Featured Author: K.L. Denman

Bibliography at Orca

Me, Myself and Ike: After watching a tv program about Otzi, a 5,000-year-old "Ice Man," Kit's friend Ike becomes convinced that Kit's destiny is to become the next ice man—a source of information for future generations. Together they obtain artifacts they think will accurately reflect life in the early twenty-first century and plan their journey to a nearby mountain. Kit gets tattoos similar to Otzi's, writes a manifesto and tries to come to terms with making the ultimate sacrifice. As he grows more and more agitated and isolated, his family and friends suspect that something is terribly wrong, but before they can discover the true severity of the situation, Kit and Ike set off on what could be their last journey.

Perfect Revenge: Lizzie Lane is used to life at the top of the food chain. Her near-perfect life is ruined when Rachel, a girl she socially destroyed, exacts her revenge by getting Lizzie in trouble for cheating on a test. Friendless and facing detention, Lizzie obsesses over finding the perfect revenge. When Stella, Lizzie's strange new neighbor, teaches Lizzie about magick, Lizzie can't resist creating a revenge spell. But she forgets the "rule of three," that whatever spell you cast comes back on you three-fold, and her zit spell backfires with dramatic results. When she asks for help from Stella's Baba, the only advice she gets is to "write the lesson of the zit on her heart." Can Lizzie find a way to teach Rachel a lesson without causing permanent disfigurement to herself?

More of K.L. Denman's titles here!

Interview

Why do you write, and why children's/young adult books? When I’m having a bad writing day, I ask myself that question – why am I doing this again? Could someone please explain this compulsion to torture myself with words? But after a good writing day when the words flowed like a river, almost writing themselves, and time disappeared, then I’ll realize there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. I think I’m focused on children’s and young adult fiction because those years of life are a time of constant growth and change. Life is rich with new experience, big questions are asked, mistakes are made, and personal qualities are developed. The possibilities for writing are boundless.

What kind of research do you do before you write a book? I’ve done research for all of my books, some more than others. Depending on the information I need, my research may be done via the internet, reading text books, visiting settings, or talking to people who have experience in the area I wish to write about.

What is your favourite children's book? I have many favorites from childhood: Black Beauty, Winnie the Pooh, Little Women, Green Eggs and Ham – the list goes on… Today, my favourite YA titles are too numerous to list! 

What is your favourite childhood or teenage memory? Many of my favourite memories from my teen years are of working at a dude ranch in Alberta. I loved the long trail rides through open country, swimming in the river, the challenge of working with ‘green’ horses, campfires, making wonderful friends, and getting glam for the weekly dance. 

Biography

K.L. (Kim) Denman was born in Calgary, Alberta, and spent her childhood in a house one street away from the open prairie. When she was 11, her family moved to Delta, British Columbia, and she got to know life on the coast: tides, clam digging, rain gear, green grass year-round and enormous trees. It was there that Kim and her sisters got their first pony. She continued to live near Vancouver for many years while finishing school, attending college, and eventually getting married and starting a family. She always loved writing and when her teen children and their friends provided inspiration and re-kindled memories of this challenging passage, writing for teens became an irresistible venture. 

Today she lives on a small farm on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast with her family of people, two dogs, three cats, two horses and an elderly mule. When she’s not writing or caring for critters, she’s reading, trying to grow vegetables, taking pictures, or volunteering at therapeutic riding. More information about Kim is available on her website at http://www.kldenman.com/.