide. Pulled into all of this is bookstore owner, Emma Lange. Her life along with others becomes a tangled web as they struggle to patch together the dangerous pieces left behind for them to discover.
What they find out is inconceivable. Hitler's scientists already had the technology for time travel. That knowledge, now in the hands of the U.S. military, has created an unimaginable weapon now located at a secretive research facility in Alaska; with the objective to control future events by altering time and space. Caught in the crossfire, are a group of genetically engineered children coveted for their psychic abilities. The only hope for these children under the Autism Spectrum is the one geneticist who cracked their code... and he has disappeared.
JET: What drew you to writing thrillers?
Kim and Jenn: Don’t get us wrong, we have great lives, but writing a thriller is extremely exhilarating. It gets imaginative energy flowing, which then spills over into our lives making life that much more fun and interesting.
JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
Kim and Jenn: That is a loaded question that could lead to a lot of whining. But we would have to say the most challenging aspect has been our own attitudes. Every step had challenges, writing a novel while living in two different places with different time zones (New York and Hawaii), taking on the process of being self-published, and now marketing Vibrational Passage. Trials are part of life, whether publishing a novel or just getting the kids to school on time. Having someone to share this journey with has made every challenge manageable.
JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?
Kim and Jenn: Well we have two different answers on this one. For Jennifer it was holding Vibrational Passage book in her hands. It became real for her. While for Kim, a positive review from someone who is a voracious thriller reader, the fact that she liked it was a really nice surprise.
JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
Kim and Jenn: Once again we have two different answers here. For Jennifer those writing influences are Madeleine L'Engle Camp, and great philosophers. While for Kim it all started off with Nancy Drew Mystery Stories which eventually led to too many authors to name here, but F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, J.D. Salinger and Virginia Woolf are the ones at the top of the list.
JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?
Kim and Jenn: Jennifer is a published researcher but plunging into fiction writing did not occur without the nudging from Kim. While Kim always knew she was a fiction writer.
JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?
Kim and Jenn: Conducting the research for Vibrational Passage has led us to some extremely exciting information, which we found a way of including in the novel. However, we think the most interesting fact is that things somehow are always connected somehow; nothing is ever isolated. If it appears isolated it just means we have not found the connection yet…spooky!
JET: Any advice for the novices out there?
Kim and Jenn: If you are thinking about it – jump in. We all start somewhere, but the key is the starting. Could of, should of, would of must not be on anyone’s tomb stone head. Life is shorter than we think and seems to be picking up speed as we get older.
JET: Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?
Kim and Jenn: We're currently working on book two of the Safe Passage Trilogy. It's very exciting and fun to write. Wally, Emma and Zoe jump into 15th Century Japan and eventually make their way to the mythical Dragon Kingdom. It's quite a leap from the New York City setting of Vibrational Passage.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Jennifer Dustow and Kim Miyasaki Lee and their work at: http://kimandjenn.blogspot.com/ as well as the following places:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002135678169
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/KimandJenn
On Friday, I’m dishing it up with Cara Bertoia – swing in and say hi if you get the chance.
Until then,
Ciao.
JET
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